INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

etween colleges and universities. Universities in South Africa are mostly state operated
and offer the highest level of education. The University of Witswatersand was the only
institution of this sort in Johannesburg and the main obstacle for children of a
disadvantaged background was financial, although their lack of academic discipline also
made it improbable for many. Although the center made academics a priority, Pastor
Mike admitted that few students likely posessed the aptitude to merit placement in one of
these four year institutions.
Private colleges in South Africa are generally considered less academically
rigorous. From a financial vantage point, however, they are more costly to attend. Many
specialize in certain types of careers such as internet technology or tourism and
hospitality. The latter industry was one numerous children at 5Cees showed interest in.
None of the children who had grown up at 5Cees had gained acceptance into university.
A select few did have success at private colleges, however, and this was enough to
provide them stable enough careers to live independently.
Bongi Portia was an excellent example of someone who had grown up in 5Cees and
had made the transition to adulthood successfully enough to live independently. She lived
at 5Cees until she turned 23, an uncommonly older age for someone to stay at the center,
but it was allowed as long as she was in college. Before she finished, however, she had
moved in with a family from Bryanston Bible Church. The same church offered her a
scholarship which enabled her to finish schooling. I asked her how much it cost, to which
she answered R30,000 per year. With her education in hospitality and tourism she was
able to find a job at a travel agency that allowed her to live independently. The
relationship Bongi maintained with the center and its children continued to be an
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