Conceptualizing Sustainable Livelihood for Single Parent Households

Poverty rates in Malaysia are shown to decline over the years. However, the decline in poverty rates do not necessarily reflect the overall socioeconomic status of the population. Absolute poverty may have decreased substantially but relative poverty remains as an issue that needs to be addressed rigorously. Poverty and single parenting have been widely documented in international as well as local literature. Factors such as the number of dependents, employment in the informal sector, unemployment, health issues, and low education attainment contribute to the economic and financial hardship of single parent households. These situations each on its own or exist concurrently threatened the wellbeing and standard of living of the single parent households. The occurrence of single-father households is deemed to be much lower than that of single mother households though the exact numbers is officially unavailable. Therefore, obtaining a sustainable source of livelihood is of paramount importance for single parents. Amidst insufficient institutional supports and probably familial supports as well, ensuring regular and dependable income become an issue that warrant further research. Hence, the purpose of this research is to evaluate and develop sustainable livelihood programs for single parent households from the poor families in a few villages in Baling, Kedah. We would adapt the method of action research used by Collins, Morduch, Rutherford, and Ruthven (2009) for this study.