Forever young: Institution-based waithood among youth in Ghana and South Africa

Abstract

As the scholarship on youth grows, so does the focus on the predicaments youth face increases. In particular, the phenomenon of waithood, which refers to a prolonged period of transition from youth to adulthood, has been attracting much attention from researchers. This article builds upon this growing literature by examining the roles that soccer academies in Ghana and shelters for unaccompanied young migrants in South Africa play in creating, sustaining, and spreading the waithood of youth. Even though both institutions operate in different spaces and promote distinct activities, they share a mutual goal by presenting themselves as educational stepping stones for a better present and future for African youths. Nevertheless, given the gaps between what both institutions claimed to provide and what they provided in reality, we argue that they served as the root of waithood for their young residents. As the following ethnography reveals, with worsening basic living conditions, infrequent access to school, and unattainable dreams about universities and European soccer leagues, many youths in shelters and academies were left incapable of assuming adult responsibilities and enjoying adult privileges. Our findings suggest that, unlike common perception of waithood as a phenomenon that takes place after school and before formal employment, waithood is also an institution-based phenomenon that can be facilitated within the education system. Simultaneously, in contrast to the common scholarly portrayals of waithood as an individual experience, we argue that waithood is a communal social phenomenon. At South African shelters and Ghanaian academies, the period of suspension and the prolonged journey to adulthood trickled-down to wider social and familial circles. The youth's efforts to seek alternative paths for adulthood, as well as the support they get from relatives and friends, reduces the loneliness of their waithood, though their contributions are hampered by local economic and political challenges.