2020 Cohort

Undergraduate

• Arthur Ndeh Foute

  

  Arthur Ndeh Foute is an undergraduate scholar pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. He takes pride in his creativity and passion for community service. His lifelong goal to make life easier for the underprivileged has led him to work with many NGOs, which help high achieving low income scholars to secure tertiary education. He strives to increase the standard of living in his home country Cameroon by building machines at low cost, enabling them to be purchased by those less privileged. Since 2017, Arthur has worked with Open Dreams, a college preparatory NGO as an SAT tutor and advisor. In 2018, he interned at the Bamenda City Council, where he used the skills he acquired to assist in reconstructing bridges and water channels in his local neighbourhood.

   

   

Postgraduate

• Lieketseng Sekoto

  

  Lieketseng Sekoto is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Audiology. She is an avid reader of African literature. She is a compassionate health professional who has taken an interest in patient-centered care. She aims to set-up and make audiological services available to vulnerable communities in Lesotho, as well as advocating for the deaf community. She is passionate about the reproductive health of girls. She is the founder of Sisterhood, a youth-driven initiative based in Lesotho that provides girls with menstrual products, hygiene and reproductive health education. In 2019 she served as vice chairperson of the Lesotho Students’ Association, member of the UCT International Students Forum and oversaw general communications for the UCT Society for Paediatric Health. She is a founding member of Selibeng Book Club, established to give career guidance, improve literacy through self-help book and build leadership skills and volunteerism among high school students.

   

• Lebohang Ralikalakala

  Lebohang Ralikalakala is a postgraduate scholar pursuing Master of Science in Engineering in Electrical Engineering, with focus on Advanced Machinery and Energy Systems (AMES). He is a problem-solver and result-oriented individual, with great degree of tenacity. He is passionate about reaching the community, especially through education and tutoring high school students and assisting, at individual level, students who can’t afford schools fees or food. As such, his vision is to reach out to his community and encourage them to get involved in education, as he believes an educated community is less vulnerable to crime and famine. He also aims to encourage his community to get involved in business formation and mini projects which can be implemented at community level as a way of curbing the high unemployment rate. From 2017-2019 he held affordable private classes for high school students who wanted to re-write their matric in Lesotho’s Qacha ‘s Nek district.

• Bakenga Maksudi

  

  Bakenga Maksudi is a postgraduate scholar pursuing his MPhil in Environmental Humanities. He is currently a partner and international programme director at the Prog Your Future project at KiTHub, which is a social enterprise for innovation, social impacts and reinvention of the workforce in Burundi’s rural areas including some remote areas in Bujumbura. His vision for social change is to promote equitable knowledge and skills to create opportunities for all members of society including indigenous people. Bakenga is involved in the Humanities mentorship programme and Ubunye teachout project at UCT. In 2019, Bakenga volunteered at the UCT food security programme administered by the Department of Student Affairs. In 2018, he was involved in the New Ventures Creations entrepreneurship programme hosted by the University of Johannesburg, where he played the role of a facilitator working in Ekurhuleni Townships. He volunteered as an assistance secretariat at KwaZulu-Natal Burundian refugee community in 2012 to 2013. From the period of 2013 until 2018, he was involved in several community engagement activities including being a freelance private tutor, facilitator and small business consultant. In 2011, he was appointed as a Media Information Desk clerk at the COP17 Summit

   

• Abioye Oyatoye

  

  Abioye Oyatoye is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Marine Conservation Biology at UCT. He holds both a national diploma degree in Fisheries Technology from the Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, where he graduated with distinction and second class upper respectively. He is passionate about contributing to and giving back to his community in Nigeria and Africa at large by using his expertise in aquaculture to alleviate the poverty and unemployment rate through empowerment and inclusive development. Through marine conservation biology, he aims to contribute to the conservation and improvement of aquatic life and productivity as an individual and team member, which will translate to both social and economic development locally and internationally. He worked as a young professional fish farmer during his undergraduate years, and after his second degree, helped struggling small and medium scale fish farmers through free consultancy services, modern fish breeding workshops and the supply of palliative fish seeds to farmers in need. He is a visionary who believe that the measure of success is the number of lives we can support and help during our sojourn on earth.

   

• Fungai Jani

  

  Fungai Jani is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He is proficient with various programming and 3D modelling software used in the engineering industry. Fungai is eager to give back to his community is Zimbabwe by creating safe spaces in the engineering environment. His aim is to raise awareness on issues related to equality and gender discrimination. Fungai was involved in various leadership and volunteering positions while at UCT, including serving as president of the Kolbe Catholic Society. In his tenure, he pioneered a project that constructed sleeping bags using newspapers, black plastic bags and cello tape to assist the homeless in and around the northern suburbs of Cape Town.

   

   

• Felemane Felemane

  Felemane Felemane is from Lesotho and is currently a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with Renewable Energy and Power Stability as research areas. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering majoring in heavy current at UCT. He is dedicated to driving changes in the building industry in his home country and Africa as a whole. He is passionate about giving back to his community by guiding and providing mentoring to youth as well as providing tutoring lessons to high school students and supporting them in making good career choices. In 2018, he was involved in the UCT Mentorship Program for first years. Felemane also served as the secretary general for the Lesotho Student Association (LESA) at UCT. He is an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at UCT, both of which share a common goal to give back to the community. His goal is to contribute to his community through education an dby getting youths more involved.

• Grace Muriithi

  

  Grace Muriithi is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. She has an interest in distribution systems operation, artificial intelligence, and smart grid technology. Grace believes that multidisciplinary research is the key to innovation and new discoveries, which is the reason for her research focus on applying state-of-the-art AI for energy management to partly address Africa’s energy deficient. From 2012, Grace has been involved in community building projects including mentorship, career guidance and clean-up campaigns. During her undergraduate studies, and with the help of Equity Leadership Program, Grace tutored over 100 high school girls who came from extremely poor backgrounds with the goal of helping them succeed academically and in various leadership projects. Grace also encouraged and mentored the women on how to pursue and succeed in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses. Additionally, she has participated in cleaning up small towns and tree planting activities in her home country.

• Emillie Albert

  Emillie Albert has a strong and heartfelt passion for contributing uplifting vulnerable communities that have been unfairly discriminated against. In support of this, she aims to create opportunities for sustainable and dignified livelihoods. She has worked as a fishermen federation manager and a UNDP funded project writer and manager, promoting sustainable livelihoods for the fisher women community of her island. She is pursuing her masters in Climate Change and Development. She has been volunteering for Teach the Nation as a founding member and chief operation officer. Teach the Nation has secured the official South African partnership with the Teach for All global network of 57 countries and more than 74 000 alumni leaders. Following her heart in uplifting the most vulnerable wherever possible, Emillie is a strong advocate of justice, equity, spiritual growth and love.

• Maureen Khumo

  Masautha Maureen Khumo Masautha is a master’s student in Social Policy and Management at UCT. Maureen holds a bachelor’s degree in social work, obtained from the University of Botswana (UB). She was awarded the Lady Ruth Khama Prize for being an outstanding student graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work. During her degree programme, Maureen was selected for an exchange under the Linnaeus Palme Program at Jönköping University in Sweden, in recognition of her outstanding academic performance and community involvement. Her areas of interest include social research, civil society and development, project management, community empowerment and sustainable development. Her education is aligned with her passion, which is working with children and families. Presently, she volunteers as a tutor with the Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (SHAWCO), a student society that runs various health and education programmes at UCT. Besides being an adept volunteer, Maureen is a passionate aspiring social researcher. She has authored a conference paper and presented at the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) conference in 2019 on the theme of ‘promoting healthy human relationships’. Maureen also co-authored a conference paper and poster presentation for the ISPCAN XXII International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect held in Prague, Czech Republic in 2018. She co-authored and submitted a manuscript for peer review with the Child Care in Practice Journal for publication. Maureen wants to be instrumental in resolving state welfare issues and understanding child poverty from a sufferer’s perspective with the diversity of national traditions and institutions.

• Dorcas Tabitha

  

  Maliro Dorcas Tabitha Maliro is a postgraduate scholar perusing an honours degree in Social Development. She is passionate about rural and community development. Dorcas often works with women and youth in business and enterprise development, promoting local solutions. She is a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship fellow in the Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI). She believes that we all have leadership traits within, and the sooner we rise to the call to serve, the sooner we can help our communities be better for all of us.

   

   

   

• Alexander Justice Kondowe

  Alexander Justice Kondowe is a postgraduate scholar from Malawi pursuing a Master of Laws (LLM) specialising in International Law at UCT. His goal is to contribute to the promotion of human rights, rule of law, peace and security governance in Malawi and beyond. Alexander believes that respect for human rights, rule of law, peaceful co-existence and good governance drives the development of society. Alexander has experience working in human rights and educational fields. After the completion of his undergraduate law studies, he briefly taught at Mvera Girls Secondary School, and later in 2010, he joined CARER Malawi as District Advice Centre Manager implementing a human rights project co-supervised by the British Council Malawi with funding from the Scottish government. In 2013, Alexander joined the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau, where he worked as the legal aid officer for seven years. In a effort to gain skills in the field of peace and security governance, Alexander enrolled for another undergraduate degree at Mzuzu University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Security Studies in 2017. Throughout his academic and working life, Alexander has developed leadership skills through volunteering to help those in need. More notably, he served as a member and secretary for the Regional Appointment and Disciplinary Committee of the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau for six years. Alexander’s vision is to enhance his career in the promotion of human rights, rule of law and good governance so that many disadvantaged people in Malawi can access justice and basic social services.

• Ilke Nackerdien

  Ilke Nackerdien is a postgraduate scholar pursuing her honour’s in Historical Studies. She is passionate about women’s and children’s studies in Africa and hopes to use her background in historical studies to critically analyse the problems faced by women and children to come up with effective solutions to challenges faced. She is a mentor in the Humanities faculty and her student residence and is serving as the mentorship representative on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Council for 2020/2021.

• Polycarp Ondieki

  Polycarp Ondieki is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Environmental Law. He completed a Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) with a second class (upper division) from the University of Nairobi in 2018. He is energetic, reliable, charitable, hardworking, articulate and a focused person who accepts responsibilities however challenging they may be. He is passionate about sustainable development, equality, environmental justice, renewable energy, clean cities and climate change. He also has a passion for entrepreneurship and academics. In the field of law, Polycarp enjoys undertaking research and reading on aspects of renewable energy and climate change. As a young leader, he is also driven to give back to society and make a difference. One of his principles in life is to make positive impacts in this world during his lifetime. The fact that people can benefit from his help is not the only reason he likes to do volunteer work. Helping those in need also serves as a reminder for him to live with gratitude, which enables us to be optimistic and feel contented with life. Moreover, he believes that giving and receiving is an invisible cycle.

• Oluwaseun Ayinla

  

  Oluwaseun Ayinla is a postgraduate scholar pursuing master’s degree in Conservation Biology at UCT. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria, where he graduated with a first cass. He is committed to conserving biodiversity for posterity by working to solve conservation challenges in his country and Africa at large. He aims to contribute to the implementation of a sustainable management plan of natural resources for his country, Nigeria. He has contributed to making the world a better place through participating in various voluntary activities, and most notably, advocating for an end to rape and abuse of women.

   

   

   

• Tamia Jansen

  Tamia Jansen is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a degree in Social Sciences focusing on Politics, Gender and Sociology. She is passionate about serving her community and has hosted fundraising initiatives to sponsor cleft-repair surgeries with the charity, Operation Smile. Tamia is an editor for Her Campus UCT, which covers stories about women empowerment and raises awareness about gender-based violence (GBV) and mental health, both of which are causes close to her heart. Tamia’s goal is to provide a safer space for women in South Africa through creating a culture of awareness and prevention of GBV through empowerment campaigns and increasing women's access to basic needs such as sanitary pads and counselling.

• Chimezie Oguike

  

  Chimezie Oguike is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at UCT. He holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria, where he graduated top of his class in Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Engineering. Chimezie has a passion for logical analysis and critical thinking. He believes the key to attaining a better and sustainable future for Africa is ensuring that people acquire high quality education in fields that resonate with current and emerging realities. In trying to make the world better, he is committed to participating in community service activities. In 2017, Chimezie was appointed as the Assistant Projects Coordinator for Charity Community Development Service Group during his National Youth Service in Nigeria. In his spare time, Chimezie likes to play table tennis, go mountain hiking and swimming, travel as well as read and understand how things work.

   

• Mokhantso Sekhesa

  Mokhantso Sekhesa is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health. She is skilled in caring for people with hearing and balance difficulties, as well as effective listening and conflict resolution. She is passionate about patient-centred, inclusive and holistic health care. Her vision is to promote more incorporation of health and rehabilitation services in health systems to support quality of life for populations in Lesotho and Africa at large. In 2019 she served as the Students’ Health and Welfare (SHAWCO) head of Audiology at UCT. She also participated as a peer educator about matters of sexuality, gender, disability, violence and marginalisation of disadvantaged groups in the UCT community.

• Gizamba Jacob Mugoya

  

  Gizamba Jacob Mugoya is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health, specialising in Epidemiology. He completed his undergraduate degree at Makerere University in Uganda, where he majored in Wildlife Health. He is enthusiastic about One Health, a concept focusing on collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. Prior to coming to UCT, He volunteered with One Health Central and East Africa (OHCEA) as a One Health Fellow where he led a multidisciplinary team of students in the implementation of the One Health approach to solving common health challenges in eastern Uganda. Some of the activities he conducted involved community mobilisation and sensitisation to embrace an indoor residual spraying programme to control malaria transmission and rabies vaccination. Gizamba aims to use the knowledge and skills gained from his studies to make a positive impact towards national and global health.

   

• Diane Murara

  Diane Murara is a postgraduate scholar pursuing an honours degree in Economics. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Zimbabwe. She is passionate about uplifting the underprivileged and participating in programmes that focus on poverty alleviation. She has participated in volunteer work advocating for children’s rights as well as for improving the wellbeing of orphans. She believes teamwork is the ladder to achieving the best results in community-based projects and regards herself as a future child support project initiator.

• Siviwe Cingo

  Siviwe Cingo is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Education, specialising in Applied Linguistics and Literacy Studies. He graduated with a Bachelor of Education (cum laude) at the University of Fort Hare in 2019. He completed an honours degree in education at UCT in 2019. Siviwe is passionate about education, entrepreneurship, leadership and community upliftment. He gives back to communities through participation in the UCT Rise Against Hunger programme, and Ubunye. His leadership endeavours include being academic officer for the University of Fort Hare Faculty of Education Student Council and secretary of the Students with Disabilities Committee. Siviwe is a secretary general of the UCT 3rd tier RAC, academic officer of the Faculty of Humanities postgraduate student council and a Faculty of Humanities mentor. Further, he is an aspiring academic and entrepreneur with a goal of contributing to the development of Africa.

• Tsungai Nkoma

  

  Tsungai Nkoma is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a masters’ degree in Environmental and Geographical Sciences. She graduated from Franklin Delano Roosevelt Girls’ High School, Harare, Zimbabwe in 2013. She then graduated from Great Zimbabwe University with a First Class Honour’s Degree in Geography and Environmental Science in 2018. Tsungai was elected the president of the Environmental Science Club at Great Zimbabwe University for the year 2017. Her long-term goal is to become a recognised environmental scientist. As such, Tsungai wants to engage more with like-minded transformative leaders who are invested in the future of the world. Above all, she is open to an exchange of new ideas and conversations. She is result-oriented and enjoys giving back to the community through volunteer activities. For example, she volunteered at Dzivaresekwa Satellite Clinic in Zimbabwe during the cholera outbreak in 2018. There, she took part in the distribution of treatments and teaching locals on how to live safely.

   

• Luqman Muraina

  

  Luqman Muraina is passionate about academia, education change-leadership and agriculture with an all-round focus on Africa development. A UCT master’s student in Sociology, his research focuses on development studies with his thesis centring on the decolonisation of higher education curriculum. He has published peer-reviewed articles and enjoys writing in his free time. Luqman is the CEO of Quality Breeds Enterprises (QBE), an emerging food-security agribusiness in Nigeria. Luqman is a positivist Africa development advocate and action-taker.

   

   

   

   

• Lusungu Mtonga

  Lusungu Mtonga is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Commercial Law. He is a practicing lawyer in Malawi and a member of the Malawi Law Society. His goal is to improve access to justice for underprivileged Malawians. During his undergraduate studies, Lusungu represented the University of Malawi in numerous local and international Moot Competitions. He also organised several awareness campaigns on human rights law and commercial law through legal clinics set up by the University of Malawi.

• Alex Mirugwe

  

  Alex Mirugwe is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a Master of Science specialising in Data Science. He completed his undergraduate degree Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Makerere University, Uganda. Alex launched an organisation in Uganda to train young people in computer programming skills at secondary schools. His goal is “to empower and educate a new generation of Uganda technological inventors and innovators”. As a computer engineer and data scientist, Alex’s vision is to help policymakers in his country make better and more informed data-driven policies. He is passionate about machines.

   

   

   

• Yonela Mlambo

  Yonela Mlambo is a postgraduate scholar pursuing an honour’s degree in Sociology. Yonela has a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Sociology, Politics and Governance. He volunteers as a mentor in the Faculty of Humanities and with Inkanyezi at UCT. He is passionate about writing and research and frequently publishes opinion articles for The Cape Times newspaper and with PoliTekNik international newspaper’s special issues.

• Iyanuoluwa Oyedeji

  

  Iyanuoluwa Oyedeji Oyetunji is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master's degree in Human Nutrition. With a bachelor's degree in Human Nutrition, and clinical work experience, Iyanuoluwa is armed with skills and competencies which support his believe that a concerted, multidisciplinary approach is the solution to the menace of malnutrition in Nigeria. He is passionate about Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 6, and has been involved in several community nutrition outreaches in Nigeria. He aspires to become a public health nutritionist, analysing and solving nutrition problems of public health importance. His hobbies include singing, traveling and meeting people. His excellent interpersonal skills afforded him a seat on the Transformation and Equity Committee as well as the Postgraduate Student Committee of the Human Biology Department where he currently represents his jurisdiction.

   

   

• Christopher Francis

  

  Christopher Francis is a postgraduate scholar, studying towards a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. He is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (MNSE), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and IEEE Communications Society. He is intentional, energetic and possesses people skills. His interest in personal development, ICT, renewable energy and global economic affairs drives him toward building an online mentorship hub and an electrical development company in his home country. He believes that good energy is the gift we must offer in building the lives of people and communities. He aims to contribute to the socio-economic and educational realities of Nigeria by accelerating sustainable opportunities and mentorship in Africa. Christopher believes that a transformative leader understands the deficient needs of the people and hones the skills of social intelligence and the constructively creative power of speech.

   

• Davie Lameck

  Davie Lameck is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Commercial Law. He is skilled in legal practice and legal advice. He is passionate about giving back to his community by participating in pro-bono projects, or the provision of free legal advice to the needy and marginalised, and by being involved in the promotion of sporting activities in his community. His vision is to contribute to the development of his community in Malawi by ensuring that everyone gets an opportunity to access legal advice and can participate in Africa’s various sporting activities. In addition, Davie gives motivational and career talks in secondary schools in Malawi. Since 2013, Davie has served as a regional lawn tennis board member for a lawn tennis non-governmental organisation. He has also vigorously participated in various fundraising campaigns for lawn tennis and netball in the northern region of Malawi. He also serves as a mentor for secondary school students in that same region.

• Taiwo Ridwan

  Taiwo Ridwan is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree at UCT. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering at the Federal University of Technology in Akure, Nigeria. His research interests lie in civil infrastructure, concrete technology and landfill engineering where he has published international peer-reviewed papers. Ridwan believes that every African city can be made sustainable through the application of correct construction practices. He is a reviewer at Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International (JGEESI). He is an active member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Institution of Engineering Technology (IET) and the Environmental Water Resources Institute (EWRI). With a deep love for humanity, he co-founded the non-governmental organisation, Assoutudeen Prophetic Medicine Foundation, that helps poor people with health-related issues through crowdfunding.

• Nqabisa Faku

  Nqabisa is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a Master of Arts in Psychological Research at UCT. Nqabisa holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours degree in Psychology (with distinction), obtained from UCT. She is skilled in leadership, research, writing, mentoring, teaching and facilitating. Nqabisa has held leadership positions including that of orientation leader in the Faculty of Humanities, mentor for the UCT Student Leadership Programme, treasurer of the Postgraduate Humanities Faculty Student Council, vice-president of the Habitat for Humanity UCT student chapter and as a staff writer of Her Campus UCT online publication. She was awarded a UCT PLUS Bronze Award for her community service leadership when she served as a volunteer liaison with the KenSMART Project at SHAWCO Education. Nqabisa is a graduate of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI RLC-SA). She is passionate about improving the capacity of the mental health system to meet the needs of both children and adults in South Africa. Her current research focuses on exploring the barriers and facilitators of tasks shifting adolescent mental health care within the ASPIRE counselling programme, which is a pilot randomised controlled trial in Cape Town and surrounding communities. Nqabisa aspires to contribute towards a sustainable future for South Africa and Africa at large by using her leadership, academic background, writing, research and volunteering experience to be an agent of change.

• Hazel Nyamukusa

  Hazel Nyamukusa is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a Masters (LLM) in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Fort Hare where she has also worked as a facilitator and community engagement leader at the Centre for Transdisciplinary Studies from 2018 to 2019. Hazel is an aspiring entrepreneur who has worked as the deputy president of Enactus (University of Fort Hare), a global non-profit organisation that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilise university students to make a difference in their communities while developing skills to become socially responsible leaders. She has made strides as an entrepreneur in the informal business sector from catering to retail and intents to venture into the formal business sector soon. Furthermore, she also volunteered at the Nelson R Mandela School of Law in 2017. Hazel has a passion for innovation and development in the Global South, human rights, constitutional law, entrepreneurship and community engagement. She believes in empowering socially and economically marginalised persons and affording everyone an opportunity to a decent livelihood.

• George Baffour Awuah

  George Baffour Awuah is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a degree in economics. He is a highly motivated young man full of promise for scholarship. His competencies include teaching, conference coordination, group facilitation, research and administration. While working as a research fellow in Ghana, George spent much of his time volunteering youth entrepreneurship training and capacity building, rural enterprise development projects, rural community teaching, and policy research and advocacy with grassroots, non-profit organisations. His passion for community development and local level interventions stems from his first-hand experience of how a simple intervention saving an entire family or even a community from impoverishment. As a budding academic and policy enthusiast, George hopes to be a scholar-activist bridging the gap between academy and the larger society. Currently, at UCT, he is involved in various volunteering projects including Commerce Faculty Senior Mentor Programme and Phaphama Small Enterprise Development Initiative, a student-run non-profit consultancy for small businesses

• Mfundo Jabulani Msimango

  

  Mfundo Jabulani Msimango is a postgraduate scholar at the University of Cape Town. He is pursuing a Master’s in Education. He specialises in applied linguistics and literacy in education. He graduated with a Bachelor of Education at the University of Zululand (FET phase). He completed his B. Education Honors degree (Applied linguistics and literacy in education) at the University of Cape Town (UCT, 2019). He is passionate about Education, entrepreneurship, leadership and community upliftment. He gave back to communities through being part of UCT food program and Ubunye organisation. Mfundo has worked with various organisations, including UCT First Year Experience (FYE), Literacy Association of South Africa (LITASA), UCT Electoral Committee and is currently working with the Pencils of Promise organisation based in the United States (New York) (Research and Development). With regards to leadership roles, Mfundo is currently serving as the chairperson for the UCT Postgraduate Humanities Student Council, Faculty of Humanities mentor and a member for Humanities Covid-19 relief fund committee. Further, he is an aspiring academic and entrepreneur. His aims and dedication are to contribute to the development of Africa.

   

• Chinazam Faith Okeke

  

  Chinazam Faith Okeke is a postgraduate scholar pursuing a Master's degree in Linguistics. She is skilled in linguistics analysis, language documentation and sociolinguistic research. She is passionate about giving back to her community by creating educational opportunities for the underprivileged in society. Chinazam's vision is to contribute to ensuring that African language deaths are curbed, as well as helping those in-need in Africa to get education and entrepreneurial skills. As a way of achieving this, she runs a NGO called Redemption on the Streets, which carries out educational and entrepreneurship projects to prisons, brothels, internally displaced persons' camp. She is currently the founder and leader of Redemption on the Streets, the treasurer and welfare coordinator for the Redeemed Christian Fellowship at UCT and the Vice President of the Nigerian Students' Society at UCT.

   

   

• Monica Elise Hella Ilonga

  

  Hella Ilonga is a postgraduate scholar from Namibia, pursuing her master’s degree in Inclusive Innovation. Her research focuses on education policy and public-private partnership in education. She is enthusiastic about engaging critically and innovatively in finding solutions to societal challenges through strategic thinking, design thinking, and system thinking. She is deeply passionate about equity and quality education, community, and social development, and it is her long-term goal is to become an Inclusive Innovation Journey and Policy Analyst.

   

  Hella serves as a Research Analyst at M&C Consulting, a Canadian-based organisation, where she provides a unique combination of cross-sector experience, focusing on strategic research and reporting on impactful decision making, communications and engagement, policy and programme development, training, and performance management. This combination enables her to tactically navigate and build rapport with interest groups, businesses, governments, and citizens to create sustainable private-public partnerships.

  Hella is very optimistic and enthusiastic about life. She enjoys helping others achieve personal excellence. Through the MasterCard Foundation scholarship, Hella believes she will sharpen her intellectual and leadership abilities. She hopes to see Africa unite.