INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA
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Part of the reason for such an early departure time was the sheer length of time it<br />
took to drive to each of the schools. Even though the earliest schools started after 7:00,<br />
the 6:15 departure meant children needed to be up exceptionally early. “I start my day at<br />
4:00,” Marc told me as I took the seat next to him on the bus. “That gives me some time<br />
for prayer and devotions. The kids get up a little bit after me. Imagine all these guys<br />
having to make do with just one or two shower spaces. But I hear it’s worst in the girls’<br />
department.”<br />
The bus could seat around 50 children, and felt fairly full by the time all the<br />
students were on board. Marc began his drive eastward, through several different<br />
neighborhoods. We passed through the slum neighborhoods of Yeoville before driving by<br />
Johannesburg’s Chinatown area. The drive was long, and after thirty minutes of driving<br />
we had yet to drop off any of the children. This gave Marc and me plenty of time to talk<br />
about everything from the U.S. Presidential election to his travels in Ethiopia, to the<br />
recent protests against South African president Jacob Zuma. We drove into a more<br />
upscale neighborhood that was evidently a much more wealthy area in comparison to<br />
Hillbrow. Trees lined the sidewalks in front of houses that were obscured by high<br />
security concrete fences.<br />
It was in this neighborhood that we came across Elandspark School. Its surrounding<br />
area was affluent, and I noticed the diversity of the students walking into the school.<br />
“This generation is the born free generation. White kids and black kids go to school<br />
together and think nothing of it. It would have never happened while I was going to<br />
school,” commented Marc. There were indeed white, Indian, black, and mixed-heritage<br />
children making their way towards the entrance, the four races that are native to the<br />
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