INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

institutionalized child care.
Significance of the Research
Many of my findings confirmed expectations set by the literature review. This
included many children falling outside the boundaries set by Western definition of
orphans (Csáky, 2009), the center assuming the responsibilities that are often assigned to
governments (Ferguson, 2010), and the strong presence of psychological challenges like
stress or anxiety among children at the center. (Cluver, 2012) Many of the challenges that
are specifically magnified in South Africa were constantly present during my own study.
Poverty was a thematic recurrence as I learned of many of the children’s backgrounds.
(Cluver and Orkin, 2009) AIDS also had a tremendous impact on ongoing health
concerns (Makame, 2002) and the deterioration of their parents. (Neff, 2005)
Much of the literature (Neff, 2005; Streak, 2004) placed an emphasis on ethnicity
and the role this played on the dynamics between donors and staff and children. My
observations led me to believe that cultural differences could be better studied and
elaborated upon. While this was not the particular focus of my study, my interest was
raised with regards to how the Sunkers’ Indian-African heritage played a role in their
childcare philosophy. Differences in white and black family dynamics were constantly
explained to me, however I remain curious how South Africa’s other ethnicities were
similar or different. From my observations, there weren’t many significant tribal
differences based on the children’s origins, but this also remains an understudied topic.
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