EMERGING EVALUATORS tESTIMONIALS

My name is Sivenati Yami, but most people call me Sive for short. I am a Nelson Mandela University graduate and student who was born, raised and currently based in East London in the Eastern Cape. I believe that being an extroverted introvert best describes my personality. I enjoy being in the outdoors, baking and creating and trying out new things and am a great admirer of documentaries, podcasts and just the overall learning on current affairs. I enjoy reading and sharpening on skills that I currently possess. Being a talkative person, also I enjoy listening, engaging and learning form people around me. I am extremely honoured, grateful and excited to start my professional career at SAMEA and cannot wait to grow professionally in the organisation.

My name is Sibongile Sithole. I am Rhodes University (SA) alumni where I studied a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics and Organisational Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Studies. I am also a University of Salford (U.K) alumni, where I pursued my Masters in Science in International Banking and Finance. I decided to pursue my career in M&E as I realized there were endless opportunities as well as room for personal growth and career development, hence my participation in the Emerging Evaluator program. I am a driven and passionate individual who is always willing to learn and aiming to live my mark in the M&E field.

My name is Mathapelo Nhatchale. I am an emerging evaluator, who is currently working as an Intern, for JET Education Services. I hold an Honours degree in Public Management and Governance, from the University of Johannesburg. I am grateful to the Emerging Evaluators program for providing me with this valuable opportunity. I am passionate about delivering valuable information through various monitoring and evaluating methods and committed to helping organizations and communities advance by helping them develop strategic plans to achieve the desired results. Particularly, interested in youth empowerment and educational programs. I chose to pursue a career in Monitoring and Evaluation because I saw infinite opportunities for my personal and professional advancement, which led to my involvement in the Emerging Evaluator program. I am honored, appreciative, and enthusiastic to begin my professional career with JET Education Services, and I am looking forward to progressing professionally within the organization.

My name is Rumbidzai Gillian Mandioma. I am an emerging evaluator, who is currently working as an Intern, for the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University. I am grateful for the Emerging Evaluators programme as it has afforded me this enriching opportunity. I have an interest in food security, youth empowerment and education interventions. I am an advocate for the utilisation of evaluation findings. As evaluators we improve social programs, through making value judgements and through using evaluative findings. The use of evaluation findings helps us learn about programs and has a ripple effect of improving the quality of the lives of all people. I aspire to become a competent evaluator who upholds the highest level of integrity and produces quality work. In the future I hope to provide mentorship opportunities to fellow emerging evaluators.

Timothy is an emerging evaluator, researcher and trainer. He has an education in the natural and environmental sciences, research and teaching. His recent experience in program design and monitoring and evaluation at the City of Cape Town, along with his complementary experience in teaching and research, has led him to pursue a career in monitoring and evaluation. His interests include agriculture, food systems, poverty upliftment, entrepreneurship, education, climate change mitigation and adaptation, socio-ecological systems, and ultimately using M&E to generate social change. He is currently pursuing an MPhil in M&E Methods at Stellenbosch University (CREST).

I am currently a Southern Hemisphere EE, working on a series of projects with the recent one being the evaluation on UNICEF’s m2m peer mentoring programme. I have recently completed my masters on “Made in Africa Evaluations: Opportunities and Challenges in South Africa” completed at the Wits School of Governance. Other work history includes, working at the World Food Programme, as a junior analyst, and a series of working in think tanks including the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD).I hope to continue my journey in evaluation and hope to be a senior consultant and academic, still maintaining my love of research writing.