INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa, I wondered if that was a question with multiple answers, shaped by
multiple cultures, all well represented at 5Cees.
For the children who live at 5Cees, the center is the locus of their relationships
with caregivers and close friends. It is where they spend the majority of their time, and it
is where many significant moments of childhood development take place. For the
majority of the center’s staff, the physical boundaries of 5Cees are also of significance.
Almost all of the center’s employees live on site, with housing being one of the perks for
care mothers and custodial staff. Even the center’s director lives on site for the sake of
playing a more active role in the children’s lives. With all the interpersonal bonds formed
between and among children and staff members, one of the most appropriate ways to see
5Cees is as a community made up of complex and constantly evolving relationships. The
roles that children play in this community continually develop throughout the course of
childhood.
Physical Space
In the neighborhoods of Hillbrow and Berea, physical spaces that could be
considered child-friendly are scarce. A more common sight is the shards of broken bottles
that could be found in between crevices in the sidewalk, or the many simple printed flyers
advertising abortions, penis enlargements, or fortune-tellers. A few small parks with
playground structures could be deceiving in appearance. Marc Ndebele, a bus driver for
5Cees, informed me that they were common exchange points for drug deals, and that
many of the adults that sat around the area were engaged in small-scale gambling rings.
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