Thanks to our forefathers and foremothers, social welfare programs in the past have been solving various societal and economical challenge of the society. These traditional social welfare practices have helped us to support each other and strengthened our cultures of resolving economical and related issues since then. Yes, this culture today should be acknowledged and continued. It is highly significant and one of our unique cultures.
Ethiopia varies from other African countries in many ways. The customs and traditions of Ethiopia continue to be deeply rooted in centuries of practice and many aspects of daily lives. The ancient cultures added with various standards and moral values make the country unique from the rest of the world too. Especially in-terms of their supporting each other culture not only during hardships but also in harvesting, weeding, funeral among other occasions as well.
Significantly, the country has also its own ancient alphabets and calendar that makes it different from other African countries. Moreover, the country is the home of two earliest religions, the Ethiopian Orthodox ‘Tewahedo’ Church and Islam, which remain the most popular religions in the country. Highly, these religions taught have contributed a lot to peoples’ co-existence and well established social welfare and settle harmonized ties among Ethiopians. Yes, there are various cultural activities which strengthen togetherness, secure bondages among the community and there are also traditional music and lyrics that promote the importance of unity.
Apart from supporting each other, the needy once in moral, Ethiopians establish associations to facilitate collecting supports in finance and in material are the common features of most Ethiopians. Moreover, in the rural parts of Ethiopia, farmers are used to help each other in different ways. Particularly, during harvest seasons, in ploughing, sowing seasons and even during weeding ceremonies. Importantly, these activities are usually accompanied with special foods and drinks as well.
When religious and traditional occasions are celebrated, citizens showcase their distinctive ceremonial traditions accordingly and these cultural manifestations reinforce their relations there by contribute supporting each other culture. Of course, Ethiopia has diverse cultures that have co-existed for over thousands of years. Though the country has more than 80 different ethnic groups, these diversified nations and nationalities never pose an obstacle to live in unity. They are still intact to live in peace and harmony, despite some seasonal challenges. Yes, within this diversity, there are some aspects of daily life that tend to connect each other. Nonetheless, Ethiopian culture is often unable to be neatly categorized differences. It has various similarities with nearby ethnic cultures indeed.
More importantly, Ethiopians have traditional associations which promote supporting one another. There are many different types of social welfare programs in different parts of the country; these programs have religious, political, family or other bases for their formation. But the two most common social support programs are the Iddir and Debo systems.
Some scholars said that Iddir is social association that provides financial assistance and other forms of support for people in the same neighborhood or occupation and among friends or families. This traditional practice became known with the formation of urban communities. The main objective of Idir is to assist families financially during times of funeral, problems such as illness, death, and property losses due to incidents such as theft and fire encounters.
However, in recent years, the Iddir tradition has been involved in public development activities, including the construction of community pipe water installation, schools and roads. Every member of the Idir contributes a certain amount of money every month to benefit individuals in times of emergency, they said. The other most important and widespread social welfare association in rural areas is the ‘Debo’. If a farmer is having difficulty of gathering his/her crops, he/she may invite their neighbors to assist on a specific dates. There by the villagers should provide food and drink for the day and contribute his/her labor when others in the same Debo require help. The Debo is not restricted to agriculture. Rather it is also predominant in housing construction too.
Social Welfare in Africa: Meeting the needs of households caring for orphans and affected by AIDS Social welfare protection, in the form of insurance and assistance programs, emerged in Europe in the 1800s in order to provide citizens with an economic safety net during periods of illness, economic hardship, and other shocks. Today, nearly every country has some form of social protection developed to provide economic support in times of need. Assistance comes in the form of old-age pensions, survivor benefits, family allowances or other supports. In Africa, social welfare programs were originally developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a safety net for white workers.
Employer-based contributory pensions were the dominant model. Still today, these pensions primarily serve the wealthiest workers who live in urban areas and have secure careers in the public sector.Those who are excluded from these benefits are left to rely upon the traditional safety net of family aid, mutual support, and communal living. For example, in Kenya, the clan system has operated as a labor union would, pooling resources and providing extra support during vulnerable periods.
This informal system has been eroded however, as countries have developed and urbanized, sources of livelihoods have diversified, family sizes shrunk, and the population aged. Moreover, throughout sub-Saharan Africa, poverty and AIDS have further destabilized households, changed demographic patterns, and orphaned enormous numbers of children. Consequently, families who are living amidst widespread poverty in AIDS-affected communities struggle to meet the basic needs of surviving children with fewer adults able to provide care.
Vulnerable populations face a social protection vacuum when both formal families need to survive, even though social protection is a proven component in fighting poverty and responding to families overwhelmed by disease or other shocks. Throughout Africa, social protection programs could be mechanisms that enable families to economically survive and help children to reach their potential. The reality that social welfare schemes in Africa exclude more people than they cover has been established and yet there are important reasons to revisit this topic.
In last decade, a growing number of countries have expanded or developed new programs in an effort to reduce poverty and respond to the AIDS epidemic, as well as to invest in human and economic development. Evidence of the growing momentum around social protection schemes include the “Livingstone Call for Action” where 13 Eastern and Southern African governments pledged to draft casted national social transfer plans within two to three years. In addition, the African Union is driving and supporting efforts to promote.
Scoop Wiki Leaks said that Ethiopia possesses of a rich tradition in indigenous, community-based revolving savings and credit associations and insurance societies. These “Iqub” and “Iddir” traditions serve as a source of credit and insurance outside the formal sector and they are much rooted in Ethiopian society. The contributions of these traditions, especially Iqub is very vital for economic growth.
It said that Iqub is a traditional means of saving money and exists completely outside the formal financial system. Iqub is a form of revolving savings. People voluntarily join a group and make a mandatory contribution. The “pot” is distributed on a rotating basis determined by a drawing at the beginning of the Iqub. Amounts contributed vary according to the means of the participants, saidsaidsaid. Iqub is common especially in urban areas.
BY ALAZAR SHIFERAW
The Ethiopian Herald June 9/2021
