The Nelson Mandela Institute Team

Kimberley Porteus – Executive Director

Having grown up in the US, Kim has lived in South Africa for 20 years.  From 1990 to 1994 she worked with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).  She then joined the Education Policy Unit at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits EPU). She has worked for the NMI since 2004.  Her research interests lie in aligning classroom experience with the social, cognitive and economic realities of children and young people.  She is currently interested in the pedagogical, curricular, and teacher development requirements of foundation phase classrooms serving rural children in the Eastern Cape.  Her doctoral work focuses on the re-curriculation of higher education.  She has been responsible for the curricular and pedagogical design of the Life, Knowledge, Action:  The Grounding Programme at the University of Fort Hare.

Brian Ramadiro – Deputy Director

Brian Ramadiro is currently studying for his doctorate in the area of language in education, focusing on the effect of restrained boundaries of mother tongue standards on educational outputs. His research is focused on the relationship between language, biliteracy and cognition in the early phases of education, with specific emphasis on differentiation, interactive pedagogy and Xhosa-English biliteracy. By the end of 2010, he aims to have completed a second master’s in applied linguistics. He joined the Institute in late 2005, and before coming to the Eastern Cape led the Education Rights Project.  He leads the Institute’s Magic Classroom Collective, with an emphasis on the Xhosa-English biliteracy challenges.

Bandile Ntutu – Financial Manager

Bandile completed a three year National Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in 2002. He completed his articles in 2008 and was awarded South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) membership that same year. He has worked for three accounting firms and a fast-moving consumer goods company. He joined the NMI in January 2010 as a financial manager. His areas of specialisation are financial accounting, financial management, taxation, corporate law and internal auditing. In 2011, he intends studying toward an MBA with NMMU as this will complement his financial management role at the NMI. His interests are travelling, working out at the gym and meeting new people.

Daphne Hartney– Sustainability Manager

Daphne has also worked in the non-profit sector in biodiversity conservation program coordination, research, fund-raising, monitoring and evaluation, community-based natural resource management and cultural heritage conservation. She has facilitated numerous institutional arrangements involving rural communities, municipalities, government departments, donors, NGO’s, private sector and conservation agencies. Daphne has also worked in various provinces within South Africa and has experience working in Botswana and Namibia. She is responsible for developing and implementing the fundraising strategy of the NMI and she coordinates the implementation of the NMIs sustainability programme.

Sindiswa Dotyeni – Administrator

Sindiswa grew up in a rural community outside of Bhisho in the Eastern Cape and moved to Mdantsane after completing her schooling. She has been working with the NMI since 2007, as a receptionist and administrator. She is well-known and loved by all the teachers and engages actively in the school and community-based work of the Institute. She is currently studying social work through the University of South Africa. Sindiswa is a well-respected leader in her community and is well-known in her community for her service ethic.

Ndumiso Tumbu – Community Organiser

Ndumiso was born in the rural community of Darabe in the Eastern Cape. After completing secondary school, he became involved in community development. Ndumiso is respected in the local community and works well with the traditional leadership, government and local sports and education structures. He involves the Mqanduli community in the day-to-day work of the NMI.  He took his first course in computers in 2009 and graduated with flying colours.

Bulelwa Galada – Foundation Phase Teacher Support Co-ordinator

Bulelwa completed a teacher’s qualification at Dr W.B. Rubusana College in Mdantsane in 1995.  She then furthered her studies with the University of Stellenbosch and UNISA with a focus on Psychology and Education. She recently joined the NMI as a Teacher Support Co-ordinator for the Magic Classroom Collective.  She spends most of her time in the classrooms assisting teachers to create safe, fun and high quality learning environments.  Education and working with children have always been her passion since joining the teaching profession. Presently she is furthering her studies in the fields of Language and Education.

Pamela Manyuchi – Office Assistant

Pamela completed a secretarial course in Zimbabwe in 2004.  Whilst working at Africa University she studied at Zimbabwe Open University in 2007 where she obtained a qualification in marketing. She then migrated to South Africa in 2009 and has been working for the NMI ever since. She provides administrative support to the NMI team such as logistical preparation for fieldwork, printing and copying. Pamela also conducts research for NMI programmes and provides front desk support.  She is now registered with UNISA where she is studying towards a degree in Administration. Pamela’s joy is her family and she lives every day with a smile on her face.

Xolela Kenene – Literature Assistant

Xolela is an artist and a youth and community activist. In 2006 he studied local governance, leadership and community development at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA). In 2007 he did Business Studies at Lovedale College in King William`s Town. He is currently completing a Business Administration and Management course at Damelin College. He has worked in the fields of youth and community development, cultural identity amongst youth and social well-being. In 2008 he joined the NMI as an intern for the Learner Literacy program, which promotes reading and writing in rural schools. His work is to develop young minds around the importance of education, reading and writing. He is also involved in the Phemba Mfundi programme, which provides leadership and life skills to learners. His interests lie in grooming and discovering new, young talent in the arts and giving back to communities of the Eastern Cape. He is eager to try and close the gap between urban and rural schooling.

Khanyisile Ngalo – Research Assistant

Khanyisile completed his junior degree, Bachelor of Administration (Public Administration) at the university of Fort Hare in 2008. He worked at the University of Fort Hare as a tutor at the Department of Public Administration and a facilitator in the curriculum renewal programme of the university, the Grounding Programme. Currently an intern at the NMI, Khanyi is a research assistant supporting Magic Classroom Collective data collection and capturing. This involves visual and audio-visual recording of teacher training workshops, writing transcriptions and taking minutes of reflective dialogues around the progress of the Magic Classroom workbooks.  He is also coordinating the logistical arrangement of playground installations. His personal interests include reading and writing, listening to music (neo-soul and conscious rap) and performing poetry.

Mihlalikazi Khumalo – Researcher

Mihlalikazi (Mihlali) completed her Social Science Honours degree at the University of Fort Hare in 2009, majoring in Communications. Following that she did in-service training at Nyandeni Local Municipality and then worked briefly for the Department of Education. At the NMI she works as an Intern on several projects. For the Phemba Mfundi program she conducts desktop and field research, facilitates writing workshops for learners and motivates them read and write. Mihlalikazi is part of NMIs creative team which manages the Institute’s website content. Mihlalikazi is a budding journalist and a regular blogger on the NMI website. Her personal interests are music, outdoors and poetry.

Ndiphiwe Mkuzo – Researcher

Ndiphiwe is from Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape. He completed a Honours degree in communication at the University of Fort Hare in 2009 majoring in communication. In this time, he accepted an internship with the Grounding programme. Ndiphiwe is a dedicated martial artist and has seen the creative world of ballroom dancing and fine arts. He is both an activist and a poet whose conviction comes from the ability of the human mind to pursue greater things in life for the benefit of the collective.
At the NMI he works as an intern on several projects. For Phemba Mfundi, he facilitates writing and reading workshops. Ndiphiwe is also in the website coordination team which entails publishing and developing of website content.

Sibusiso Mnyanda – Pedagogy Development

Sibusiso is from Alice in the Eastern Cape. He is currently completing a BA in Philosophy and History at the University of Fort Hare. With a background in the performance arts in Cape Town, since 2004, he has developed into a keen praise singer/lyricist for multiple theatrical art productions. In the last couple of years, he has been a permanent feature in a series of festivals around the country. His interest in theatre and the arts in general is informed by his inclination towards traditional folklore literature, which rallies around life lessons. Exposure to this can be credited to his primary schooling and stories inherited from family elders. This was then realised in high school in Grahamstown, where platforms like the Eisteddfod Arts Festival were a pedestal leading to performance.

On his return to the Eastern Cape and registering at the University of Fort Hare, he got involved hands-on with forums and dialogues around education policy and its implementation at institutions of higher learning. His ability to articulate social ills, such as low literacy levels and lack of appropriate governmental support – predominantly in the rural Eastern Cape – through poetic /theatrical performance, allowed Sibusiso to engage with education development in a synthetic manner.

Nqaba K Mpofu – Curriculum and Pedagogy Development

Nqaba is completing his studies in Industrial Psychology and Management at the University of Fort Hare. Between 2002 and 2008, he worked both in the public and private sectors - for the KZN Department of Education, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and for Old Mutual. His professional interests lie in pursuing alternative forms of education and teacher/educator development. At the NMI, Nqaba conducts research on Curriculum and Pedagogy Development. In this role he works with learners, students and teachers to find meaningful ways of knowledge production. He is passionate about communal knowledge-production. Nqaba is also an avid cricketer.