Research 

With their lives shaped by poverty, crime and disease, many South African families are unable to provide their children with the means to enjoy a secure existence. The government offers support through a variety of social welfare measures and services aimed at alleviating this situation. Some of these services are delivered by Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs). South Africa’s pluralist approach to development and welfare services places high demands on coordination and cooperation among the various actors involved. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with eight NPOs in two Cape Town townships, this thesis discusses the support that NPOs which provide after-school care for vulnerable children receive, or feel that they should receive from the Department of Social Development (DSD). It also looks at whether these NPOs communicate, cooperate and compete with each other in the delivery of their programmes. The thesis concludes that after-school care in the selected townships is not adequately synchronised and that NPOs expect the DSD to take leadership. It recommends that NPOs should find ways of becoming less reliant on government support, and that both the DSD and NPOs should expand their efforts to ensure efficient coordination of after-school care. 

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Cape Town, 2013