INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

features of South African townships and contributing factors to a child’s status as an
OVC. These include links between poverty and AIDS (Cluver and Orkin, 2009; Makame
et al., 2002), ethnicity and life expectancy (Neff, 2005), ethnicity and access to medical
services (Neff, 2005), and equality and human development. (Alkire, 2002) Because
many of South Africa’s black ethnicities continue to reside primarily in townships and
many OVC come from black ethnic groups, (UNICEF, 2005), it is important to see how
close familial relationships are important for survival and wellbeing in a township setting.
Ethnographic research has shown that jealousy and envy over scarce resources has led to
tension between neighbors in many township settings. (Ross, 2010; Bray, 2010) The
immediate home and family setting and the security and privacy it provides is seen as an
important means of survival in urban townships. (Ross, 2005)
Street Children and Southern Africa
Poverty is widely associated with South Africa’s townships and urban settlements
and its effects are most drastically felt by children. About 10-14 million children in South
Africa live in poverty, primarily because large numbers of children are more concentrated
among poorer households. (Streak, 2004) The AIDS epidemic amplifies the effects of
poverty, and the demand of supporting entire families and neighborhoods is ultimately
directed towards informal support networks. (Sogaula, et al. 2002) Many of South
Africa’s OVC population are compelled towards street life. Street life, in this regard, can
be seen as the phenomenon of either homelessness and the necessity of taking shelter in
public urban spaces, or the participation in gang activity as a means of livelihood or
sustenance. Links between poverty or economic inequality and crime, as well as
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