An indigenous perspective with regard to the Tsonga children in need of care

Abstract

Thousands of children in need of care and protection in South Africa, especially in the rural communities are indigenously protected and taken care of by their close family members or relatives. The Homu 14B Rural Community of the Greater Giyani Municipality in the Mopani District of the Limpopo Province, has a functional indigenous system that protects and cares for neglected and abandoned children. This is in line with our Constitution’s Section 9(1), which states that everyone is equal before the law, and that we have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. This study explores the Tsonga indigenous perspective of children in need of care. It focuses on the Mopani District’s Homu 14B Village because of its exclusiveness, where the inhabitants are almost 100% Tsonga. This study was done qualitatively, where semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from prospective informants. The participants were purposefully identified. The collected data were analysed using the Atlas TI 7, a computer-aided qualitative data analysis software. This study revealed that the Tsonga explanation of what is meant by “left without proper care”, is in line with the definition as provided in the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005. Thus, this study determined that the Homu 14B Villagers pay much attention to their children’s basic needs such as food, education and their general wellbeing. Through the participants’ narratives, this study established that these villagers put mechanisms in place to ensure that no abandoned or orphaned child is neglected or stays without care. That is, there are certain processes that are followed to secure the wellbeing of the abandoned, orphaned or neglected children in this village.