The living conditions of these children are described as “horrible”: “I have been doing research work with children for about two years and we work with many poor children, but I have never seen such bad conditions for people to live in.” 147 The Zimbabwean girl minors were living with a much larger group of older girls, who included South Africans, many of them sex workers, and many of them single mothers raising children in these appalling conditions. The researcher’s field notes for the boys describe conditions in this way: Some boys live near the dump. They do not have water to drink or wash in. They sleep in the bushes where they have put down paper…. They eat what they find thrown away…. They are too frightened to ever go into town as they are so dirty they say the police will know they are Zimbabweans and arrest and deport them.148 The CPC offers basic facilities to these children at their drop in centre, including access to bathing and a place to wash clothes. However, they do not offer food of any description, and food is clearly a need among this group. When asked to list what it is they needed, children in this study mentioned the need for water to wash and drink, food, and jobs so that they could send money home. When the authors visited the CPC drop in centre on different occasions, we came across no girls from Zimbabwe at all, and a small group of boys aged between 17 and 18. They only came to the drop in centre when their search for piece work was not successful, and spent much of the day looking for jobs. We believe our failure to make more contacts with Zimbabwean children was in part due to the brief nature of our visits there. One visit was for a week, but even this was insufficient time to build trust and contacts with children in the area. While finding adults who are secure enough to admit they are illegals and who are prepared to talk frankly can also be problematic, it is clearly more so with children. The fact that Zimbabwean girls rarely use the centre is indicative of their greater likelihood of finding work. Girls sometimes find a “boyfriend” who is South African and who provides shelter, or they become domestic workers, or sex workers. None of these options exist for the boys, who often end up washing taxis or carrying groceries. Occupations available to boys are less likely to result in any kind of accommodation, so their need to come to the CPC to shower and wash is also likely to be greater. Sex workers In August 2004, the authors of this report interviewed 7 Zimbabwean girls working as sex workers in Musina. None of these girls were minors, being aged between 18 and 25 years. All of them claimed to have left their homes because they could not make a living there any longer. Only one was previously a sex worker; the other six had never imagined they would have to resort to this means of earning a living, but had realised they had no options.149 Their living conditions were very poor and none earned enough money to send home. However, they were all convinced that they were nonetheless better off living such a life in Musina than they would be back in Zimbabwe. 147 CPC, ibid, page 28. CPC, ibid, page 27. 149 Appendix One, Case Seven for a case history. 148 63