The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Promoting Lifelong Learning in Botswana

This chapter discusses the role non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play within Botswana. It states that NGOs are useful instruments for learning generally, but particularly they serve as vehicles for lifelong learning. The chapter highlights the fact that NGOs have established the earliest schools in Botswana. However, when it was found that schools alone were not enough to take on the challenges of a Botswana that was growing more complex by the day, NGOs began to complement school learning with specialized training in centers for vocational and professional development. The Government of Botswana came to support NGOs through the development of an NGO policy whose aim is to forge a closer government-NGO cooperation in the promotion of lifelong learning in the country.

Incorporating Media in Promoting Lifelong Learning Among Street Vendors in Ghana

This chapter explores media promotion of lifelong learning among street vendors in Ghana. It looks at conceptual frameworks underpinning street vending and the relevance of media in empowering street vendors. It also examines challenges involved in street vending and strategies in integrating street vending into the formal sector of the economy of Ghana. The contributions of media in empowering street vendors and learning as a process of lifelong learning fashion are also discussed. Issues emerging from street vending and recommendations are discussed. The chapter concludes that the Government of Ghana should develop all-inclusive business policy to accelerate formalization of informal enterprises. Street vendors should also build strong front, and leadership, to foster effective collaboration and partnership with media houses to aid in deepening lifelong learning drive in Ghana.

Assessment of Learning Needs of Street Vendors in Ghana

This chapter assessed the learning needs of street vendors in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. The findings revealed that vendors in the streets of Accra were made up predominantly of young people aged between the ages of 16 and 40 years. Seventy-five percent (75%) of these street vendors had gone through basic education and about 55% of them showed interest in furthering their learning. A majority of those who wished to further their education and indicated that they wished to be assisted in acquiring technical education which they figured out would enable them to generate regular revenues with which they can support themselves and their families. It was recommended that adult educators should assist street vendors in locating opportunities for the learning they have indicated and to support them in achieving their dream for the sake of national development.

Urban Planning and the Creation of Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st Century

This chapter posits that the transformation of ancient African cities into modern cities using the modernist theory of planning did more harm than good. Not only has the modern city created many more urban poor than obtained in ancient cities, but the urban poor also remain the most vulnerable as their livelihoods have often come under threat from not only unfriendly city council regulations but also from the rigid safeguards of the modernist theory of town planning. Consequently, in order to promote the building of human-centered African cities which would serve all those that live in them, it is here suggested that the mystical, humanistic, and spatial values of ancient African cities should be further researched, so as to embed them into the transformation of existing and subsequent African cities.

Education, Social Capital, Physical, and Psychological Access to Healthcare Among Female Migrants in Informal Settlements in Accra City, Ghana

This chapter reports on a study carried out by the Department of University of Ghana Learning Centers regarding the factors influencing migrant women's access to healthcare, lifelong learning, and the kind of link existing between this access and livelihood creation in six informal settlement areas of Accra city. The findings showed positive correlation between women's level of education and both physical and psychological access to healthcare. It was equally found that access to a regular source of income built a high level of self-determination in women of the informal settlements. Armed with this high level of self-determination, women were able to access healthcare and lifelong learning without needing the permission of husbands or members of family. Policies aimed at strengthening training attendants in pre- and post-natal emergency life-saving care are recommended for the informal settlement areas.

Street Vending

The focus of this chapter is on the ingenious transformation of the Indian betel leaf vendor (paanwala)'s business. The “paanwala” who used to concentrate on the sale of betel leaf (paan) only has begun to engage in a diversified street vending. In fact, the sale of the “paan” itself has now been relegated to the background in favor of more modern and sophisticated items. This chapter reports on a study conducted among 174 betel leaf sellers in Pune. The findings of the study revealed that 80% of the sellers were aged between 18 and 45years. They have diversified the items in their boxes to include tobacco products and other modern confectioneries. Although the “paanwalas” stated that they were making fairly good livelihood out of their work, they continue to face such difficulties as harassment from local authorities and denial of right of ownership of property. It is recommended that a partnership between the “paanwalas” and the companies would assist in promoting innovation among the paanwalas.

Learning Cities

This chapter opens up with the suggestion that the “leaning cities” concept may well apply to ancient cities since learning has characterized life in all cities of the world since time immemorial. However, it is acknowledged that the “learning cities” construct was specifically originated during the 20th century for the purpose of assisting city dwellers cope with the challenges of modern city life. Dwelling on the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa, the chapter reveals that learning cities projects are not currently popular in the sub-continent. This lack of interest has been attributed to the fact that Africans were never and are still not taken along during the process of transformation of both ancient and modern spaces into cities. Consequently, it is here recommended that a transformative learning process that uses both indigenous knowledges and endogenous city clusters as learning pads should be adopted for the revitalization of the implementation of learning cities projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Debating the Informal Sector and Urban Planning in Botswana

This chapter reflects on the relationship existing between the state and the informal sector in Botswana. Despite embracing global calls for inclusive human settlements, the relationship between the state and the informal sector in Botswana equivocates between hostility and tacit recognition. This ambiguity is explained in terms of two overlapping stances, namely, the elitist and exclusionist natures of the country's settlement planning legislation. Botswana's settlement planning legislation plays a significant role in the creation of the informal sector, yet the existence of this same sector would not be openly embraced. Relying on the concept of human rights and justice implied in calls such as “just cities,” “right to the city,” and “sustainable livelihoods,” this chapter makes a case for coproduction of interventions with a view to establishing inclusive and sustainable human settlements that recognize the unavoidable nature of the informal sector.

The Historiography of Town Planning and Its Shifting Paradigms in Sub-Saharan Africa

This chapter traces the evolution of town planning, which developed in response to specific challenges of industrialization. However, the chapter is written from a Sub-Saharan standpoint, with emphasis on the planning situation in the context of the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. Although the arrival of European colonialists along the African coastline dates from 16th century, the colonial roots of modernist planning in Sub-Saharan Africa is traceable only to the 19th century. Post-independence, it has been recognized that the colonial planning systems are inadequate for effectively confronting the emergent development challenges such as rapid urbanization, informal settlements proliferation, as well as post-conflict and post-disaster situations. This chapter therefore highlights the efforts that have been made to reform urban planning processes in Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing the post-colonial discourse on urban and regional planning theories and practices that are responsive to prevailing circumstances within this sub-continent.

The Informal Economy in Developing Societies

This chapter submits that the informal sector in developing countries is neglected in many respects. First, little effort is made to understand the going-on within the sector, and second, its contribution to the national economy is yet to be accounted for. After discussing the characteristics of the informal sector and after venturing a definition of “learning cities,” the chapter identifies four issues to which four recommendations were proffered. Two of the issues include the feminization of the informal economy sector and the possible development of best learning cities practice formats for the purpose of improving the practice of the informal economy within developing countries.