As the Government increases the amount it pays for Foster Care Grants in a bid to alleviate poverty, We have noticed an increase in cases of family disputes over the custody of children. Over the last three months the Social Service Team has dealt with more than five cases of family members fighting over the custody of orphaned children. In most cases fights for custody are to secure Foster Care Grants for personal gain while and very seldom are the best interests of the children taken into account.

In one case, when the child’s mother passed away, the maternal family agreed that the child should live with her paternal family. As the father was working, the paternal grandmother took over. She made sure that the child was taken care of. The maternal family did not visit the child at all in the nine months following the death of the mother. The child’s father then passed away and the maternal Aunt and Uncle then decided to take the child away from the paternal grandmother and insisted that they be given all the documents required to apply for  a  foster care grant. They claimed that the child belong to them as the child’s father did not pay damages to the family for the child. In our investigation we found that the maternal Aunt is not working and struggling to take care of her own children.  Our assessment was that the child would receive better care from its paternal grandmother and have recommended to the courts that that the child be formally fostered by the paternal Grandmother.  
   

Our main goal is to make sure that the child does not suffer as a result of the family dispute. In many cases people use tradition to insist on their right to take  a  child  without due consideration for the best interests of the child. We cannot ignore the values and norms of the communities that we work with but at the same time this needs to be balanced with what is best for the child. Cases like these are not easy to deal with or resolve, especially in cases where the parties concerned have influence over or manipulate the child.  

Widespread poverty means that there is often competition over very limited resources. The Child Support and Foster Care Grants are often seen as a general resource for a family and families often make decisions about the placement of children based on economic need (and sometimes greed) rather than what is in the best interest of the child. This complicates the work of our welfare staff and is why Thandanani places such emphasis on the monitoring of the use of these grants by our community volunteers who help identify cases of misuse.