| 1999 SAEP Interns and Fellows |  |
SAEP Volunteers 1999Paula Tudorof (United States) Paula was between her first and second years as a student at Cornell University in the U.S.A. Her ultimate goal is to film and produce documentaries on the rain forests. She came to South Africa to learn more about the environment and the culture. Eventually, she hopes to travel to all the 7 continents, meeting as many people as possible. In SAEP, her primary role was to provide academic support in Biology at Sinethemba High School in Phillipi Township in the Cape Flats. She also developed creative environmental education projects and, at the request of her students, provided academic support in mathematics as well. Adrienne Fitch-Frankel Adrienne Fitch-Frankel is a student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and UC Davis School of Law. Adrienne was a researcher and activist on issues of hunger, human rights, environment, socially responsible business, and the affects of mining on indigenous communities for a number of years before starting graduate school. After graduate school she hopes to continue her work in support of indigenous communities whose environment and human rights are threatened by primary commodity development, particularly mining. From June to August, 1999, Jen Bowen (see below) and Adrienne worked in the Cape Town office initiating SAEP’s Asbestos Project. The Project, which will be ongoing at SAEP, has two objectives. It seeks to support individuals affected by asbestos, especially those in asbestos mining communities, as they seek compensation for asbestos related diseases and rehabilitation of environments polluted by asbestos. The Project also attempts to support democratization in South Africa by exploring how new environmental rights can be realized using new political rights, both of which were created under the new Constitution. The Project will research advocacy avenues for asbestos compensation and rehabilitation in legislative, executive, and judiciary branches of government and educate citizens and various civil society institutions on possible approaches.Carola Glinski (Germany) Carola is an environmental lawyer from Germany. She studied Geography and Biology at the University of Regensburg and law at the Free University of Berlin. She has done post-graduate studies in Development Policies with a focus on NGOs at the University of Bremen.. She is a lawyer in the firm Dr. Rudolph and Coll in Bamberg and is currently participating in a research and book project on European Environmental Law with Prof. Dr. Micklitz of the University of Bamberg. Her major project during the four months she was with SAEP was a detailed analysis of "Public Interest Environmental Litigation in South Africa" as part of SAEP's Environmental Law and Justice Programme. Carola was with SAEP from November 1998 to March 1999. Tom Lequesne (United Kingdom) Tom, who was in South Africa with SAEP for a couple of months in early 1999, originally spent nine months as an SAEP intern in the Eastern Cape in 1997 and 1998 having obtained a Masters degree in Development Economics at Balliol College, Oxford University. In his original stint, he worked primarily on one of SAEP’s environmental advocacy programmes, examining the impacts of the proposed Coega IDZ and Harbour, helping to draft a variety of documents to assist SAEP's advocacy work on the project, and publicising some of the possible impacts among groups and communities in the area. In early 1998, he researched and co-authored a report on some of the social and economic consequences of the proposed Greater Addo National Park. Tom continued to work on the proposed Coega project while back in the UK over the summer of 1998, in particular focusing on the actions and responsibilities of Billiton, the anchor tenant for the proposed Coega project and a UK based company, and helped to draft a major submission to the UK govt. In 1999, Tom is continuing to follow up the on-going issues surrounding the Coega project, while contributing to an SAEP policy project to examine the progress made towards the sustainable development agenda in the first five years of majority rule in South Africa. Eric Larsson (United States) Eric graduated from the New York University Law School and now practices law in Maine. He is interested in transportation issues especially as they relate to land use planning. He is an avid cyclist and completed the Argus Cycle Tour while he was with SAEP in February and March. He did research on transportation law and planning issues, collected a useful set of research materials, and substantially improved the SAEP's Transportation Page. Pendo Maro-Susswein (Tanzania and Lesotho) Pendo graduated from the National University of Lesotho and completed a masters in Environment and Development at the University of the Free State in South Africa. She is now working on her Ph.D. at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg with a focus on regional environmental management in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). She did her orientation in February and March in Cape Town and is now based in Johannesburg. Karen Yost (United States) "The Making of an SAEP Fellow...I am Karen
Yost, a graduate of the University of California-Davis, and SAEP's
longest running intern (hence making me an SAEP 'Fellow,' and a jolly good one at that!).
I arrived in January of 1998, an eager young graduate in Environmental Toxicology looking
for some practical experience in the environment and international development field (and
also looking for an excuse to travel!). I had the intention of staying only a year, but at
the end of that year decided to extend for another three months. INTERNS Mary Angelini (United States) Amanda Atwood (United States) "I graduated from Stanford University last June (98) in Earth Systems and Political and Economic Development. I have long been interested in African politics and economics, and came to South Africa to learn different ways of thinking about and solving some of the similar socio-economic problems we have in the US. At SAEP I am working on an environmental education project at a Sitembele Matiso Secondary School in Guguletu (a township outside Cape Town). Also, I am researching Spatial Development Initiatives, and working towards a cost-benefit comparison between these macro-scale government initiated development programmes, and smaller scale conservation based community development efforts. Finally, I am working on development of the Western Cape Page on the SAEPage and related feature the West Coast and Kogelberg Biosphere Reserves and on environmental controversies involving Knysna and Dassenberg.." Jennifer Bowen (United States) Sidwell Dingela (South Africa) Sidwell is from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. He received his BAEd from Vista University (PE) in 1996 and a Certificate in Environmental Education, Rhodes University in 1997. He is currently working on his Masters in (Environmental) Education at Rhodes University and contributing to the activities of SAEP as time permits. He was a Founder Member of the Vista University Environmental Club and initiated a nursery for community tree supply at Vista. He also founded the Soqhayisa Environmental Club in Motherwell, a student club at a school where he was working. He exposed a series of illegal dumping sites in the area of Motherwell and made headlines in the Eastern Province Herald of October 22, 1997 on the illegal waste disposal issue. Alex Fattal (United States) "My name is Alex Fattal and I am preparing for my third year at Duke University. I'm working on various community projects in Langa Township, the oldest township in the Cape Town area. My focus will be developing a protocol for resettling Angolan refugees in the township. Currently refugee resettlement is a sensitive issue in Langa because there is animosity on the part of members of the township because the refugees receive many resources that the residents feel entitled to. I believe this can be achieved through less handouts and more skills training. Other than that I'm working closely with a group of actors who are interested in revitalizing drama in Langa. They will be producing and acting plays that call attention to the challenges facing Langa. They will start with local venues. Also, I'm lobbying the local government to fund the construction of a basketball court and organizing a league." Bill Finnegan (United States) "I just finished my Junior year at Dartmouth College as an Environmental Studies major with a minor in Engineering Sciences. My focus within my major is International Environmental Governance, and I spent the beginning of this year in Zimbabwe, studying the conflict between conservation and development as part of a Dartmouth foreign study program. I was in no huge rush to get back to the states, and SAEP seemed like an ideal internship situation. At SAEP I am maintaining the Water, Land, War, Wetlands, SADC and all the SADC-country specific webpages, as well as working on a report on regional water management strategies, a proposal for environmental community service, and a little documentary on the SAEP internship program." Sara Jewett (United States) Sara will be a senior at Duke University this coming year. She is majoring in Comparative Area Studies with a focus on Latin America and the Middle East. So what is she doing in South Africa? Sara has devoted a significant amount of time to an analysis of participatory community development surrounding economic and social justice. She spent the summer of '98 in Nicaragua working to develop solidarity networks that would benefit Nicaraguans while educating Americans about development initiatives. At SAEP Sara is working on a project that will analyze the concept of community development as it is emerging in the new South Africa. She is also working with youth in the Langa Township to gain a better perspective on how youth can be involved and enabled in efforts to create a safe and healthy living environment. Among the topics she will be exploring with the youth are the presence of AIDS in the township and the need for youth to critically analyze the messages of media and music. Mark Keilthy (United Kingdom) Mark is currently taking a 'gap year' before he enrolls at the University of Durham to read Philosophy this October. He worked in the UK for a few months to gain the funds to come to South Africa. He has been Webmaster here in Cape Town since the beginning of March and hopes to stay until the middle of June. "The longer you stay the more interested in environmentalism you seem to get. SA is such a fascinating country; rich in natural beauty and cultural diversity. Here I have the opportunity to get involved with the country whilst contributing to environmental education in SA and abroad. When I finish up here I intend to travel Southern Africa for a month or two before I head back to England. I strongly recommend SAEP to future 'gap year' students looking for something to do in those cold months back home." Joanna Lyndrup (United States) I join SAEP from High Point, North Carolina. I'll be entering my final year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- the southern part of Heaven. I'm focusing on English Literature and Spanish at UNC. While at SAEP, I've been working with the ever-growing web page. This has involved maintaining the SAEP page and keeping it up to date, as well as helping a fellow tarheel create a home page for Double Drift Game Reserve. Along with a few other interns, I've added a bit of adventure to my time in South Africa by surfing in Muizenburg, sandboarding in Eland's Bay and enjoying a cold night up on Table Mountain. I've loved South Africa as Cape Town is an amazing place to spend any holiday away from home.. Luyanda Mabusela (Eastern Cape, South Africa) Luyanda, who comes from East London in the Eastern Cape, received his B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Fort Hare in 1995. He is completing his M.Sc. in Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Agriculture at the Agricultural University of Norway and plans ultimately to do a Ph.D in Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Development. He became an SAEP intern "for some ‘hands on’ experience and the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other interns. I am keen to learn more about the development needs of South Africa, as I hope to contribute to development in South Africa, through the RDP structure. Because SAEP's programme is interdisciplinary I think it will provide an extensive source of knowledge." Mariella Malleier (Austria) My name is Mariella Malleier - I am Austrian, studying Tourism Management at South Bank University in London. My work for SAEP will mainly involve research on sustainable tourism development in Southern Africa and Public Relations work. I will also be in charge of the SAEP tourism related web pages. I hope that my final report 'How SAEP can contribute to sustainable tourism development in Southern Africa' will not only be a positive contribution to the SAEP library, which Danny and I coordinate with great enthusiasm, but will also be the basis for significant changes in the future. Nick Maloney (United Kingdom) Nick is a 1996 graduate in Economics of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. He and Anna Sandercock spent two months with SAEP in January and February 1999 during the course of nine months of travel in Southern and East Africa. Their project involved researching the development of an environmental policy by the ANC before the 1994 elections, the environmental provisions of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), and the subsequent evolution of environmental policy in the RDP White Paper (September 1994) as background for the South African government's macroeconomic policy, known as Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR). The report they produced is called The RDP Documents Unravelled. Nick plans to do his Masters in Development Economics commencing in September 1999. Erik Mikysa (United States) Erik is another Tar Heel who will be entering his final year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in South Africa, Erik has been working at Double Drift Game Reserve located 2-3 hours outside of Port Elizabeth. He has been focusing on marketing the reserve, both through "old-fashioned" advertising and in developing a web page for Double Drift. The reserve is in a precarious financial situation which is threatening the conservation effort and the livelihood of the reserve's employees, this is an area of intense deforestation and high unemployment. In addition to this advertising work, Erik has been able to assume some of the responsibilities of a reserve ranger as well, as he often leads the reserve's guests on hippo walks and hikes to caves to explore both his own and others' rock art. It seems that there is never a dull moment for Erik on the Reserve as he can be found either playing his drum or wrestling with the animals. Peace Nganwa (Uganda and South Africa) "I am a student in South Africa
completing my Master's in Environment and Development at the University of Natal,
Pietermaritzburg. My undergraduate degree is in Geography from Rhodes
University. Yuko Ogsawara (Japan) Natalie Prins (South Africa) Natalie is a graduate of the University of the Western Cape in Botany and is now doing a Masters in Botany at the University of Cape Town. She brings to SAEP two special interests: the cultivation of seaweed as an environmentally sustainable use of natural resources and issues of rehabilitation of riparian vegetation where alien species have been removed under the Working for Water Programme. Visit her Seaweed Mariculture web page. Anna Sandercock (United Kingdom) Anna is a 1998 graduate in Geography from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. She and Nick Maloney spent two months with SAEP in January and February 1999 during the course of nine months of travel in Southern and East Africa. Their project involved researching the development of an environmental policy by the ANC before the 1994 elections, the environmental provisions of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), and the subsequent evolution of environmental policy in the RDP White Paper (September 1994) as background for the South African government's macroeconomic policy, known as Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR). The report they produced is called The RDP Unravelled. Anna plans to do her Masters in Development Studies commencing in September 1999. Daniel Obakeng Setsile (South Africa) I'm Dan from Letsopa in the Northwest Province. I completed my Social Science degree in 1996 and Masters in International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1999. Initially I thought of going a step further, but needed a break after submitting my thesis so the "Mother City", Cape Town was my destination. I came to SAEP to gain hand-on experience and to do something different for a change. My involvement with SAEP has been more of an 'eye-opening' exercise through which one is practically involved in community projects. At SAEP my project involves researching the role of local government in the new political dispensation which requires efficiency and accountability. The project aims to support and facilitate the improvement of local government through partnership, development and knowledge management. SAEP is a great place to be, because it has renewed my energy and provided a broader perspective on environmental justice and sustainable development. This can be translated into exciting things to do and many opportunities for those involved. Carolien van der Woorden (The Netherlands) Carolien van der Voorden, a fourth year student of Development Studies at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, is currently based in Port Elizabeth. She conducts a research about small scale farmers, resource use and sustainability, in which she mainly focuses on the projects for emerging vegetable crop farmers, and the water use and management that is involved in these projects. Her main case study is the Gamtoos Valley, in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape, but also some other projects in the vicinity are drawn into the research. The main focus towards these projects being their sustainability, the concept of sustainability is hereby divided in three parts, namely the ecological, economical and social sustainability of these projects. 'Field practice' is an obligatory part of her studies, and this research will ultimately result in a thesis on which she will graduate. Quentin Wiest (United States) "I'm a recent high school graduate from
northern New Jersey, about twenty minutes outside of New York City.
Right now I am taking a year off from school to do volunteer work with different
organizations around the world, after which I will be attending college. I'm here at
SAEP only for one month working on the Arts,
Cultural Heritage, and Built Environment page of the website. For me
SAEP has been really good because it has been the first time that I have been given a task
with the freedom to approach it as I see necessary. I only wish that I had more time
here." Quentin was with SAEP during March and April 1999. Monique Wijnen (The Netherlands) "My name is Monique Wijnen and I am a third year tourism student from the Netherlands. I study at the Netherlands Institute of Tourism and Transport Studies in Breda and my area of specialty is planning and development in areas where tourism is less, or not yet, developed. I arrived in late February 1999 in Cape Town, where I am working on my academic "placement" (a practical experience in my area of study) for 15 weeks. During my stay here I will mainly focus on township tourism. Many non-white people in South Africa tend to think that tourism is only for whites who spend a lot of money going abroad. I believe that, if developed in a proper way, tourism can contribute to the economic and social development of people living in townships. Economically, tourism generates jobs and money. People can work as tour guides, or sell things to the tourists. Socially, tourists coming into townships can broaden the view people have of the 'outside world'. Preservation and promotion of the culture, arts, and history of South Africa's townships is both a good thing for South Africa from a cultural and historical viewpoint and a promising source of jobs and income. I am also working on development of the Tourism page on the SAEPage." |