Marginalized Knowledge: An Agenda for Indigenous Knowledge Development and Integration with Other Forms of Knowledge

Motivation for the Study

The researcher worked as a field social worker for the Department of Social Welfare and Population Department in Ongoye and Inkanyezi Social Welfare Offices. In the course of her work she became concerned about the prevalence of children who left their homes and preferred to live their lives on the streets. When the researcher was pursuing her studies in the United States of America this phenomenon was also noticed. This proved that the problem is experienced globally and is in urgent need of attention. In South Africa many of these children are apprehended by authorities such as social workers, traditional leaders, and or police and taken to the Places of Safety, temporary refuge, while their circumstances were being investigated by social workers. Sometimes the worth and dignity of street children are are not respected. For example on May 17 2004 in Durban Metro, street children were collected, transported and dumped outside the city. This was deliberately done in order to ‘clean’ the city as part of the preparations for the arrival of Indaba (The Mecury, 18/05/2004,p4). When asked about their desertion from shelters they cited what they referred to as a boring life at the institutions. Others accused the care workers of bullying them. Shelters have a duty to educate and instruct the children, thus enabling them to become hard-working dutiful and socially adjusted individuals without the use of abusive punishment to them (Steven & Cloete, 1996). It would appear that the rehabilitation measures under which the institutionalised street children are treated do not encourage them to effect any changes in their behaviour and their perceptions of street life. This is therefore begs the question as to what needs to be done differently, or more appropriately or professionally. It is an issue that needs a thorough research investigation. The comments from these escapees influenced the researcher to desirer to look at the programmes operating in these shelters in order to evaluate their efficacious nature in dealing with this problem. If inadequate, the question is what needs to be done to enhance their operation and achieve the desired results.

The final motivation for undertaking this study was propelled by the fact that Netherlands countries such as Zimbabwe, Angola and Sudan where similar problems exist, devised a number of programmes meant to reunite these children with their families. Notable in South Africa there are thus far no existing programmes developed to eradicate the phenomenon street children.