The Bornfrees at Ten

When we first met the Bornfrees in 2004 they were ten years old and living in all different kinds of circumstances, sharing only the commonality of being born into freedom. They were selected after a lengthy casting process where over 400 ten year olds were interviewed, to represent the 677 000 children who were born in 1994. As we embark on the third season of Bornfrees and look into their lives as they turn 18 years old. let's look back at their lives at the age of ten:

Thabisa Nkani - KwaZulu Natal

Thabisa stays with her mother and helper in a beautiful new surburb. She is a performer, extremely confident, talkative, and very well informed and an actress in the making.  She is just herself and comfortable with whom she is.

She is a very busy child and she loves it. She is also doing very well at school and is a born leader.  When you hear her speak you would be sure that English is her mother tongue, but she is Zulu.  Her mother still gets surprised by the way she takes initiative at her age. If she decides to do something she gets fully committed to it. Her mother, who is a single parent, is very proud of her. She mentions that Thabisa’s energy is contagious. If she had a bad day at work, she knows that once she gets home to Thabisa her world will change as Thabisa will in a counselling manner talk her out of it.

Sasha-Lee Subramoney

The neighbourhood was entirely different to the others, with every door decorated with a wreath in a different colour. Sasha Lee’s home is a small double story house, with a very small granny flat where Sasha Lee’s mother and father stays with Sasha Lee’s living inside the house with her grandparents. She is a very friendly and talkative child. She talks about books and stories she has read.

She is a very protected child. Her parents speak of the difficult times they have experienced with her kidney problem since she was a baby. She has had to stay indoors most of time. This is why she has now become such a bookworm, she confesses. She is an intelligent and a well-informed child. In all the exams she has written all she expects in first position and that’s what she gets.  She is passionate about her studies and her parents are very proud. Her bedroom wall is decorated with all the certificates she has been awarded at school. Her favourite thing to do is reading. She is very confident and is comfortable in front of the camera. It is no surprise that she has decided that one day she will read e-news for a living. She has an opinion and an answer for every question asked.

Keagan de Beer - Western Cape

When meeting Keegan, the first thought was of his star potential. He’s a total charmer, quick to laugh and smile and eager to chat. The house was neat with everything in its place. This was a warm family. You could see that sitting around the table with good food is one of the core values of this home. The overall impression was that this was a warm, loving, friendly family and community.

Aminah Raciet - Western Cape

Having been following the directions to the house, before the crew even spotted the house number they saw Aminah’s dad in the wheel chair in front of the house. The dad told them how excited he was for Aminah and what an intelligent girl she is and that she always holds position 1 in her class. One of the things that make  Aminah special is her love and care for her dad.  By choice she has taken full responsibility for emptying her father’s urine bag and bathes her father whenever she can. Aminah’s hobbies are shopping and playing games at N1 city mall. From conversations with Aminah’s father, what holds this family together is their Islamic religion and prayer.  The fact that he is alive is a miracle as he stayed in hospital for 3 years and was not expected to survive.

Likhaya Poni - Western Cape

Likhaya is one of those kids that seem to be shy in front of adults and yet are very popular and admired by other kids because of their special leadership qualities.  Children in his community know each other very well. They all play together unlike children living in the suburbs. It was very interesting to see that children of ages between 8 –12 are looking after their brothers or sisters in this community while parents are at work. While they play they also assist each other in keeping an eye on their brothers or sisters.

The fact that the family lives in a small house could also be the reason that LIkhaya spends most of his time on the field, playing. His mother also stated that, immediately after school, Likhaya’s routine is to get home, find something to eat and then he’s off to the field – everyday. In order to assist Likhaya’s father who works for a Steel factory, Likhaya’s mother spends time during the day sewing. It’s one of Likhaya’s favourite things – to do deliveries and collecting payments in the community but he also complains that people don’t pay. Likhaya’s greatest desire is to move from Nyanga to a school in the suburbs, a white school,  so that he can learn to speak good English.

Tursia Fisher - Western Cape

Tursia lives in very poor circumstances in the heart of Mannenberg – gangster city. Her home is situated in the ‘quiet’ part of the neighbourhood. Tursia is a quiet spoken girl who took quite a while to warm up to the camera. Her mother has brought her up with sound values and Tursia has a strong bond with her mom - what makes her the saddest is when her mom is angry with her. She likes to please, working hard around the house, yet has an inner strength that comes across on camera. Tursia feels strongly about Aids. She is quite religious which comes across in her statements, politically she is well-informed and her dream is to go on holiday to Durban.

Khumbula Ngcobo - Gauteng

This is a very confident, outgoing young man. As a 10 year old, with brothers and sisters all in university, it is no surprise he seems older than his years.  His brother and 2 sisters seem to adore him and he definitely uses them as his lift clubs -to pick up or to go see his friends. Khumbula can be described as a sociable, go-getter who will achieve in life.

Aletta Beukes - Gauteng

Aletta is an affectionate girl dressed in old clothes. Her parents live in a dilapidated shack with 15 people living with Aletta on the property, including a black family living in a shack at the back of the house – they are squatters. Aletta, along with her older and younger brother and mom and Dad,  live in the one room of the shack.
 

She is an impressive actress and sang various songs and performed extracts from her school play to camera with her best friend Eva, the black girl who lives in the shack at the back of her house. Aletta is an incredible example of the new SA, she has no notion of racism or the history thereof, yet lives a life free of racial prejudice due to the circumstances she lives in, living side by side with a black family.

Thandeka Mbokazi - Kwa-Zulu Natal

Thandeka lives in rural Kwazulu-Natal with her step-mom, dad and brother in a new flat that her father has just built. Her step-mother stays at home while her father works in the military as a soldier for the South African Defence Force. She is a reserved child and loves dancing and reading. These were the times a smile could be seen on her face.