The Need for Subsistence
Need: Subsistence
Qualities: physical and mental health
Description: Every person
has the right to basic goods and services which guarantee survival. This
includes access to food, water, electricity, telephone, Internet and affordable
housing. The state has to ensure the relative stable state of balance between
all the different citizens (and their needs) in our population
The Need for Protection
Need: Protection
Qualities: Care, adaptability, autonomy
Description: Every person
has the right to access social security, adequate health facilities and
regulation of a safe working environment. This includes personal security,
financial security, health and well-being and safety net against
accidents/illness and their adverse impacts, as well as the provision of employment
opportunities
The Need for Affection
Need: Affection (meegevoel)
Qualities: respect, sense of humour, generosity, sensuality
Description: Every person
has rights - and the responsibilities that go with these rights. This includes
the ability to share with others, take care of the less fortunate in society
choose who we are intimate with and ensure our privacy is respected. Our
interaction with our natural environment is included in this section
The Need for Understanding
Need: Understanding
Qualities: critical capacity, curiosity, intuition
Description: The right to
education (from the cradle to the grave) allows every citizen to access the
information needed to improve their personal lives. This not only refers to
primary, secondary or tertiary education, but also financial literacy and other
Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) rights and issues affecting our daily
lives. It also includes the access to Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) and the ability to use these new technologies.
The Need for Participation
Need: Participation
Qualities: receptiveness, dedication, sense of humour
Description: The right to
participate and voluntary association in non-discriminatory organisations.
These refer mostly to civil society and freedom of religion. It also makes
reference to voters’ education and political and cultural tolerance. While
ensuring freedom of speech and association, it insists upon responsibility and
duty of the individual citizen to respect the rights of others
The Need for Leisure
Need: leisure
Qualities: imagination, tranquillity, spontaneity
Description: The right to
relaxation, having fun in places which are intimate or places to be alone. This
also refers to encouraging day-dreams or “future dreaming”.
The Need for Creation
Need: creation
Qualities: boldness, inventiveness, curiosity
Description: Each person has
the need to be creative and be provided with the abilities, skills, work or
techniques needed to invent, build, deign, compose or interpret the world
around us
The Need for Identity
Need: identity
Qualities: sense of belonging, self-esteem, consistency
Description: A person finds
their identity through their language, religion, work, customs, values and
norms. Every person must have the right to interpret their own view of these
and be allowed to practise their identity without harming others.
The Need for Freedom
Need: freedom
Qualities: autonomy, passion, self-esteem, open-mindedness
Description: The need for
freedom allows equality of rights while ensuring differences of opinion allow
us to further develop our personal awareness.
Conclusion
As human beings we have certain needs. In the struggle for
freedom we have won certain political and civil rights. These are not yet
sufficient to give us the dignity we deserve as sons and daughters of the soil.
This is the economic fight we often still hear about. This battle can only be
won if each person as an individual not only insists upon their rights, but
also recognizes their responsibility to give back their community.
“We have fought for our rights. We now affirm our
responsibilities. We acknowledge each of us has a duty to ourselves and our
neighbours.”
