Even though I was a very scared 13 year old, who had never traveled away from home, I agreed. I got in the car with a young boy my age, and we drove to their house on the poorer side of town, where I experienced the most amazing night with this single parent family. They lived a completely different life to me in so many ways. Those 24 hours were life changing, posing many questions; How come some children had to take so much responsibility for their parents and their home. He took care of his mother who was not well and almost incapacitated? He cooked, cleaned and managed the house in nearly every way.

I went on to stay with a wealthier white family two nights later, and although they had all the trappings of a middle class South African family, it was an underwhelming experience in comparison to my previous nights.