2011 Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 176-219
This paper demonstrates “care” in rural society through describing the ethnography of people with physical disabilities living in South-eastern Cameroon. Currently, the term “care” is used in a variety of contexts. In Japan, it has taken on new meaning based on the process of social change that involves leaving family care to society or the government, which is referred to as the “socialization of care”. Most studies of “care” focus on the caregiver, while few studies examine the recipients. Some research has indicated that the relationship between recipients and providers of care is some major disparities embodying the power system, and that the recipients of care are socially disadvantaged. Nevertheless, I argue that it is possible to make the transition from recipient of “care” as a disadvantaged member of society to one who proactively accesses society (as demander).
In this paper, I reconsider “care” as the activities and relationships involved in meeting the requirements of people with disabilities, together with the customary framework and social composition within which these are assigned and carried out in their communities. First, I provide an overview of how “disability” is recognized in a rural society and then I examine individual experiences of having an incurable illness. Next, I examine how the subsistence activities of individuals fit into the local community, based on its social composition and the lifestyle at the study site. Finally, I clarify how their daily practices are built on connections with their family or members of the community.
