Page 16 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

Vuyo Msizi proGrAMMe oFFicer
Vuyo msiZi
I am the youngest child of pensioner parents raised in the Eastern Cape village of Guquka, near Hogsback where I experienced rural poverty first hand. I first learned about SCAT when I worked for five years at ILDA in Uitenhage as a paralegal. With a diploma in adult education from UNISA as a base, I was trained as a paralegal through RULAC (Rhodes University Legal Aid Centre) while working at ILDA. I went on to work for the Black Sash as a paralegal, Ikhala Trust supporting community based organisations in the Eastern Cape and then the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), also mentoring community based organisations.
In 2011 I started at SCAT as a fieldworker, working in a partnership programme with HIVoS and PCRD which was EU funded and focussed on refugee rights. This was the highlight of my career as it helped stem the tide of xenophobia in Port Elizabeth and other parts of the Eastern Cape. Through this project we trained advice offices, police, magistrates and officials from various government departments about refugee rights. I also appreciate the organisational development work at SCAT and our work with LDAs to stop the vicious cycle of poverty. I am currently doing my Bachelors in Social Development and will use this to enhance my work with LDAs.
noKuKHanya mcHunu
I joined SCAT as a programme officer in March 2019. I have a degree in town planning and previously worked for NGo’s focussed on land and housing. SCAT attracted me because the work reaches out to rural communities. I have learnt so much going out to the rural areas in the Eastern Cape.
Working at SCAT I am learning a lot about the social justice sector. My job is to support and mentor LDAs in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. I love the small team at SCAT and the lack of hierarchy. A small team helps with quick conversations and things get done. The six months I have been here feels like six years. Personally I am learning to be structured and to plan my work well.
This year I travelled with the Programme Team to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in New York and it confirmed to me that the work we are doing is relevant and needed. We are not just supporting LDAs, we are capacitating them. We have done it for 35 years. There is a good story to tell.
nokukhAnyA Mchunu proGrAMMe oFFicer
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RuRal Voice ii: 35 stories for 35 years