The impact of migration and remittances: the case of migrant households in Endingeni rural area in Ladysmith.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Migration and remittances with their growing volume and stable nature have become a topic of interest to many researchers. Migration generally impact positively on migrant households because it is associated with improved standard of living. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of migration and remittances as well as migration decision making in migrant households in Endingeni rural area in Ladysmith. An in depth understanding of the impact of migration and remittances on migrant households in rural area of Endingeni in Ladysmith is important and this study aims to learn and understand the impact of migration and remittances on migrant households. The researcher further intend to study the decisions for migration and the effects of migration and remittances on migrant households. This study aims to provide information and statistics on the impact of migration and remittances with regards to the particular rural area of Endingeni and contribute in enhancing knowledge in the study of migration and remittances in South Africa and their impact on migrant households. To achieve this - a qualitative approach was explored, where a sample of 20 participants from migrant households in the rural area of Endingeni in Ladysmith were interviewed through individual semi-structured interviews. The study found that majority of migrant households receive remittances from their members who migrated for employment. Household’s standard of living and limited opportunities of generating income in rural areas is noted as a main reason that encourage people to migrate for employment and send remittances to their families left behind. Migration is often a household’s strategy for its survival and livelihoods. Thus households act collectively in making migration decision for their members. And as a result migration benefits several households through remittances and improve their livelihoods. This study recommend that further research be done on exploring how migration and remittances affects migrant households in order to know more about migration and remittances