Nannies in South Africa

What stories from around the world are we not hearing about on the TV or in the news? Correspondent Elles van Gelder writes about the nanny phenomenon in South Africa, and how inequality is still very apparent there.

Zimbabwean housekeeper and nanny Nancy Simbi knows of many bad stories. Such as domestic workers who have their own cutlery, plate and cup because they are not allowed to use the employer’s tableware. She herself once had a boss who would get angry because she combed her hair in his house. She quit.

Nancy now works for the Du Toit family in Noordhoek, a seaside town close to Cape Town. When she came to the family ten years ago, she had just become a mother herself and was breastfeeding. The Du Toits were okay with her bringing her daughter to work and also showed an interest in Nancy’s life. “My parents and certainly grandparents would not have been likely to do that,” says Diane du Toit. “They viewed their maids very differently. There was no mutual respect. But fortunately things are changing. Do you know the saying that you need a village to raise a child? I have two part-time assistants, Nancy and Klara; they are my village.”