INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

difficult for me to provide help without having to refer back to their lesson to re-teach
myself. Warrick’s response to their study time stood in contrast to mine, however.
“During the Dragon’s Den activity, most of the students just worked on their inventions.
They’ll owe me an extra two hours of study time.” He then mentioned to me that
Saturday studies would soon begin, occupying a large portion of their weekend.
One of the most apparent things to me throughout my time at the center was the
high value placed upon education. This was reflected numerous ways. In terms of the
center’s financial situation, it was one of the most urgent needs that the center would seek
to meet. Educational pursuits also took up the greatest amount of time from the children’s
regular schedule. Between the extensive bus ride to school, the afternoon hours dedicated
to studying, and the weekend study times, it became clear that most of the students’ other
activities would have to fit in between the margins of academic pursuits. I questioned if
this might be too much time spent studying. Pastor Mike indicated that this was a concern
of his as well, but he also saw the benefit provided by a structured schedule. In spite of
the large amounts of time dedicated to academics, not all students were so motivated.
The opportunity to receive such a customized education, along with
supplementary programs, was an advantage offered by this institutionalized setting. In a
township setting children would not likely have the opportunity to go to such needs-based
schools like Elandspark or St. Vincent’s School for the Deaf. They would also not have
access to some of the psychological support and programs provided by the center and
arranged by Nancy. The center also provides a greater degree of safety through security
guards and its protected campus that would not be present in a township setting. These
provisions came at a great cost to the center, in terms of needing to finance security
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