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The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa has negatively affected the lives of many individuals and families. Undocumented migrants were not an exception to this challenge. Despite encountering a number of challenges such as unemployment and being excluded from the welfare services of the country, undocumented migrants also battled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which forced them to develop survival strategies. It is from this background that this, study sought to explore the survival strategies of undocumented migrants post-COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa. The study used a qualitative approach wherein Musina was used as a case study. Ten migrant youth were purposively and conveniently selected to participate in this study. Data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically through Thematic Content Analysis (TCA). Resilience theory was used to guide this study. Findings, conclusions and recommendations are provided in this paper.

South Africa and the world at large continue to experience storms of natural disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic which pose a great negative impact on people's livelihood such as loss of lives. To mitigate such negative effects and respond effectively to natural disasters, there is a need for legislative frameworks and policies that must guide the process. In South Africa for instance, disaster legislations were used by the government to inform and guide their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is from this background that the researcher developed a hunch to analyse the South African natural disaster and related legislations that were applicable to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. This study adopted the non-empirical research method wherein existing literature was reviewed. The researcher reviewed and analysed documents on the South African disaster legislation from search engines such as EBSCOhost, google scholar and ProQuest. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used to analyse the collected data. The primary finding of this study revealed that legislation played an important role in guiding the COVID-19 response of the South African government. The underlined conclusion suggests that disaster legislation, programs and policies should focus on effective prevention, effective reduction, promotion of well-being, and harmless responses to individuals.

This study sought to close this gap by exploring the xenophobic experiences of illegal migrant youths in Musina town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Nine illegal migrant youths were purposively and conveniently selected to participate in this study. Data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically through the assistance of the Nvivo software. The objective of this study was achieved through the guidance of narrative theory. The findings of the study reveal that illegal migrant youth in Musina Town experience violent attacks and derogatory name-calling from the local citizens. The findings further reveal that illegal migrant youths are experiencing blame-shifting by the local citizens. Harassment in healthcare facilities and employment places is also revealed as xenophobic experiences of illegal migrant youths in South Africa. It is recommended that the South African government should develop educative and awareness campaigns to respond to xenophobia in the country. It is also recommended that the security at the border gates need to be tightened to mitigate the influx of illegal migrants into the country.

Crystal methamphetamine (meth) is quickly becoming one of the most used synthetic drugs worldwide, adding to the growing pandemic of substance abuse worldwide. Crystal meth may cause serious health effects including infertility, cancer and even DNA damage, especially among long-term users. Crystal meth users are often not aware of the serious health implications caused by crystal meth until it's too late. This qualitative research paper employed the phenomenological research design to explore and describe lived experiences of crystal meth users. A total of 11 crystal meth users in the Witbank hotspots were identified through purposive convenience and key informants sampling. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the thematic content analysis was used for analysis. The study's findings reveal that crystal meth users have an uncontrollable urge to use the substance which results in them being stigmatized in society and negatively affecting their family functioning. The findings also show that some crystal meth users engage in criminal activities. There is a need for further studies on lived experiences across all types of drugs. Policymakers in South Africa should work towards an Instant-admission policy for people who use substances, through the capacity of social workers.

This paper sought to explore and describe the roles and responsibilities of social workers in addiction management. The researchers adopted a qualitative approach and used a multiple-case study design. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select social workers who specialise in substance/addiction management from two Non-Governmental Organisations and one Government Department. Individual interviews and focus group discussions were used to gather data, then thematically analysed. The study's findings indicated that social service practitioners' roles and responsibilities in the public and private sectors are blurry. It was further found that there is role confusion due to a lack of clarity on this issue as some staff tends to shift their responsibilities. This article provides lenses for higher education institutions in tailoring social work programs to address addiction management issues, as there is a persistent need for the development of a curriculum responding to addiction in social work

South Africa has been battling the scourge of the COVID-19 Pandemic which has negatively affected many individuals and families. The South African government imposed a national lockdown to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the lockdown also brought more challenges such as increased violence cases. Against this background, this study sought to analyse the COVID-19 lockdown and domestic violence in South Africa. A non-empirical research design was used where documents from search engines such as Google scholar, EBSCOhost and ProQuest were sampled and reviewed using keywords and phrases related to COVID-19, lockdown and domestic violence to filter relevant data, restricted to 2002-2022. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used to analyze the collected data. Findings reveal that the South African Lockdown has contributed to the rise of domestic violence cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results further indicate that victims of domestic violence face psychosocial challenges due to domestic violence. Programs that are aimed at creating awareness and empowering victims of domestic violence are recommended by this study. It is further recommended that policies protecting citizens against domestic violence be reviewed and strengthened.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the adoption of online teaching and learning. Several studies show that both students and lecturers benefit from online teaching and learning in cases where contact learning cannot take place. However, other studies reveal that some students face challenges during online teaching and learning, requiring them to develop coping mechanisms. Thus, the objective of this study was aimed at accentuating the coping strategies of students for online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A non-empirical research design was adopted for this study. Search engines such as 'Google scholar were used to sample and review documents using keywords to source relevant data that is from 2002 to 2022. Data were analysed using inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA). The study's findings show that access to online teaching and learning is challenging for some students. It was also revealed that some students cope with the challenges of online learning and teaching by employing positive strategies such as seeking support while some students employ harmful coping mechanisms such as using drugs and alcohol to cope with the challenges they face during online teaching and learning. The underlined conclusion suggests that online teaching and learning should be accessible and support systems for students should be available. Mobilisation of resources that will help all students to participate in online teaching and learning is needed.