Thulani Madinginye
SAWIP Alumnus 2008

I have been officially appointed to the Khulisa Social Solutions board and the completed forms are being processed. I will be attending my first board meeting in the middle of November, which will be accompanied by an induction session about 2 days after or before the board meeting itself.

Petrus van Niekerk, SAWIP Alumnus (2009) and Board member, has recently been appointed as Project Manager of the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA). The SIGLA was established in 2011 and functions under the aegis of Stellenbosch University’s HOPE Project. SIGLA has as patron the former President of Mozambique, his Excellency Joachim Chissano, and also has close relationships with the Africa Forum for retired African heads of states.

Each year, Mail and Guardian selects 200 young South African leaders that they identify as playing an important role on South Africa’s future. Gillion Bosman (SAWIP Alumnus 2010) has been identified as one of these 200 Young South African’s for 2012 under the category of Civil Society for his work in the organization, Youth End Poverty. The organization provides opportunities to young people (17-23) to develop their skills through becoming anti-poverty ambassadors/activists and raises awareness of poverty and injustice and the needs of young people. “It [is] a huge honour and a humbling accolade" says Gillion. To read more about Gillion’s work see the M&G website: http://ysa2012.mg.co.za/gillion-bosman/.

Rosalind consulting with client.

During my time with SAWIP in 2008, we spent World Refugee Day at the National Geographic Headquarters in DC watching a documentary filmed in Uganda, War Dance. The story centred around three children – all members of the Acholi ethnic group, living in the remote northern Uganda refugee camp of Patongo under the military protection from the Lord's Resistance Army.

At the time I was a law student at the University of Cape Town. I was in my fourth year of study towards my LLB, and the time was ripe for us to start sending applications for articles off to law firms for consideration as candidate attorneys. I remember being in two minds as to whether the corporate route was really what I wanted.