Collapse of extended family contributes to poverty

It is this extended family that for a long time has ensured that common social problems such as issues of poverty were dealt with at family level.

Tanyala Moipolai believes that, "The collapse of the extended family has one way or the other contributed to and compounded the problem of poverty. This is because in the past relatives were so concerned about each other and knew that it was the responsibility of other relatives to uplift any family member who was trapped in a poverty web. This was because the family was not defined only in terms of the father, mother and their children." She continues; "People were so concerned about their kinsmen that a close contact and working relationship was established even with far-between generations for as long as they were relatives somehow. The extended families were so broad that in some instances one would think that almost the whole village ward comprised of people who were to some extent related. There were no such issues as 'distant relatives', which is common today. A relative was simply a relative and was treated as such," she says.