It’s a big problem, if the child has no family, no nothing, it is better to give them to the government

Two models of illness:

• Two models of illness:

• The social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists interpret the abandoning mother’s suffering as depression and a mental breakdown caused by the anger, rejection and abandonment by their family.
• Community members, the police, public hospital nurses and social workers, and sangomas, however, interpreted the suffering as being caused by their ancestors, who believed the adopted children displaced

• Psychiatrists and psychologists advocate solving the problem through the treatment and medication of the individual patient.

• Sangomas believe that the solution lies in healing the collective family.

• Approximately 200 000 traditional healers practicing in South Africa in 1995, compared to only 25 000 ‘modern doctors’ (Truter 2007:56).
• All research subjects had some knowledge of indigenous ancestral beliefs and most had engaged in rituals that concern themselves, or their families, and their ancestors.