The most fundamental needs of the target beneficiary group are employment and dignity. The cornerstone of our strategy is to offer beneficiaries immediate earning opportunities, but throughout the duration of their interaction with THE BIG ISSUE, they will be assisted in moving from social marginalisation to achieving the dignity of independence.
The magazine enables vendors to earn an immediate legitimate income, but we see this as a first step towards their developing a self-sustainable future.
The idea is that vendors can learn while they earn.
Core services offered to beneficiaries include:
- Workshops: Addressing issues such as motivation and life skills, sales and customer relations, basic business skills, entrepreneurship, money-management.
- Further Education & Training: Providing assistance and course placement to vendors who wish to undergo further education and training in order to realise long-term career goals (generally outsourced to external providers).
- Creche Programme: A creche programme for vendors with children, promoting involvement of women in the project. This enables more women to benefit from the opportunities offered through the project while ensuring their children are being cared for in a safe environment.
- Accommodation Assistance: Assisting vendors to move off the street into alternative accommodation such as night shelters or independent accommodation.
- Casework and Counselling: Providing professional social work services and counselling to beneficiaries on a range of matters such as family support issues, accessing social grants, HIV/Aids & substance abuse counselling, child care, health care or interpersonal problems. Matters that cannot be dealt with in-house are referred to more specialist organisations.
- Job Club: Assisting beneficiaries in seeking long-term employment, for example helping them draw up curriculum vitae or accessing employment information.
- Gender Advocacy: The Big Issue South Africa works with the highest proportion of female vendors of any of the INSP-member papers. The advocacy focus is to ensure that women have equal access to services and resources. It provides for continued child support in the form of creche subsidisation; equal opportunities within our developmental programme and within the context of women as a special needs group; sensitivity training for staff regarding women's fears, issues and needs; peer support groups; access to education around women's health issues; specialised work skills and entrepreneurial skills development.
- Art & Writing: Vendors are encouraged to express themselves on paper and canvas, and the best results are published in the magazine and they are paid for their material.
- Social Activities: Organising events and outings for vendors to promote the social inclusion of the poor. Vendors visit major attractions like Robben Island and Table Mountain, participate in public events like The Cape Times/FNB Big Walk, and throw a year-end Christmas Party.
The success rate of the vendor is measured initially through income earned and ultimately through readiness to "move-on". Both case and group work methods are utilised and, though vendors are encouraged to move through the system at their own pace, The Big Issue has set a target of moving at least 20-25% of vendors in any stage of the programme, to the next stage, during each annual cycle.
