INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

low. The South African state also sees 5Cees as an institution in a position to help resolve
the OVC crisis and seeks to regulate its actions. At the same time 5Cees remains its own
actor, in the center of these various dynamics present in South African society.
Family dynamics
In a number of unexpected ways, 5Cees also manages to replicate several dynamics
found in many traditional family structures, with varying degrees of intention. Siblinglike
bonds frequently form between different children at the center. Many attachments
that resemble parental care are formed between the younger children and their care
mothers. This is consistent with MacLellan’s findings that suggest very young children in
these situations are often forced into complex paternal or caregiving roles early in life.
(2005) The challenging question of how to help children transition into adulthood raises
many of the same concerns that a parent of a few siblings might have around the child’s
eighteenth birthday. Even an aspect of life like religion manages to develop in a way that
is similar to many family settings, allowing the children plenty of exposure and
transparency concerning the beliefs of their caretakers but ultimately giving them the
imperative to choose for themselves. There are differences that are to be expected,
resulting from the vast disparity between caring for one-to-three children versus caring
for fifty, however, these differences are outnumbered by commonalities. There are
several unexpected ways the family setting is unintentionally mimicked at the center.
Children’s immediate needs were secure, less visible challenges were of greater concern.
The severity of needs places constraints on the conversations worth having regarding
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