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Alumni: Where are they after qualifying?
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Our students go on to work in a wide variety of situations - in South Africa, and internationally. Some work for local NGOs, research institutes or local and national government, others for international NGO's or government think-tanks.A proportion go on to study further, locally and abroad.
From time to time our alumni send us information about where they have landed up. We then post this information here.
Our students go on to work in a wide variety of situations - in South
Africa, and internationally. Some work for local NGOs, research
institutes or local and national government, others for international
NGO's or government think-tanks.A proportion go on to study further,
locally and abroad.
If you want to have your information posted on this page, or wish to update an entry, please email
shier@ukzn.ac.za Natashya Kristanna Pillay (Population Studies, 2010)
...is enjoying the working world after
graduating on her 24th birthday. In 2011, she worked at Health Economics
and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD) – a UNAIDS Collaborating Centre.
During that time she continued her association at the School of
Development Studies, producing a few academic publications. Thereafter,
she served as National M&E Officer for the U.S President’s Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), for one of its donor organisations,
Childline South Africa. Since 2013, she has been part of the Democratic
Alliance first as the National Contact Centre Manager, and more recently
National Manager of Memberships, Volunteers, Activists and Statutory
Obligations. She can be contacted on natashyakpillay@gmail.com
Farzana Alli (Population Studies cum laude, 2012)
...is
currently working in the field of monitoring and evaluation at the
Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health (MaTCH) Unit in Durban. She
previously worked as a research consultant/researcher for various
organizations including Oxfam, PEPFAR, HEARD and the Medical Research
Council of South Africa. She is currently pursuing a PhD in population
studies at the School of Built Environment and Development studies. She
can be contacted at alli.farzana@gmail.com
Sarah Montgomery (nee Hobbs) (Development Studies 2007)
Sarah is working
at CAFOD in London as their Economic Justice Policy Analyst. She is specifically looking at the role that small and micro enterprises
play within economies and at what an enabling environment that would
best suit their needs (from their perspectives) would look like. She
added this to a blog recently. http://cafodpolicy.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/what-would-thinking-small-look-like-in-global-value-chains/
Zack Zimbalist (Development Studies, cum laude, 2012)
Zack
is a PhD candidate in African Studies at Johns Hopkins, Washington
DC.His PhD topic will most likely be related to labour and migration
in South Africa, and as a result will keep him connected to South
Africa. He can be contacted on ZZIMBAL1@jhu.edu
Loveness Satande (Development Studies, 2009)
...dida
one year internship at the Health Economics HIV/AIDS Research Division
(HEARD). Currently employed as Program Coordinator by the American
International Health Alliance, Twinning Centre Regional Office, a USA
based NGO in Pretoria, working to advance global health by helping
communities and nations with limited resources build sustainable
institutional and human resource capacity(refer to www.TwinningAgainstAIDS.org). Her
main role is to keep abreast of all program activities and maintain
close contact with partners, volunteers, and other collaborators. 'I am
grateful to the School of Development Studies for making me reach this
far'. she says. She can be contacted on lsatande@aiha.co.za
Anthea Dallimore (Development Studies, 2000)
Anthea has been awarded a PhD from the London School of Economics and
Political Science. The title of the doctoral thesis is 'Banking on the
Poor: Savings, Poverty and Access to Financial Services in Rural South
Africa'. She is currently working as an independent consultant, and can
be contacted at:
antheadallimore@webafrica.org.za Michiel Arnoldus (Development Studies 2008)
Michiel Arnoldus is an economic development consultant who works mostly
in Africa. Originally he was trained as a business economist and worked
for five years in strategy and marketing in the corporate world. After
completing his Masters in Development Studies at the University of
KwaZulu-Natal in 2007 he started working as an Economic Development
Consultant. In 2008 he joined the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam,
where he helped organisations such as the World Bank, IFAD, NGOs and
embassies with the design and implementation of economic development
programs. He was also responsible for the investment strategy and
evaluation of investment opportunities for an €14 million investment
fund for SMEs in Africa and Latin America with the potential to
alleviate poverty by creating jobs and opportunities for small farmers.
In addition he has developed a number of practical training modules on
business plan development, market research, branding and value chain
analyses, for development practitioners, university students and staff,
farmer organisations and entrepreneurs.
In 2012 Michiel started
his own consultancy company: Sense. Bridging the gap between business
and development is his specialty. His belief is that if we want a more
secure livelihood for people in developing countries we need to nurture
entrepreneurs and help them to build self-sustaining businesses, that
offer jobs and opportunities to small farmers, emerging commercial
farmers & Small and Medium Sized companies. In order to do so
Michiel is working with entrepreneurs in Africa, and tries to build
partnerships between Businesses in Africa and Europe and Development
programs.
Catherine van de Ruit (Development Studies)
has
completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. The
title is 'The Institutionalization of AIDS Orphan Policy in South
Africa.'
Steven Lawrence Gordon (Population Studies cum laude 2011)
is currently a researcher at the Democracy, Governance and Service
Delivery (DGSD) programme within the Human Sciences Research Council
(HSRC). DGSD is dedicated to addressing key national, regional and
international questions of service delivery, development,
democratisation, the state, citizenship, crime and corruption. Steven
Gordon is currently working with the longstanding South African Social
Attitudes Survey (SASAS) projects to help build a body of research and
knowledge on these issues. He has a great appreciation and admiration
for the School where he acquired the skills and competencies necessary
to perform his current duties. Steven Gordon is currently exploring the
prevalence of xenophobia in South African society for his doctoral
studies. He can be contacted at
sgordon@hsrc.ac.za.
Ganzamungu Theo Zihindula (Population Studies 2010)
,
after completing a one year internship at the Health Economics HIV/AIDS
Research Division (HEARD), he moved on to become a PEPFAR Fellow hosted
by Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies. He is currently the
Quality Assurance Manager of the organization and works with 26 clinics
plus the main hospital to ensure and implement quality improvement
strategies in service delivery as well as the integrated management of
TB/HIV. He notes: “this degree was my gateway to opportunities and I am
cognizant of the support from the school staff”. Currently he can be
reached at:
tzihindula@africacentre.ac.za Melhiku Tiruneh (Development Studies 2009)
is working in Ethiopia as Project Officer for a pan-African NGO called The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) (
www.africanchildforum.org).
His job is to manage the Information Hub, a platform for the exchange
and dissemination of information and networking among organisations,
experts and advocates for the rights and welfare of the child. The
InfoHub also has a resource centre as well. He can also be reached at
tiruneh@africanchildforum.org or
melhiku@gmail.com.
Thorin Roberts (Population Studies 2004) is currently
Project, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager for an early childhood
development NGO called TREE, based in Durban. He writes that he’s
satisfied with the job which challenges the width and breadth of his
skills set, a great deal of which has its roots in his training and
experiences with the School of Development Studies. He can be contacted
at
maxlagoon@gmail.com Siboniso Cele (Development Studies 2010)
has been
appointed as Assistant Director: Impact Assessment at the Economic
Research and Policy Co-ordination Office of the Director-General (ERPC),
Department of Trade and Industry. He can be contacted at
SCele@thedti.gov.za Jason Musyoka (Development Studies 2010)
has joined a consultancy, Sabalala Consulting Africa based in Newcastle, KZN. His email address there is
jason@sabalala.co.za
Lene Leonhardsen (Population Studies 2007) is part of
the education team of UNICEF Southern Sudan. Based in Juba, her area of
responsibility is in the Statistics and Evaluation Department of the
Ministry of Education conducting the Annual Education Census (AEC) which
is part of Southern Sudan's Education Management Information System
(EMIS). Her main task is to transfer skills in the areas of data
collection, capturing, analysis and dissemination and she can be reached
at
leneleonhardsen@gmail.com Dr Oliver Mtapuri (PhD 2009)
has been appointed to the
position of Senior Lecturer in the Development Management Programme at
the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL) of the University of
Limpopo. The TGSL runs three main programmes: Master in Business
Administration (MBA), Master in Public Administration (MPA) and Master
in Development Management (MDEV). He can be contacted at
simbaomtapuri@yahoo.com Kathleen Diga (Development Studies 2008)
is a Project Manager under Professor Julian May, (South African
Research Chair in Applied Poverty Assessment) in the School of
Development Studies. Her main focus of research is in the poverty and
economic dimensions of information and communication technologies for
development. Prior to joining UKZN, Kathleen worked at the International
Development Research Centre (IDRC) as a research officer under the
ICT4D Africa (Acacia) initiative in Johannesburg and Nairobi.
Elise Bjåstad (Development Studies 2008, cum laude)
is currently working for UNDP Thailand, based in Bangkok. As part of
the Governance Unit, she is working with projects focusing on Legal
empowerment of the poor, decentralization and capacity building for
local governance. She is more specifically providing support in drafting
technical papers, advising on project administration, coordinating
knowledge sharing, monitoring and evaluation. In Thailand, the UNDP is
working closely with various ministries to improve the lives of under serviced and vulnerable people in a country with a growing economy.
Elise can be reached on
elisebjastad@gmail.com Erin Raab (Development Studies 2009, cum laude)
will be
starting a PhD programme in International Comparative Education (ICE)
at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, in September 2010.
Similar to the SDS Development Studies programme, the ICE programme is
multi-disciplinary, and it ‘explores how education is related to
economic, political, and social development in both developed and
developing countries’. The ICE doctoral programme takes approximately
five years to complete, during which time students undertake one full
time and two part-time years of coursework, and complete a dissertation
in an area where 'a social science discipline and policy problems of
development education intersect'. Stanford University's School of
Education (SUSE) has been ranked the number one school of education
overall, and its International Comparative Education programme number
one specifically, for some years. (since at least 2004 or before) - see
http://ed.stanford.edu/suse/programs-degrees/sspep-ice.html
One
area Erin is interested in further exploring in her doctoral studies is
the issue of teacher quality in a context where under-skilled teachers
make up a large percentage, or even majority, of teachers overall. She
became interested in this line of inquiry during her research at SODS,
as well as through her professional experience founding an education
centre in KwaNdengezi and as a Senior Researcher at MIET Africa. She can
be contacted at
erin.raab@gmail.com. Andrew Rylance (2009)
After a year in Rwanda with the GTZ Program for Economy and Employment
Andrew has completed his contract and will be moving back down to South
Africa to join the GTZ Mpumalanga Rural Development Program (MRDP) in
South Africa as a Local Economic Development Advisor.
Lerato Tladi (Population Studies, 2005)
After graduating, Lerato Tladi (Population Studies 2005) initially
worked with Julian May on data analysis and report writing for the 2005
UKZN’s Institutional Climate Survey. This was followed by a 2-year
internship at the HSRC examining social aspects of HIV/AIDS and health.
She then worked for African Development Economic Consultants (ADEC) as a
Research Associate before joining the Johannesburg City Parks in
February 2008 where she worked as a Researcher in the Marketing
Department. During this period, she was again contracted to the
University of KwaZulu-Natal’s HR and Equity Office analysing data and
writing reports for the 2008 UKZN Institutional Climate Survey as well
as the 2008 Equity Report and it was this work that enabled her to land
the position of Institutional Researcher in the Department of
Information and Strategic Analysis (DISA) at the University of South
Africa (UNISA), where she is currently employed. She can be contacted at
tladis@unisa.ac.za
Graham Sherbut (Development Studies, 2008)
Graham is working as Director of Monitoring and Evaluation with the Aga
Khan Foundation-Mozambique's Coastal Rural Support Programme. Based in
Pemba in Cabo Delgado, Graham is helping to support programmes and
research on topics relating to agricultural value chains, village
governance, food security, and early childhood development. After
leaving the School in 2008, Graham worked for the International
Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada, and was an Aga Khan
Foundation 'Microfinance and Microenterprise Fellow' in Tajikistan.
Graham can be contacted at
graham.sherbut@gmail.com Charles Mandlenkosi Sibanda (Masters in Population Studies, 2008).
Charles
has a Bachelor of Philosophy in Economics degree (2003) from the
Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome and an Honours degree in
Statistics (2005). After completing his Masters in Population Studies he
worked on the Fatherhood Project at the Child, Youth, Family and Social
Development Unit (CYFSD) of the Human Sciences Research Council. His
work included designing focus group discussion and community informant
interview guides, data collection, transcription and translation. He is
currently a Population Analyst and Acting Assistant Manager of the
Western Cape Provincial Population Unit at the Department of Social
Development. His current work includes, but is not limited to leading
the Provincial Population Unit implementation of the Population Policy
Strategy of 1998 through promoting the building of statistical,
analytical, demographic and population analysis capacity of Government
planners at all three spheres of government in the Western Cape Province
especially in Population Advocacy, Capacity Building, Projections and
Information Dissemination. He says: “My Masters has been invaluable for
my current career. It gave me a thorough grounding in population
studies and has enabled me to work as a research assistant, project
officer, research scientist and population analyst for both private and
public entities. It was a pleasure to study at the School of Development
Studies for the Population Studies programme and I am very proud to be
an alumni.”
Lucia Knight (Population Studies, 2004 cum laude)
Lucia
is currently a PhD student at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine (LSHTM), United Kingdom. Lucia has been involved in a range of
work as a researcher and research assistant at UKZN between 2004 and
2006 including among other things work on health care access and teenage
pregnancy using the KIDS dataset in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Since
completing her Masters, she has helped tutor in Demographic Methods at
UKZN and also facilitates on the Basic Demographic Methods, Statistics
for EPH and Analysis and Design of Research Studies MSc modules at
LSHTM.
Lucia's PhD research explores the impacts of HIV and AIDS-related
illness and death on the livelihoods of households in rural
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research is particularly focused on the
way in which households utilise social welfare and social relationships
to deal with these impacts. Lucia has utilised a range of qualitative
methods to develop in-depth household case studies. The PhD research is
linked to the AIDS, Demographic and Poverty Trends (ADaPT) project which
is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in the United
Kingdom.
Mike Rogan (Development Studies cum laude 2007)
Mike Rogan has
completed his PhD on 'The Feminisation of Poverty, Female Headship and
Household Resource Allocation in South Africa from 1993-2006' at UKZN.
He has been awarded a Post-Doctoral fellowship in the Discipline of
Development and Population Studies, School of Built Environment and
Development Studies, UKZN
Liqu Teshome Gebre (Population Studies, 2008)
Liqu Teshome Gebre completed his undergraduate study in geography in
Ethiopia. He then worked as the income generation activities officer for
International Rescue Committee (IRC) at Sherkole refugee camp in
Ethiopia. His major responsibility was to build the capacity of female
heads of households and the elderly so that they can be economically
independent. He later joined Health Communication Partnership (HCP) and
progressed to various positions in the area of youth and HIV/AIDS. He
served as a team leader, program assistant and program officer. He was
involved in the development of behavior change communication materials,
training and supervision. In 2008 he graduated with his Masters in
Population Studies at the School of Development Studies. The focus of
his dissertation was on the experiences of Ethiopian immigrants in South
Africa. He is currently working for the Johns Hopkins University Center
for Communication Programs, AIDS Resource Center as a Behavior Change
Communication (BCC) Officer. He is also working as a consultant for
various organizations including IRC, HCP and Emmanuel Development Agency
(EDA).
Sarah Massey (Development Studies 2006, cum laude)
is
working as a Curriculum Writer for the Choices Programme, a national
education initiative based at Brown University’s Watson Institute for
International Studies in Providence, USA. She produces a range of high
school materials on US history, world history, global studies, current
issues and government.
Alyssa Wilson Leggoe (Development Studies, 2002 cum laude)
is based in Moscow where she has been posted as a Foreign Service
Officer with the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID). She and her husband Jesse are pleased to announce the birth of
their daughter Sophia Rena on 10 August 2008.
Thabani Buthelezi (Population Studies, 2004)
is working
for the National Department of Social Development in Pretoria with the
Monitoring and Evaluation Chief Directorate. His work involves spending
two out of every three months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) as part of a General Cooperation Agreement to promote political,
economic and social cooperation between South Africa and the DRC. His
key responsibilities involve research and policy development in the
field of social development which he has found to be a real challenge
because of having to learn French as well as experience development in
practice.
Anna Marriott (Development Studies 2006, cum laude)
is working as Health Policy Officer for Oxfam Great Britain. She
co-ordinates Oxfam International's health advocacy and lobbying work
focusing on expanding public health services, removing user fees for
health and pushing for more long-term predictable government and donor
spending for health care workers. She says her studies at the school
have proved invaluable for this exciting and very demanding role. She
can be contacted at
marriott.anna@gmail.com
Her dissertation was recently published as a Research Report,in the School series under the title,
Extending health and safety protection to informal workers: an analysis of small scale mining in KwaZulu-Natal. (RR76)
Nicci Earle-Malleson (Development Studies, 2003 cum laude)
works as Specialist: Policy Investigations for the secretariat of the
National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) whose mandate is to
advice the Minister of Science and Technology on issues related to
Innovation. As part of her role, she facilitates the activities of the
National Biotechnology Advisory Committee (NBAC). Prior to her work at
NACI, Nicci was senior researcher in the Education, Science and Skills
Development (ESSD) research programme of the HSRC. Besides the range of
client reports, book chapters and academic papers produced during her
time there, she also write the book entitled,
Social Work in Social Change: The Profession and Education of Social Workers in South Africa. Tim Hadingham (Development Studies, 2000)
is Research
Manager at the Monitoring, Research and Learning Facility, an
institution set up as part of the European Union-funded Gijima KZN Local
Economic Development (LED) Programme. A knowledge management centre
involved in LED research as well as impact monitoring of LED projects,
it aims to promote best practice and sustainable local economic
development. Tim can be contacted on 031 563 9023 and more information
on the LMRF can be found on their website
www.lmrf.org.za Willy Gasafari (Population Studies, 2006)
has been
appointed Head of the Department of Demography in the Faculty of Social
Sciences at the Kigali Independent University (Universite Libre de
Kigali), Rwanda.
Andrew Bowden(Development Studies, 2005)
previously at
GTZ, has taken up a position as the Governance Advisor with Irish Aid.
Based in Zambia, his main focus is on parliamentary reform supporting
Zambia’s decentralization reform process, advocacy civil society groups
and support of community radio stations throughout the country. His new
email address is
Andrew.Bowden@dfa.ie Ted Leggett (Development Studies, 1999)
spent three
years as a Senior Researcher in the crime and justice programme at the
Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria before joining the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Based in Vienna, Austria, he
supervises a small team that is conducting intersectoral research on the
relationship between crime and development in regions throughout the
world. His recent publications include ‘Crime and Development in
Africa’, ‘Cannabis: Why we should Care’, and the forthcoming ‘Crime and
development in Central America and the Caribbean’.
Leanne Sedowski (Development Studies, 2005)
Since February 2007,Leanne has been working for the International
Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) in Geneva,
Switzerland. ICTSD is an NGO looking at trade issues with a development
and environmental perspective, which encourages stakeholders involved in
development to incorporate a sustainable development perspective. While
primarily focused on agricultural and environmental issues, ICTSD is
now expanding into industrial concerns.
Leanne has been responsible
for launching ICTSD’s new Programme on Trade and Clothing and Textiles,
so she has been putting her experience gained at SDS to good use.
Besides launching the programme and attending clothing industry related
meetings in Geneva, the highlight of her time was organizing a
conference in Mauritius for key sub-Saharan African clothing industry
stakeholders to discuss the future of the industry, where she met up
with Professor Mike Morris, her dissertation supervisor. You can read
more about the
conference.
Of her experiences she says: “I have definitely gained greater insight
into how the world trade system works. This hands-on experience has been
fascinating, and extremely helpful for my career.”
Isaac Nkuna, (Development Studies, 2005)
has been
attached to the Research and Evaluation Unit of the Limpopo Provincial
Legislature as a Researcher since 2006. As one of the most powerful
institutions in government, the Legislature exercises an oversight role
over all government Departments in the Province. Isaac serves on three
critical committees of the provincial parliament: the Portfolio
Committee on Economic Development, Environment & Tourism; the
Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA); and the Portfolio
Committee of the Provincial Treasury. His role is to examine issues that
are relevant to the work of these committees and to analyse reports
(quarterly and annual) of government departments and then brief
Portfolio Committee members accordingly. Major and critical decisions in
parliament are informed by the work and activities of the research and
evaluation unit. Isaac reports that “… although operating in a political
environment, research work at this level is exciting because of the
opportunity to interact and be taken account of by highly influential
people in government, and it is pleasing to see results when you witness
decisions being taken on the basis of your findings …”
Baruti Amisi (Development Studies, 2005)
isa Research
Fellow at the UKZN’s Centre for Civil Society. He is working on his PhD
in the School. Having graduated against great odds as a French-speaking
refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he writes “… I had a
dream of working in the research field whilst a car guard, security
guard and gardener and I am still convinced that with determination,
hard work and a clear vision, this dream will be fully realized. My work
currently provides opportunities for involvement in research with a
team of hard working academics and researchers who are also very
supportive ...”
Justin Barnes (Development Studies, 1995)
was recentlyidentified by
FinWeek
as one of South Africa’s 40 movers and shakers who will shape South
Africa. As facilitator of the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal clothing and
textile clusters (which aim to help the local industry improve its
competitiveness), Justin and his company, Benchmarking &
Manufacturing Analysts, has been pivotal in bringing together retailers
and manufacturers as well as local and provincial government to share
and implement best-practice benchmarks at all points in the value chain.
South Africa’s garment and textile industry has been struggling to
remain competitive in the wake of Chinese imports landing in South
Africa due to rand strength and a failure to keep up with manufacturing
trends.
Roya Damabi, (Development Studies,2006),
was awarded a
Fellowship in International Development Management which is part of a
programme of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada. She was matched up with the
NGO Resource Centre in Zanzibar, Tanzania in July 2006.
She first attended a month-long management seminar in Ottawa learning
about planning projects as well as relations with donors and met a lot
of people who work in different NGOs and with the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA).
She is currently working with the provincial government of Alberta,
Canada in the Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology, as a
Research and Policy Analyst with the Corporate Research and Policy
Analysis shop. This area deals with all policies relating to
post-secondary education in the province, including funding, the roles
and mandates of institutions and sectors, and the effects of local
dynamics and global trends in higher education. Appointed on a one-year
contract, she is looking forward to gaining experience in policy
analysis and development.
Adria Mueller and Craig Hunter, (Development Studies)
are currently working for a health research consulting company (United
BioSource Corporation - UBC) in different departments: Adria as an
Associate Project Manger in the Centre for Health Outcomes Research
(CHOR) and Craig as Project Manager for Science Policy in the Centre for
Health Economics, Epidemiology and Science Policy (CHEP).Their offices
are located in Bethesda, Maryland which is part of the Washington, DC
metropolitan area. Whilst Adria’s role is to help run research studies,
Craig is responsible for assisting in development of UBC's policy
centre. Adria writes that they often talk about their time in South
Africa and how much it meant to both of them, especially the different
perspectives of fellow classmates from around the world. These have been
invaluable and help keep them grounded about what is really important
in life.
Thabo Rakoloti (Development Studies, 2003)
... is Director for Public Private Partnership in the
health sector and the acting Director for Social Health Insurance
within the National Department of Health. His dissertation was looking
at the building of community-based health insurance schemes in rural
areas, and before he had completed it he was appointed as the Deputy
Director for Social Health Insurance at the national Department of
Health. He says 'The fact that I was appointed a Deputy-Director in
government directly from the programme (that is with no working
experience) even before completing it says a lot about the programme
itself. I had the opportunity of working closely with internationally
renowned researchers who have shaped my conceptual and analytical skills
to deal with the developmental challenges facing countries. The
programme teaches you not only to think globally but to also act locally
in dealing with these challenges. Given that I had completed this
programme, it was also easy for me to gain access to the London School
of Economics where I studied the MSc in Health Policy, Planning and
Financing which I completed in 2005. So, whether you want to be an
academic or a professional, this programme is the gateway to success'.
Sabrina Lee (Development Studies,2005)
...is from the UK and is based in Pretoria working
for the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) - the largest
health and development non-government organisation based in Africa, with
its headquarters in Nairobi and seven offices across East and Southern
Africa. Based in programme development, her role is to research
international best practice in health systems, review government policy,
consult with local communities, governments, health services and design
appropriate interventions, and then market projects to donors. So far
things have gone very well and she has managed to raise the income of
the organisation by almost US$ 3million, with some very exciting
projects on Orphans and Vulnerable children, as well as TB and HIV as
well as Water and Sanitation which are about to start shortly.
Her work has been both exciting and rewarding and she has learnt a great
deal about the South African public health system, community based
health systems including traditional health practices which the
organisation focuses on. In addition, she has had the opportunity to
travel extensively within South Africa to discuss issues with community
health workers, traditional health practitioners, and local clinic staff
and use their views to inform appropriate interventions. Her work has
also taken her to Uganda and Kenya on a number of occasions to develop
regional project proposals with other country teams.
Sabrina says her degree from the School and the great research and work
experience she had here (including her work with HEARD) was a excellent
foundation for her work which she is enjoying immensely. She is
especially delighted to be able to stay in South Africa working in such
an exciting field, and feels she owes many of these opportunities to the
team at SDS.
Tim Gibbs (Development Studies Masters, 2003)
Tim completed his PhD at Oxford and is currently in occupying a
post-doctoral position at the University of the Witwatersrand in Phil
Bonner's NRF chair in local histories. In Jan 2012, he will be taking up
a 4 year JRF at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Masters Students