“I just want to go back to South Africa. I miss it so much.”

Following an unexpected Home Affairs decision to revoke both their visas, the girls were flown to Maputo to face a now distant family, unfamiliar customs, and an uncertain future. Their story is not unusual. Many older youth leaving care centres experience similar problems.

In 2004, the young sisters were brought to the Western Cape from their small village near Xai-Xai in Mozambique by their parents in search of “a better life.” The family moved around a lot as they struggled to find stable work and adjust to life in their new community near Gugulethu. With the help of a concerned neighbour, the girls were removed from their parents’ care in 2007 after seeking safety from their physically and sexually abusive father.

The Department of Social Development (in partnership with UNICEF) recently revealed that only 14% of youth admitted to care centres in South Africa were placed in alternative care after becoming orphans, while over 59% were admitted because of cases of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

“My mom had no say in things. He did the same to her,” recalls a now 18-year old Martine* who sighs before adding she did “her best” to protect her mother and younger sister Sonia* (names changed to protect their identity), now 15 years old.

Martine explains that when she first entered care, she felt relieved to “stop the drama,” but also “cried a lot.” Both sisters were also forced to re-start their formal education in South Africa as their mother kept no official records, IDs, or birth certificates for them. The girls were eventually placed together in a Cape Town care centre, but connections and communication with their mother grew distant after her return to the Mozambican village without her daughters.

Since then, they have been raised in one of the country’s 345 registered care centres, developing local language skills, academic distinctions, a love for spicy chicken livers, and a strong sense of community. They also received therapy to help them “deal with their past,” says Martine.

Despite their shaky start, both the care centre and South Africa “felt like home” says Sonia, whose connections with her family since leaving Mozambique had been occasional at best. Now, trying to find “a home” with her sister among unfamiliar faces and customs back in Mozambique, she say, “I don’t really know my mommy and my mommy doesn’t really know me. We can talk a little in Xhosa that she remembers from living in South Africa, but we aren’t close and I don’t care at all about my daddy. I just want to go back to South Africa. I miss it so much.” She also adamantly refuses to adapt to traditional dress in the village and leaps at the chance to watch English or Afrikaans series or wherever she can find them.

According to the Children’s Act, the majority of youth are to be “disengaged” from the care centres at or near age 18 when they legally become “adults” and are no longer eligible to continue receiving grants.

“Don’t you see? We are still just children! I, clearly, am a child!”, says Sonia while giggling in response to Martine telling her she needs to grow up.

The latest surveys show there are approximately 13,250 of these children living in registered care centres in South Africa. This number, nevertheless, fails to reflect the situation they will face as they “age out” from these institutions, a currently unknown number failing to be adopted and usually leaving court-monitored care at or around 18. A small number are granted exceptions to remain in care until 21 if they are enrolled in school or if the care centre allows it, but only if their visa approval remains. This was an additional obstacle that neither their previous care centre, nor Martine and her sister anticipated.

“I try to have faith and pray … but sometimes, it’s very hard. I miss [the care centre] and South Africa every single day,” Martine says near a busy road just outside of Macia, as her lip begins to shake.

Less than two weeks ago, the girls moved in with an aunt in a small room in Maputo. This is one of five homes they have stayed at since leaving Cape Town. Martine explains how she is exhausted constantly trying to adapt to life in Mozambique under pressures from her family and, at the same time, attempting to plan what future options exist for her and her younger sister beyond these borders.

Research conducted with the organisation Mamelani shows that there are many similar stories of children who have to leave their care centres in South Africa. Their lives are often difficult. They are often lonely and sometimes homeless. Many have failed their education and have poor family connections. Mamelani, hopes that by telling these stories, they can help improve policies as well as organisations hoping to assist youth leaving care centres. For Martine and Sonia, however, the potential for future policy changes does little to improve their current situation.

Mamelani’s founding director, Carly Tanur explains, “Although it is mentioned in the legislation, transitional support programmes are still developing in South Africa where there is not adequate support for these youth. They are, as other international studies have shown, one of the most vulnerable groups in society, and without intervention, they risk becoming the same type of adults and parents that they were once removed from. We have to break this cycle and ensure youth leaving care have the same opportunities to reach their goals as all other young adults.”

Despite the serious obstacles in their situation, however, Martine remains steadfast in her faith that “God will take care of them,” and often listens to Christian music to lift her spirits about the future.

For these sisters, their transition out of the institutionalised care system in South Africa isn’t much different from how they had entered it - full of fears, instability, uncertainty, and tears.

Purtell is a researcher with the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Social Science Research.