Mandela's Children

The purpose of Birth-to-Ten (BTT) was to gather systematic observations on the physical growth and developmental status of urban children over time. Earlier work has been done on rural children (e.g. Goduka, Ivy, Pole and Aotaki-Phenice, 1992). However little systematic work has been done in urban areas. Consequently, BTT was designed as a longitudinal birth cohort study of Mandela's children. The Johannesburg-Soweto metropolitan area in Gauteng province was selected as the site of the study. BTT would attempt to answer questions about the life prospects and developmental outcomes of children whose lives were unfolding in a period of great stress and social change.