UKZN Team

Kira Erwin

Kira Erwin completed a Mphil from Cambridge (UK)and a PHD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).  Currently she holds a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Critical Research on Race and Identity, based at UKZN.  Kira is interested in race thinking in society and what kinds of shifts and transformations are taking place in this regard in South Africa and elsewhere; particularly in terms of how ideas of place and belonging, as well as gender and class, intersect and intertwine with ideas of race.  She also enjoys thinking about methodology in the social sciences, particularly urban ethnography and oral histories.  In addition to this she works on the Kenneth Gardens' Community Project (a low-income housing estate in Durban), where various outreach projects are informed through research and participation.

Monique Marks

Prof. Monique Marks is based in the Community Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. She is also a Research Associate of the Centre of Criminology at the University of Cape Town. She has published widely in the areas of youth social movements, ethnographic research methods, police labour relations, police organizational change and security governance. In recent years she has become interested in the dynamics of community development and in community wellness programmes. She has published four books: Young Warriors: Youth Identity, Politics and Violence in South Africa; Transforming the Robocops: Changing Police in South Africa; and Police Occupational Culture: New Debates and Directions (edited with Anne-Marie Singh and Megan O’Neill) and Police Reform from the Bottom Up: Officers and their Unions as Agents of Change (Edited with David Sklansky).

Tamlynn Fleetwood

Tamlynn Fleetwood has recently completed her doctorate in Human Geography at Durham University in the United Kingdom, having completed her previous undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Human Geography at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Tamlynn’s PhD dissertation explores the role of education in building ‘unity in diversity’ in South Africa, drawing primarily from the perspectives of secondary school students in two desegregated schools in Durban. At present, Tamlynn holds a post-doctoral fellowship at UKZN where she is working in the Community Development Programme. Her post-doctoral research explores urban transformation and changing social identities in Kenneth Gardens, and Tamlynn is also responsible for helping to coordinate the Kenneth Gardens research and outreach programme. Tamlynn’s research interests include race, identity and nation-building, as well as issues around youth, development and inequality.

Thula Sizwe Zungu:

Thula Sizwe Zungu is a post-graduate student at the University Of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Currently completing an Honours degree in Media and Cultural Studies, he also holds an undergraduate degree in Management and Communication with majors in Marketing, Media and Cultural Studies from UKZN. Thula is also involved in the Kenneth Gardens Community Project and is responsible for administrating the Online Legacy Project, which imparts digital media skills to Kenneth Gardens youth. Thula’s research interests include online media, participatory culture, new media ecology and the opportunities provided by digital mobile media and technology for the enrichment of people’s lives.

Nomonde Happiness Mbhele
Nomonde Mbhele is a young lady who is in her early twenties. She very recently completed her three year undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural & Heritage Tourism (BACHT) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Howard College campus. Currently she is enrolling for a Bachelor of Community Development Honours degree at UKZN, and she also works as a tutor for the BACHT programme. Nomonde is a scrupulous young woman who enjoys participating in research and any community outreach programmes that seek to form change and develop the youth, women and marginalised groups. She recently joined the International Student Volunteers programme and throughout her undergraduate studies, she participated in a number of organisations within UKZN, such as the Remember and Give (RAG) organisation and Student Dynamics.

 

Sihle Lungelo Gcwensa

Sihle Gcwensa has recently completed his Bachelor Degree in Community and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Howard College campus, and he currently doing his Honours degree in Community and Development Studies. Sihle has obtained practical experience in the Edwaleni Community Outreach, which is a small organisation under the Young Men’s Christian Organisation (YMCA). He has conducted different tasks there, such as arranging a meeting with a ward councillor of Quarry Heights, and conducting a survey in order to study the social context of Quarry Heights. Sihle is currently working on a qualitative research paper, which focuses on street children, wherein he seeks to understand what exactly drives children to the street. He is driven by the concern that there is a rapid increase in the number of street children, especially in Durban inner city.

Yende Nsizwazonke Ephraim

Yende is currently at the University of KwaZulu- Natal (Howard College) studying for his Honours degree, where he majors in the field of Community and Development Studies. Yende is a very individualistic person, who has a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively. Driven by his talents, Yende constantly investigates the “how’s”, and “why’s” of a given situation, which can be very beneficial not only to himself, but to other people who want to work in the world of development in order to bring about change. Ten years from now, Yende hopes to use his talents to become a strong leader who is able to help build and inspire his colleagues, through creating interactions whereby they feel that their opinions are being heard in solving conflicts. Yende is a very futuristic individual who is inspired by the future and what it could be. He is committed to paying attention to the people whose voices were and are still silenced by politics in this country. Through education, Yende realises that it is not only the lack of skills and resources that impoverished people within the world, but it is also the politicisation of development. 

Chiedza Audrey Moyo

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Chiedza Audrey Moyo is a Zimbabwean who holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree with a double major in Development Studies and Sociology. She is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Community Development Honours degree. Given that her family places great importance on education, Chiedza is eager to soar onto greater heights with education. Her research area revolves around service delivery, with a basic focus on the reproductive health sector within rural communities. The rural folk are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS as well as infant mortality and maternal deaths. Their knowledge of reproductive health stands to be questioned. The aim of Chiedza's research is to examine the relationship between the service deliverers and the most vulnerable individuals in communities. Her interest in this research area comes from the stories that she has heard from her mother who was once deployed to work in rural communities in Zimbabwe. These tales were heart-wrenching and they motivated Chiedza and gave her the urge to want to discover what happens behind the scenes, and what  the push and pull factors are that usually end up in an inequitable distribution of services. Chiedza's other research  interests revolve around perceptions and myths surrounding the perpetuation of domestic violence within communities. Her long-term goal is to be actively involved with research and teaching in an area that she loves.  In her career, she aims to demonstrate a high level of research, planning, resourcing, implementation and evaluation in diverse societies and the ever evolving developing world economies consortium. She hopes to be able to continue her research work after going back to her home country in order to extend her knowledge and apply all that she has learnt during her post-graduate program to more effectively help people within her home country. Chiedza intends to work within civil society or the non-governmental organization sector.