yourself*' fchat can I than answer?. .. I an not stopping · 1) Some spawn want a Job for theaaolvea or for their grown-up children* In tho A&AW tho precedent waa eatabliehed by an

yourself*' fchat can I than answer?. . . I an not stopping ths* trm earning money if they want to.*

And thia*

"You say, no are etarting a or®oh#, tout mat I work hard and tha others uaa it? Th* first thing they think of i*« 'I have no child, why ahould 1 vorry?* And eorae •ay• *1 haw* a mother to look aft*r my ohildren so why Bust I work for a or8che?’*,

"You a ay, I muet try and get n*mber* only fron amongst th* Bother* with young babies, tout that da** not work* their sind* are wondering. What if 1 put up all the labour and then, wfa*n th* crSche i* built, 1 haw* to now* aw ay .....”

Thor* are eo many reaaone for resiatano* to the idea of putting 19

one'a own ortche* The** who are working and for who* th* erSche has

a direct intersat hare no tie*. Those who are not working, do not ***

why th*y ahould work for it* And throughout is th* *v*r-t*curring

these1 "Th* Europesne will do it for us aa they hare always done**

Th* realisation that Europeans are not doing it any longer, and

can never do it to the extent to whioh it i* necessary, aad will ia»

oreaaingly stop doing things, ia penetrating very slowly* And than,

there is always the activity-smothering realisation! "fhen we hare put

up our oriche, we shall have to neve sonowhere else***" Becaus*

Africana are always moved about.* •* ••••

It ia probably not sufficiently realiaed how oo&nunity life and

spirit can be broken by continuous "moving then about**

It becomea, then, in actual fact, a natter for the** who** interest*

are personal, particular, and immediate, and generally it becornea

more epe daily the intereet of those who** desire for a criche, helped

end sponsored by Europeans, goee beyond the concern for their 01m

babies* Theae latter then, generally beooan the driving force* This

applies to all CS units*

The actives.

The background of motivations ie always slightly blurred. It is

however, a fact that the majority of the "active members" as they are

called, go into it with the idea of getting some compensation for their

work, if not now then later, and they continue in the obstinate comrio-

tion that if only they can hold on and show how much they are doing,

they will get payment or a paid job sooner or later*

tSf case record* show aome of the motive* out of which th* demand

for a 3G and its criohe or school ariaest

1) Some spawn want a Job for theaaolvea or for their grown-up

children* In tho A&AW tho precedent waa eatabliehed by an important

woman in tha Association whoaa daughter became * Kuraery school taaohor

in hsr temporary crSoha, raoaiving at tha time I visited it, a salary

of £5 P*r month.^

Ths following exsmpls is illustrative*

rs. X ia a powerful woman, a combination of naivete and shrewdness,

a primitive force* She looks rather untidy and haa a way of "hail

follow well met” about her*

5he ia a teacher of ths older typo and every now and again fills a

temporary post between spells of unemployment. Her husband la a driver,

and his wages had auddenly dropped from £5 to £3 per week, and aha did

not know why* t’hen Just recently, he had been dismissed “’bscause 25

pairs of ahoaa had been stolen. Nonsense, of course, where could ho pat

25 pairs of shoes!”

Ons of hsr daughters had a JO and had wanted to become a nurse, but

then (thia eoftely and apologetically) "She had a fall*.. You know

what theas children are.**(and then quickly she added) "But the boy la

going to marry her*"

She then oonoeived a plan "When we decidaiupon a school, 1 took her, ay daughter, with 10 children* People were laughing,* mat a schoolJ• * * . . . .There was no money at all* But I said to her, (2) •Kever mind whether they pay you or not, you do this voluntarily!”

Then tho daughter had her baby and other teaohera were employed.

"Bow when the aohool ia opening again after the holldaya, she must be baok, and I shall keep her in the school till the sohoal ia registered.” (i .e . while the echool is still a private aohool and can employ unqualified voluntary teachare, she must be estab­lished as a teacher).

Then, when the school becomes registered, shs oan apply for ed­ucational leave to take her • binary High*, ^ a t ia two years, if tar that ehe ia a qualified teacher and can back to the sohool and take over from the temporary teachers, (i .s . when Government grants educational leave to someone who la teaching already, har job must bo kept open for her and given back to her on her return).

"In thia way the place ia aafe for her” , she adds. And what about herself? I aak.

"Hell, I have a job”, she aaya, healtatingly, "I u a teacher”,(and then very softly) "Hext year, I thought, maybe I might be the matron, '•••••"b y that time the Government will have taken over the echool, and people get paid salaries, • • • • • so many young people are out of work, that's why I must safeguard thia place for my daughter......"

So many/*.*..

(l7 This was not told to me, in £sct'i it was carefully hidden from me* This would show that in this case th* woman, aa Intelligent person, knew that it would not be viewed favourably. If I had aaked at ones, I would have been told, African women, in my experience, lie by omission, or through blurred motives.

(2) Note the reasoning.

So many young people are out of work, so many husband* are dis-

aisesd for stealing, so many daughters break promising careers, and so

many mothers oan only get a Job svery now and again*• . • In a world full

of lnaocurity, a mother must see to it that her family shall have a

place under the sun ..*.. and a mother will fight for it, scheme for it,

and cheat for i t . . . . . . *

Or this may happen*

Mrs* £• has a husband who saws nearly £6 per meek, but "he is a very e*lfish person", and ho is also Ma race-goer, and racing is expensive"* Apart from paying the r*nt of £2*10*0 per mo-th, and life Insuranoe, he tfives her £2 p*r week, and Mrs* Z. has ssven children* The eldest son is twenty and the baby is three* irs. 2* did some washing, but she ia not healthy and had to give it up, though now ehe is getting better*

Her son is "very bright"* He was at th* Vocational Training School* "But ths; specialis* mainly in brick-laying and ha want* mors than that. H* wants to advanc# aad lsam mere* He want* to become an artisan and thsa, maybe, aa architect.* He i* *mploy«d with a Building Jooiety and does filing. The Soc­iety help* him with hi* further training. He earn* £3.5.0. per week, and - "You know what it ia, boy* of that eg*, th*y want to dress smartly, but hs givss m* £1 p*r week.*

SO Mrs. Z. keeps her family of huaband and **v*n children on £3 per week.

Her husband comes heme, "when he likes", and "mostly drunk", but her eon, "he must come alright.. . .1 "

She also has a plan - a Be creational C*ntr*, for her son is not only a buildsr and budding arohitsct, ("hs mad* hi* plans already, there will bo one big hall with flexible doers") but he is also vsry good at sport ("he ha» all the badges for scout*, ha *ven was to be a acout-«aeter.... . • )

"If only the wtite people will give us a chancs******•***

"That** what 1 tall him* if you can do eometbing for your own • •I f , you might be caretaker of the place, the boas that is.You see, as a man, he mat do something for himaelf, I am trying to inject that in his mind. But hs says* " » w i * the** European* of yours, they*11 get a social worker, and I am out."

"I myself mb in that doubt too, but I don't want him to bo in doubt. I a ay* 'Just try and gst on*. You sea, I muet build that spirit in him. I nuet inject that in him. Ho does not believe me..* fie just laughs at ms* But we*ve got a hope* After all ther»*s nothing in that job which ws cannot do....We must hope, and we must first work hard.. . . . "

Aad shs works very hard, she la the source of admiration of ths

whole Association*^ How/*.***

(l) Whan at one of the itarragh Hall Beatings, she brought her «on, “ introducing him by saying "It sesms our secretary ia not present*1 shall ask our Organinsr to read the report". She them looked at me,quickly. Later, one of the European executive member* said to as* "Ho Suropaan boy of that age could have been made to come to this sort of meeting! *aan*t it amasing?" Wouldn't one wish such a mother luck?

How many son* there are who want to g*t on, who havs dreama of a

better futur*, and. ars already at ths outset too dlaillusioned to be-

lisvs in thsm, And bow sany mothers ars fighting to keep alive that

littla spark of hope which ^akos ths whol* diffsroncs between a promising

young1 ssan and a crim inal.......

2) A woBsn runs a d<tfr«uraarjr in her haa^

This happens vary frequently in Pretoria and in Johannesburg. It

is not quits dear why, in nuch a case, she wants to bo adopted by the

HCAW, ths AS AW or ths OMWA, unless it is that she finds she cannot

make a profit on the fees whioh the parents ars willing to pay*

It is certainly ths worst basis for starting a CS unit*

Hero two ways seem to bs opsn* Kither the m an herself, who ia

running the criahe, gets in touch with one of th* "godmother*" of tha

STCAW or ths ASAW, or she psrauade* some ’friend*” of here, some woeen

with statu*, some finanoial security and integrity, of the need of a

orSohe in the noighbourhood, and ths** women than take all the initial

eteps* Later they general1; withdraw* In thi* way both largo Associat­

ions lost several excellent women*

Or thi* may happen*-

Krs* A* started a crSohe in her house, a beautiful large house,

owned by her and her husband* She ie a teacher who works half-daya*

Her husband haa a good job, and it was actually her old mother who was

running the cr§che* It waa, however, not amoh of a crftohe* th* f«e*

were 12/6 per child per month, but after a few months the children

•t arte a to *tay away and the oriche aeemed doomed* The fee* war* too

high and "the children were only playing anyway"* "She kept them behind

the fenoe, yea, but shs did nothing also"* Later aoas admirable woaen

beearns interacted and a "godmother” was found* The women wore told,

"You can't run a orficho on your own”, and they forced a 33 group* It

was explained tc thaa that with European help the* could run the orSohe

sore cheaply “You gat milk ana bread and pea-nut butter and all that”*

A young relative who, though not married, expected a baby, conducted

the sseine* It fra* considered beautiful and rumour had it htnt re*A

made her school children do most of it whils the school children

thought it was for Ouiding*

fines the, however, the admirable women who first supported her,

are, in the Bantu idiom “resting for a while" - they have since dis­

covered that ttrs* A* "want* to run the thing for herself*"

One wondera why Mrs. A wanted to run a cr4che at all, unless it

is because of her mother, or the young relative*

Or / .........

Or thia may happens-

Hn* 9 hH two children of 8 and l£ years* Her husband, ia a

driver, earning per week. ho worked as a aaeainiat in a Hat 'Fact­

ory and earned C4.9.10 par weak, ’he had a relative to look after the

children.

Then catastrophe occurred. She lost her job and the relative got

tired of Johannesl>urg. So she bad to stay at heme, so she started a

crSche and had, after a few months, 22 children between 1 and 5 years,

paying 7/6 each per month*

Why ahe formed a CS unij' cannot even be surmised. Ka^be the answer

is that shs was pereuaded into it by another woman. The said* "1 can

be very busy with this crSohe if they c m get me a better place. Oh, I

can do any works it does not matter what.****

SJaybe the answer ia what another woman, who rune a day-nuroery in

her horse, told met

"1 want to bo registered, for I hare so many ehildrsni and . ra. ••** • eaidi 'You can take even more children provided we can get a social worker or a voluntary worker to help yjn*. But we must be regiatered for that. 3© wo formed a committee.

When I met her later, she was still trying to get in touch with

one of the Associations. inco, however ̂ she had quarrelled earlier

with one of them, she was trying the other two.

The women hare the firm belief that "registration" aomehow brings

a grant or free helpers for their enterprise, whils thsy con still

continue to be the "owner*’ as it ia callsd.

3) A_gCA»_J&anch may„want a.crgchs*

It may hare been wanted for a long time, "but they get nowhere".

In Jehanneaburg, the SC AW efforts are generally without hope. So thsy

look askance at tha SC*a who aeem to be getting on with the job. And

regretfully they hare to admits "The SC*s hare tho proper channels",

"they get through". Of course, the SC's are registered and that makea

all the difference, but apart from that, one majr learn something froa

them.

So it may happen that members of the HCAS branch encourage other

women to net up a SC. They then become members of this SC aad join la

ita aotivitlea. Later they hope to ahare in ita aehievementa and to

olalm these aa ICAW successes* Then, in such a esse, other woman

whisper in one's sari "That SC there ia a little branch within a

ECAW branch".

Or a woman, President ef a RCAW branch that is languishing ia

moved to mother locality, although she still returns to her branch and

"holds office” occasionally. In the meantime, ahe also appears * as

the founder of a new OC in her new place of residence.

Or

Or « strong and frustrated loader of a HCAW branch, h«ring **arch*d

in rain for a way of booming registered, and being independent of tho

dirootiroa of tho SC if loadquartoro, will fi«d on outlot for hor pent-up

oaorgioo by encouraging * friend and co-member to become tho founder of

a SC. "Ho are ouch good frionda", aha aaya, "tho re la auch ft good

h (1)apirit among tho women, thoao double aeraberahip* aaod not interfere with

each othor. *0 can help e«oh other in our fund raiaing and functiona..“

Tho KCAW loaders aay* "Wa want to kill that competitive apirit* One

day 00 shall bo one anyhow, and under tho aoremment. And all united."

4 } Fragments from previous diaintegratod troupe, having belonged to coo

Association, try one of the othora. They have apliaterod off because

of personal jealousies or beoauee of thwarted exp ectatio n and audh group*

are floating all over the township*. Th*y search for a raft to oliag to

or a vessel to pick them up* and to giro them another chance. <*aen

dismissed for irregular behaviour, with their "followers", try to locat/Sa

another allegiance. Diaaatisfied women fom th#moolve* into another

"committee" and *ook affilifttion in one of the other CS organiaation*.

They appeal firat to one auper in tendon t who sends them hither, and then

to another superintendent who aeads them thither. «omon fr«® m m

try tho 3C'* (as has been shown abore), 3C deserter* try the HCAW, or

both try the QSfWA. Thu* there i* a continuoue ehifting and reshifting

between the throe aimilar organiaat ion*. Th* organiaatioao try to

"pinch" each ot<*re' me«aber*| to forstall the foundation of each othor**

now branches| to sabotage each other*a function*. The aame M M * keap

on appearing in othor organicational lietings .........

In truth, many of thsoo groupa of women remind one of "actor* in

search of a produoor".

5) A w»an *t|community*

she io generally financially 00 cure and of *om* *ducational * tending.

Often *h* do** not haw young children, ho juat "wants to do sonotaing

for hor own African people", and often the idea of organiaing a or*oho

haa occurred to hor bocauco she did not know of any othor way to bo of

aorrioe. Of / • • • • •

ln mt leM t one caao I know that tho SC Chairwoman, thoroughly(l) gradual, » « « « . di.Ulu.lon.4

withdrew from tho 3CAW, aaying* "Yea, they are **ia stupid, for there arw soms good uropean*. Look what I got again for my sowing oirols..." In another caao the newly forme SC refused tho offor of amalgamation (aooretly of course) with tho SCAW branch which was inatruaental in ita formation.

Of BUCh women tha re may be five or eix in the AFAW'a Service

Cossnittee, which is a good percentage over the fifteen past and

present Service Coomittee organiaationa with which I have become(l)

faoiliar. The temptation* are enormous.

*;»£ •'*?■ clKMn’ * • -

ifiS'Vy

3TA0g I I /

(1) I do not knoft t ■.« coronation Hospital '-orvice Co -aittee.

Theee consist ofI l) The sewing-circles|

2) The fund-raising functions |

3) The small social services* general feeding.

l) Tfee 'iewin,v:-clrcles.

Organised sewing groups are not as easy as they seem for Afrioan

women. They are essentially a European idea. uropean avsiatanoe

is necesssry. They are properly organised by th# JBAW| periodically

organised by the A| occasionally organised by the 8CAW of Pretoria

and an activity whioh the Johannesburg branches of the KGAW would

like to attempt.

Although sobs features apply to the other associations, the sswing-

oircles of the AM9 are described below, the principle being as follows*

women meet regularly^1 1 to sew ganasnts and other articles9 which

are sold to any buyer, with preference given te SC Bombers. Th* monies

from these sales are added to the SC funds. Th* materials are pro­

vided by the Association aad distributed to the sewing-circles. ' hose

donation*, consisting mainly of scraps, but sometime* whole pieces,

are derived from textile firms, and occasionally from purchases mad*

by the Association, thus th article* nan be sold sore cheaply than

article* purchased from shops.

Two needs are additionally served*

a) Th* wem*n learn to sew and to oak* useful garments, toa cloths, pillow-slips, etc. for their own uss§

b) The weesen are offered a chance to acquire these articles cheaply.

Both these nensde are urgent aad great.

An extension of this idea is that th* women should then gradually

begin to buy their own materials, Investing some of tkw proceed* of

the finished article* late new purchases. This 1s store generally done

with knitting wools, since donations of wool are difficult to obtain.

But as a whole this plan does not work, as Service Cooiclttees are

disinclined to buy asterials whioh they can get for nothing.

The / ....... . .

(1) Generally on Wednesdays, soaetises on Saturdays.

The Association tries to allot to each eewing-circl« a European

sswing-instructor to help the women troth tho material* with effect­

iveness and skill. It thia instructor la intelligent and under­

standing she oaa exercise a moderating and advisory influence over

the whole field of the SC*s activities, an instance which does occur

in sente fortunate oasss. Unfortunately, however, it is very difficult

to get the Hright kind of European"* Tha task is a true labour of

love, which needs patience, tact, regularity, and a means of transport­

ation. At the tiee of writing, nine SC*a have such equipped and qual­

ified instructors, and six havs not (two of the six committees are able

to function unaided). Another difficulty is that many European women

feel that they cannot go out alone into the locations but must go out

in pairs. There are eany temptations involved in the sewing activities*

When yards of calico and boxes full of scraps arrive at an SO, a

Chairwoman nay complain and insist that ths parcels bs opened in ths

prsssnoe of the full meeting "eo that we oan all ohsok up exactly what

there is"* But members, or the Chairwoman hsrsoli, or whoever aooepta

delivery, will instead quickly open ths boxss and rummage through the

contents in searoh of large pieces ao that nobody knows what was asnt*

This is ths origin of many inter-SC quarrels* hen there s ths diff­

icult question of fixing the prioes for the finished articles, a matt­

er determined by the first buyers, the sswers themselves*

In all these matters, a European instructress can be of real help

as an impartial judge, and as an abuse-preventing presence*

Naturally the seamstrssees who attend with regularity are few,

and the sswing-clrcls meraberehip is irregular and sometimes restricted

to only three or four womsn. Ths difficulty is often the lack or in­

sufficient number of sewing-machines* The Association sometimes

suppliss loans for their purchase* Ths greater difficulty is the lack

of time, of persistent effort ( African worsen are quiokly "tired" of

things) and, most of all, those many contingencies which complicate

ths lifs of the woaen in town.

To these diffleultiss must bs added the power-political squabblas

which invariably occur when the Chairwoman ie not the head of the sewing-

circle, a situation that often results in rivalry between the two

leaders*2) lho.fundr/ ........

(I) Often the semen themselves show great ingenuity, and taste, in working theee sometimes vary small bits of scraps into really delightful articles*

The fun/1 * fttfiC**0ni1*2j srs superb, they lore them and can do them well,

and they need no help from Europeans other than ornamental. Thoj are

excellent organieers, If allowed to organlee in their own fashion*

Social workers agree that "ths women are such better then ths men"*

They deal with organising activities with mere placidity than uropeans*

'"They never worry whether ths function will bs a success and they don't

get hectic", To ths onlooker it ssews aa if th* timing and planning

of a fundtion ia disorganised and insffioisnt, yst somehow ths funotiion

is successful, ihsther a function starts in time or not is unimportant,

•ne invitss one's guasts at 2*30 p*»* knowing that everyone will cobs

at 3*30 p.m* Ths function therefore starts at 4 p.m. Without nuch

experience the women organise and gensrally profit from such difficult

functions aa jumble sales and concert partisst sometimes thess proceeds

are astonishingly h ig h .^ An NCAW branch realised ths fantastic sum

of 1192 in one concert. Ths biggsst assets of « CS unit come from com­

bined jumble and nsw garment sales, which may be counted on to raise

between £20 and £30 nett. There is a natural tendency to rely on jumbls

rathsr than on sswn garmsnts and most luropean members of the A1AW and

the NCAW in Pretoria have now oxhaustsd their supply of jumble!

For their functions they liks to print beautiful invitation cards,

and they often manage to pay for their programs* by advertisements.

They also like to invito uropean frienda who give status ts thsir fun­

ctions* The women dress smartlyf thsir behaviour is sxeaplaryi thsir

manners gsnteslf their appreciation great) but should thsy not approve,

thsir disapproval is shown to the performers without restraint and is

received without rancour*

Unfortunately monies from such fund-raising functions often disappear.

Ibis happens in all organisations. fcly most flagrant case on record deals

with a concert given by an 5CAV in Pretoria at which "over £100" was

mads, with "not a penny" ever reaching the criohe. Loss of monies

occurs in lesser ways* vonsn sell tiokets and cannot make an aoeurats

accounting* Ons never knows whether the loss of money is from intent

or from financial inexperience. Most women, however, do not take suoh

things very ssriously, they laugh and shrug thsir shouldsrs* Borne women

use the disappearance of funds as a weapon to reinforce their hatreds

and jealousisa against a particular person*

However, the general opinion of social workers tends to ascribe

greater honesty to women than to men organisers* Often I have bssn

assured emphatically, "I would rather lend money to a woman than to a

3) The social/. . .

TlJ Of course ̂ they "nave,"in this case j msaories of tribal sntsrtainments as a reference and guide* Also "silvsr tsas" and "dinner-parties'* are much liks Stockfsls which give examples of such organisation throughout the townships.

i2v»ry CS unit is supposed to render eat all social sarvices in gen­

eral to th* ceessunity, aa wall as to aacsist in particular needy case*

such aa sudden family emergencies incurred through sickness or death}

straying or loat ohildrenj retarded or disabled ohildren| recipient*

of invalid or old-age pension* who hare ©scaped th* attention of the

relevant Waifare agencies, etc.. In actual fact, it ia generally only

the Chairwoman, or real leader of the CS unit who perform* these

function**

3u«h community work is valuabl*, a* th*** Chairwoman and CS

loaders often can perform service* which trained social workers cannot

because!

a) The trained social worker tend* tc he dogmatic and unr**ourc*ful. She is trained according to a set pattern and expects real lifeto correspond to the pattern taught. She cannot adapt her learned method* to comply with existing condition*,(2)

b) ah* ia often a n*wcom*r to a locality and an outsider to the life of the co ^unity, and for thia reason lacks the necessary back­ground knowledge about actual human relationships and material condition*.

c) She is often very young and lack* prestige in a society where maturity of age counts.

Hone* the co-operation between the trained social worker and th* lay worker could bo highly beneficial. But as far aa the CS typ* of or­ganisation is concerned, there is no co-o?*ration.

Complaints com* fro* both side* and it i* wise to *** both sides*

Th* C3 women do not know what a social worker ia. It is not gen­

erally known aa a "professioa" which needs training and qualifloat Iona

like thoee of teacher or nurse. The CiJ women have been urged to becceae

coawsunity-mindad, to feel and think of thaaelve* as social work*rs,

and to behave like social worker*, which many of the* are convinced

that they are. This haa often been told me with justifiable pride,

©specially when the woman is a teacher or ex—teacheri "Svery teacher

ia really a social worker”.

fhe result is that they are an everlasting Irritant to the social-

working profession. "They are a pain in the neck to work with", I am

told, "for us social worker* th*y are a general stumbling block".

"They interfere with our work. They undertake investigation* on their

own*. "They do not know their limitations", or, "They do not keep

professional secrets".

HA lot of it is politics. Th*y criticis* th* Municipality, the

Advisory Boards, the Government." "«y impression is that they are the

worst equivalent of the European well-meaning member* of Welfare in—

itteee. They know nothing. Th*y ask absurd question* and are difficult

about trained member* of my staff" , *tc. etc. ,...... . 1 .....................— — -......................... — - .- ..I--- -— A d d e d / .

(1) This doss not apply to the HCAW in Johannesburg, who do not render such s*rvic**.

(2) This some difficulty has often been expressed to ms in regard to the dietriot nurse. Health centres tell me they oust always first "de-rigidiae" them.

Added to this there arts the particular human rivalries and

jsalouaies that thrive mi this general ai«understanding between the

two groups* The aocial workers resent the over-eagerness, th# under­

standable inefficiency and inadequacy aa well a« the general statue

which the "voluntary social worker* has, and the latter resents ths

greater knowledge, the cookaure conceit of the aocial worker, as well

as the fact that she ia paid for a ^ob which the voluntary worker has

to do for nothing*

Taken by and large those "social services" are not big, and

generally a means of ehowing the whairwoman * a importance*

But the faot is, that voluntary workers everywhere swat be given the

right aeesure between appreciative pats-on-xhe-back and control and

correction* They cannot be cosaanoed* They need tactful handling to

keep their services within legitimate bounds, and yet not to curb their

enthusiasm*

The position is, however, considerably aggravated whan certain

Native Commissioners and Superintendents find their services a useful

foil to those of the professional social workers* ted this again

coincides with a growing tendency among those persons fce deal *aore

direotly with their chargee instead of acting through the different

and separate and often countermanding .-elfare agencies*

3) The Social services> feeding*

Thie is at the same time one of the meet heroic and truly admirable

efforte sf sea* of the iitf*s (of tue AiJAtf) and also a most persistent

and involved cause of trouble*

In Pimville and oraita, the poorest of tho localities, the 3C*s

conduct the African Children's Feeding Scheme <*otivltiee* 'hereas in

Pimvills the A2AX had already a little banci. of voluntary workers, in

Soroka there was the initial difficulty of getting the right people*

There 3C work and Feeding started at the same tin*. In Alexandra the

SC waa asked to assist in the feeding which was already being done in

three different centres by paid workers*

It must be ten wa that all the feeding done by the African Children's

Feeding scheme is run by voluntary uropean assistants aad paid

Afrioan woman* Ths latter work two hours daily for five days per week

and r»oeive 10/- per week plus milk aad peanut-buttered bread* ̂

It should/**••*

{l7 Ths AfrioanChildran'a FeadInTlcheae~feida altogether three centres in Alexandra, one in fcoroka, one in Pimvills, two in Hswclars, (now closed), one in tfophietown, and one is opened in Hiptown, in add­ition to eight sohools which do not get Coverament feeding*

(2) The Honorary Secretary tells ms that she is not eatisfisd with pay­ing Afrioan womsn who should, in her opinion, render this service to their own children's welfare voluntarily* She has, however, not been sbls to secure thie voluntary effort*

It ahould be pat on record, that there wore women who were willing

to do tho came Job for nothing* Thia ia a minor hut vary real tri­

in ph for the SG-womon, and for the apirit whioh the European Chairman

euooeeda at times in instilling. Swan the moat selfless European

would object to work for nothing in an occupational poeition equivalent

to that of a paid worker* Both the Feeding team leaden are known to

mo* loth are women who hare the greateat difficulty in making end#

meet, and are admirable persona, each in hor own way*

After stating thia, it must be said that "they wont into it not

knowing what, and expecting payment", according to one of the Shair­

women * And then, "of course, it was a muddle"* when the women finally

grasped that it was all going to bo done for nothing, many of them

"atarted to fall away", and those who remained, in another centre,

"didn't atand any remarks from the (T'uropean) supervisor * i

In Alexandra the mistake was made to try and make SC members work

voluntarily side by sids with a paid worker* Tho paid worker considered

this unfair eomoetition, and the SCnsember considered that she aluo

should be paid*

Europeans often expect things from Africans which they themselves

would find difficult to do*

Another complaint about unfair competition came from the traders*

It was true, sometimes "some women got lazy and sold to any one who

came for milk, in order to get rid of it quickly"* Other women poured

out too such milk* There were eompl&ints that monies some times dis­

appeared and accounts and oaloulationo did not always ( or rather soIdea)

check* Sometimes, however, the bread and milk oame very late, and the

women could not get ready in time to ge to their Manyanoa and &ooieties*

Sometiraee the European helpers did not come to collect the monies whioh

then would hare to be kept over, sometimss over tho weekend, and that

was "a fearful responsibility *

Then there are the usual rivalries between the Feeding-leader and

the Chairwoman* "he Chairwoman saysi "Thsy glvs themselves airs, thoss

feeding women, they think they are tho only oneo doing things for

nothing", and ths feeding-leader aaysi "Thoss horrible SC-womenl" And

"Mother Binswsnger” goes around among tho Emely'o and Bother's and

A leta 'a^ scolding and praiaing, pacifying and explaining and encourag­

ing and ao, in apite of all the peat trouble and ill the inevitable

"pinching" whioh naturally goes on, two SC'o run feeding schemes with

each/*•*••

(1) ^his very energetic laiy rather "bustled" them, so they boycotted her*

(2) Thoss women are suddenly oalled by their Christian names*

each having four teams of four helpers rotating each seek for a month*

Where the Afrioan Children's Feeding Scheme did not succeed in getting

the womsn to do thle voluntarily, the AEAV did*

Thess Aletas adn roslys end whatever they are called are in foot the

true heroes of the SC's* Thsy do not reach the height* They do not

become Chairwomen and Offlce-bearera* They hardly ever come to the

Barragh Hall meetings» which are too smart for than* thsy are not prom­

inent* They are the full-bosomed type, wearing aprons with doeks tightly

framing their strong-boned faces* The. are, in my opinion, the type of

women who afford whatever little there ia of security and stability x in

urban Afrioan society*

the AEAW in temporary premises* That those 4U not comply with the regul­

ations as laid down by the Health Inspector is understood and realised,

but they satisfy an urgent need, and emergency—times require emergency-

measurea*

The ASAW does not encourage these haphasard criches, but "the

women want to see something for their money", snd if they do not see

something soon they "sit down”| they feel discouraged and auspicious)

and they ask "Where are the monies going to?”.

And than the real problems begin, vhese are the same in all C3

units that are running crSches or schools in temporary promisee.

First there may be a reshuffling of members, oms old members dis­

cover that the temporary crfiche la too far for them to bring their

children before going to work ia the morning, so they drop out disapp­

ointed. Neighbours of the temporary orfche suddenly discover its exist­

ence and want to bring their babies. But members* children have pre­

ference. The non-members then want to become ms; hers, whioh causes

trouble with the older members who feel they have worked hard and

"cultivated the job" and that the new ones profit in the seme way by

merely paying 2/6*

Then, these temporary premises are not so sasy to find in the con­

gestion of t e housing situation in Johannesburg, and often changes

H ) They' are Orlando ant, Orlando White City* Orlando Shelters, Sr.2 and. 3, oroka and Piaville (whioh also runs a Primary School), vttMMBttntiog a total of some 400 ohildren. The Hoodepoort School

garten has bsen taken over by the City Counoil, and is gponaibillty of ths A&AV*

S T A G S 111.

TOE WVPORAHT CBSCHB*

At ths time of writing, six crSchss^1 ' are run undsr the aegis of

have/,

have to be aad* after a ceuple of months* Sometime* an elderly couple

is willing to let part ef their house to the women| sometimes a stand-

owner will allow the crtche to he started on his plot, or ia an out­

building for whioh he has no immediate use* In another ease a well-

situated woman donated her husband's garage* Sometimes a CS unit cam­

ber who has herself several children offers her house ss a temporary

convenience* Aa existing Coo .unity Centre may offer one of its rooms,

or the women may receive permission to use a Community Hall with the

consent of the Advisory Board, or they may obtain the use ef a hall

belonging to a iiinsion Church*

Sometimes, remarkable frata of real eommnity-help are performed*

Sometimes hte husband may not like it, but often he does, shrewdly see­

ing in this the setting up of sn obligation, a future job-poesibility

for his wife* Sometimes a school or cr$ohs will just start in the

open veldt*

Moat of the crSches and schools start with a dumber of children

f_a?--ln fgooes of oven ths wildest and mildest estimates. It is diffi­

cult to refuse admission when the need is so great* In the newly formed

Elisabethvill* SC, 33 children are already waiting for the crtche* (tee

erfoh* had, at the time of my visit, 80 children and 41 other* on the

waiting list* Another had, in the open veldt, 79 children* Another,

run in a CoKssunal Hall which had to be evacuated whenever the Ball was

needed for its original pnrpoees, had 165 children (with one teacher)

in it* nura*ry school, and 1J0 children (with one teacher) in its prim­

ary sohaol* ' toother school had, at the time of my visit, 172 children

and two teachers* It had "two lavatories and one bucket*** two more

lavatories have sine* been added*( 2 )

The provision of medical car* "would b* too *xp»nsiveN*v

There are naturally certain inherent danger* in thee* mak*-«hift

d*y-nur*erles*

1) "Emergency measures" in Johannesburg tend to last a long time*

2) These me aa urea are not conducive to educating the women towards high standards in hygiene and efficiency*

3) The temporary crSches ars widely imitated, a* haa b*en shown already* Anything becomes aliened and condoned,"as long as she can say»*It is pending*** (that is, the permanent crlohe sad the registration)*

Therefore/*****

|l) For comparison! A Chili Welfare crfiohe I viajted“17^ l?Tl!Ta.te:T) with average attendance of 100, with a staff of ?, housed in two buildings* one of five and one of four rooms (pins *ach a coalrcom)* Th* Amajelli crSche has a fixed number of 55 children and a staff of 3*

(2) According to the Chairman, reported in th* "Bantu World", 10th Anril 1954*

Therefore, the ABA1 urges the women to redouble their efforts to­

wards a permanent Gliding. (in the SC AW in Pretoria, the SC unite are

not supposed to build their own permanent crSchea, and the temporary

crfiches which 1 saw there were not so over-crowded and were better in

every respect.) This ia, however not ao easy. Some woaen may be ^uite

satisfied. Their children are in a crSche, and they are free to go to

work again. By the time the permanent orlohe ie built their children

are over the nursery stage .....

Psychologically, after the temporary crUcho has been provided, an

anti-climax occurs. Only the few old stalwarts, and some disinterested

women continue their work.

Hie building fund aocumulatea more slowly, beoiuae son© of the

monies must be used to supplement the temporary cr$ehe*s running

expenses.

Por no temporary crSche (that is, no crSche under European super­

vision as in the ASAW), however duke—shift and provisional, seems to bs

able to run on the fees. In ths KCAW 03 unite, where the European

connection ia looser, they do manage.

The inexplicable faot remains that the only two day-nuraeriee which

are run independently, i.e . Orlando Shelters 2 and 3 (poor localities

both) do run themselves, and thsse SC’s are th* only ones which can put

all their monies into the building fund.

One of the reaeons for this is that these entirely African-run

sfforts have no trouble about the school—foes, whereas all the other

nurseries have great difficulty in collecting thsir fees. Granted that

msny mothers hare a strug le to produce thsse amounts, which ars small,

there is a fssling of *fhy should we pay? Government schools are fres,

why should not the 30 school be free? or ths SC orSohe?"

It is a ssd faot that "when there ia a white in it ", African women

expect to get everything for nothing. The mere presence of a European or

the visit of a European raises demsnds and decreases effort. Yet,

Europeans maintain, probably rightly, thwt without their continuous push­

ing and urging nothing over gets done.

It is a vicious c iro ls.....

But with the establishment of the temporary day—nursery graver

problems a.pear. Th* qualified or sesd-qualified teacher, ths «cok,

the school Committee, the "matron", eto. in the form of the "paid jobs"

sad the "external influences" whioh eater the rather closed inner cirols

where the Chairwoman haa formerly reigned supreme.

The "paid jobs*1 are at the same tin* the bogey aad th* "raison

d* It re” of tho 3C unit* Here th* leader* have their chance of employing

a daughter or nieo* or other relative and thia haa at l*aat on* advantage

By virtue of blood-relationahip or obligation, the new-coaer will be

submissive and easy to handle. Put many a CS unit haa to draw in "out­

siders* for the** jobs, and these young parsons feel they know the job.

They are "qualified", and the Chairwoman aneersi "She is not wven a

SC member!"

The staff complain that SHE (whioh la always the Chairwoman) inter-

far** and boaaea everyone around and "doe* nothing herself"| that they

could have boon paid properly if monies did not always mysteriously

disappear "after those SC women have been here”f that the eohool-fee*

could be collected if the Chairwoman would leave the natter to the®)

that the Chairwoman keeps on delaying the formation and functioning of

the School Comaittee whioh only oan he rolled on to run tho Institution

properly.

All these reasons ;or complaint may w*ll be founded in fact. The for­

mation of a School Committee is often delayed by t&nti** in whioh African

women are past masters) some Chairwomen conceive of leadership in a rather

dictatorial way) soma Chairwoman bully th* teacher* into th* job with sub­

normal salaries and unfulfilled promisee) and th* teachers know that they

will be thrown out at the Chairwoman** pleasure) sometimes funds and fees

di*a»p*ar.

In all the cases of temporary orftohes of all the CS unite known to m*

•on* of these problems occur. Th« same or similar pattern* repeat then*

selves. And generally the woman put in "char®*” as "matron" thinks her-

— t i » . in * « * f lt h , to to ., th. .toU- . .t o .

profit for herself. S one times this i* the Chairwoman. Setaetia**,

th* "teaohers" try to make up for the insufficient salaries paid.

Many SC Unit members, overlooked when the jobs were handed out,

complaint

"Teu see - that** the disadvantage of the SC**. K* old ones do all the work and then the young qualified one* tak* over."

opl "Aftar we have cultivated the job, wa still get nothing."

ors "There is this disadvantage with us. In sea* cases we take allthe trouble of trying to do the cultivation of the so-called "self- help". Then when all is ripe, th« qualified must take posaessien and everything and the unqualified are nowhere.”

Thi®/#••♦•*

(l) This is often told one aa "a little misunderstanding" we had.

Thia ia one of the worst and alia oat unaurmountabl* problems of tha

Community Service work* It ia the cause of most of the aeoeaaionsf and

the more women are beginning to discover thia, the leea eager/fill1 be

to pat themselves under the aegia of a uropean association*

For it la the "guropeaas who always bring in the qualified people"•

The women find that they can neither be voluntary “matrone", nor can

they collect sohool-fee*, although they are "the owners of the work",

neither can they be employed beoause of the inexplicable and inhuman

obaession of Europeans for qualified people*

"So you see, aha thought it had been a disadvantage for her to join the Association* She a aid to met 'If she had known, die would not have joined'* After all aha found herself the loser***"

For the moment thia ia not yet generally known and in new townships

there are still woman who tore full of hope, and even if they are aware

of the drawback*, they are atill optimistic*

But tho** who hav* become wise to thia characteristic inherent in all

European organisational behaviour are now trying to find other sponsors

who might not insist on "doing m* out of a job 1 hav* worked for to got"*

"And they say* 'Let those qualified peopl* put up their own crflhss if they want th* jobs******"

5 T A q £ I V*

the p^nmeur CRtca

The laat lap of the journey cannot be completed without considerable

European donations and Municipal grants* Ths £200 now required by the

ASA* to be raised by th* SC*s own sffort* 1* about the maximum which the

ASAf thinks possible for them to obtain by their own efforts* Tbs cost

of the simplest building ie estimated at some i.'yQQ or $6 00 ,

Amajelli, th* on* proper permanent and registered erdche put up to

date by the A23AJP, cam* about through sheer luck* (It was formerly th*

offioe of a firm of con tractors, who, having finished building in Jabavu,

donated it to the Association, together with the plot on which it stood)*

Amajelli demonstrates some of the patterns to be expected when ths

other permanent crfichsa are erected* Firstly there wore the east* problems

experienced as were* mentioned und*r th* temporary crlche*^1^ ^

\i) This woaan now runs her own "school" in hsr homo, tells everybody that if you want a orftohe you must keep away from Europeans, and haa formed with seme other woman a new '’earnedttee” soaking another alleg­iance* Her daughter became pregnant, while at college studying to become a teacher, and tha opinion la that "ahe started something for her daughter really”*

Collection Number: AD1715

SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF RACE RELATIONS (SAIRR), 1892-1974

PUBLISHER: Collection Funder:- Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation

Publisher:- Historical Papers Research Archive

Location:- Johannesburg

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