INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

away in the earlier part of the year, having reached adulthood and feeling the need to
assert their own independence. A month prior to my visit, Lindikhaya was also told he
would be moving out. This coincided with the only other boy older than Buzwe being
expelled for behavioral reasons, rendering Buzwe with his seniority. Much of the recent
turnover seemed to demystify the process for him, which would partially account for his
nonchalant attitude towards his transition.
A South African is legally considered an adult at the age of eighteen, however, this
number seems to serve as an arbitrary marker more than anything substantive. For many
children who had grown up at the center, their eighteenth birthdays came at a time while
they were still in the process of completing an education or continuing personal
adjustments and they were allowed to stay on afterwards. Eighteenth birthdays did have a
heavy impact on what was required of the center’s administration from the legal
standpoint. “The South African government would refuse to provide me with any money
or support for children over eighteen,” Pastor Mike explained. “They want children who
are grown up to be out and on their own. The reality is that most of the children I've
known still have a ways to go before they can be independent. Take Buzwe, for example.
I’ve had to really make my case for him staying at the center even while he’s been a little
bit older.” I found out that this disagreement over how long to continue to provide
support was yet another reason Pastor Mike thought it was better for 5Cees to forgo
financial support from the government. I already knew he did not pursue the opportunity
in order to keep a partial guardianship of the children with their families and so the center
could remain a religiously-based operation.
This conversation was how I learned Buzwe’s true age– nineteen, quite old for him
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