INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

professional pilot who would volunteer at the center,” explained Bongi. “Ever since
meeting him, all the boys, they want to be pilots. The same thing happened a few years
later when a professional chef came to visit.”
Other answers I heard repeated were loftier goals, those of being a soccer player, a
lawyer, or a doctor. None of these ambitions were exactly outside the realm of
possibility, but they were rather improbable. Pastor Mike noted that many of the children
did not have realistic expectations for things that they could do when they grew up. This
comment was initially surprising, but I then reconsidered how much of an emphasis was
placed on empowering children in Western societies. For children growing up in an
institutionalized environment, the idea of “becoming anything you set your mind to” is
absent. “Many of our children do not simply have the aptitude for it,” admitted Pastor
Mike. “I know why that would be a very difficult thing to accept. One of our boys who
recently left has his heart set on being a pilot, but his math skills are too low. It’s hard for
him to accept that. I would love for him to prove everybody wrong and accomplish his
dream, but it doesn’t help the children to provide them with unattainable expectations.”
Early in high school, the children take a psychosomatic evaluation. This test
examines their skills and interests to determine what career paths might be the most ideal.
Many of the children were dissatisfied with the results and continued to hope for their
desired livelihoods. There was an apparent disconnect between what children insisted
their future could look like, and more probable outcomes.
The aging out process is riddled with questions. As young men like Buzwe and
Lindikhaya move from their teenage years into adulthood, the center must determine how
to best situate them for their years beyond the center. One of the biggest questions is
137