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"Sometimes the people tell me my mother should go to work and that I should go to school," said Candice Petersen. These and other comments saddened Candice, who until recently acted as her family's primary breadwinner by begging for money in Cape Town's city center (now she has re-enrolled in school).
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On a productive day, Candice and her sister could earn R20 - R30 (rand), mainly from tourists. Most tourists ignored Candice and the other children asking for money. However, others, like Phil Starks of England, felt there was nothing wrong with handing out some of his spare change. Donating to Candice was a spontaneous gesture for him one afternoon in Cape Town.
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"She just popped out of the middle of nowhere," Starks said. "At least she was honest. I had some money in my hand, and it just seemed to do no harm to put it into her container . . . . Generally I don't give money to anyone begging on the street, but occasionally, I do. I look at someone and say, 'Well, Christ, I have a pocket full of money here and they've got nothing.'"
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It is difficult to determine the "right" action in these situations. Handouts may help the families of children in Candice's situation in the short term, but they could limit long-term progress for children in these situations, by reducing parents' incentive to send them to school, according to STREETS worker Leonie Richards.
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In any case, no random handout will reverse the grave problems residents face in Kalksteen Fontaine, the Cape Town township where Candice currently lives. Violence is commonplace in Kalksteen Fontaine, causing many residents to live in fear.
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