Awards for Old Girls

The Old Girls’ Guild presents two awards to St Anne’s Old Girls in recognition of their service and achievements.

St Anne Award

Awarded once a year, the St Anne Award gives special recognition to an Old Girl who has shown dedicated service to her community, going above and beyond the call of duty for no financial gain; someone who has embodied our value of ‘Reaching Out’ with compassion, humility and service.

ST ANNE AWARD NOMINATION FORM

Award of Excellence

The Award of Excellence is an award for an Old Girl who embodies determination, success, and excellence in her chosen field. Judges of the award look across a wide range of industries and professions – including academia, business, literature, performance arts, social responsibility, and visual arts, to name a few.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE NOMINATION FORM

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS

  • I wrote Matric at St Annes when I was 16. I married John Mellows and in August this year we will have been married for 61 years. We have 3 wonderful daughters and between them they have produced 10 grandchildren. John was in shipping all his life until he retired. I was a classical piano teacher at St Mary’s and St Stithian’s, and then I taught at home for many years nurturing my pupils’ love for music and particularly piano. I run 6-7km every morning and have done so forever. In my youth I captained the St Annes tennis team and have played “all ages” 1st league tennis. I now play strong social tennis, which I love. I also enjoy bridge.

    I worked in Pollsmoor Prison as a spiritual volunteer for 12 years. They treated me as a surrogate mother confiding in me all their dreams and hopes. Alpha was wonderful, seeing men, and women, giving their lives to Christ and knowing they had been saved for Eternity. Restorative Justice and one-on-one counselling were equally rewarding, seeing hardened criminals cry in front of their friends and gang leaders when they realised the ripple effect of their crimes. I was often reduced to tears hearing their stories and understanding the circumstances leading to their incarceration. During my prison ministry, John and I opened our home to Justin, an ex-prisoner, for a year and then again later for 18 months when he was battling with AML leukaemia before he died. I knew it was God’s will for me to care for Justin and I promised Justin that I would nurse him in our home until the end. I have been involved with Pollsmoor for 16 years in all. I continue to care for some ex-offenders who have been paroled and are battling to survive – several of whom are homeless. I am humbled that God used me in prison ministry for the past 16 years and feel fulfilled and blessed beyond words.

     

    Year: 1960
    House: Usherwood

  • At Old Girls Day on the 4th of June 2022, Heather was awarded the prestigious St Anne Award. This Award recognises a St Anne’s Old Girl who works tirelessly to improve the lives of others, for no financial benefit at all. This is exactly what Heather does every day, with such dedication and enthusiasm. Heather is fondly known as Pootle or Poots by her classmates. She matriculated in 1974 after 7 years at St Anne’s (having started at the Prep school). She then graduated from UKZN with a legal/marketing B. Com Degree and commenced a magical career working on some of SA’s iconic brands. Heather recalls “ I started work as a marketing trainee and worked my way up to Marketing Director, and then CEO.” She retired 6 years ago, to follow her passion for Palliative caring, gardening and riding her stunning horses in Summerveld at the beautiful Rosehill Stables. Everyday Heather can be found helping the grooms and staff at Summerveld, their families, and communities in the surrounding areas. Improving the lives of the residents from Bucks Farm all the way down into the Shongweni Dam rural areas by building crèches, improving schools and feeding starving families. She organises the inoculation of dogs, feeding of dogs, arranging the dogs to be neutered, setting up a sewing centre where women can learn skills to enable them to earn a living, the list goes on. She worked tirelessly all through the Covid restrictions when food was most needed, through the KZN riots, and recently through the worst floods in KZN history. MAD is helping families who lost everything, to rebuild their houses by supplying blocks, passing the blocks from hand to hand, through river beds, where there are no roads. Recently Heather had a donation of musical instruments, from an American musician, and she persevered until she found a music teacher, who drives 150kms every Friday, to teach the children in the Valley. The videos of the music, singing and dancing is heart-warming and you can see the pure joy in the faces of the children. This has become all consuming, humbling and rewarding work for her. The Old Girls are proud to award the St Anne Award to Heather, she is truly inspirational!

    Year: 1974
    House: Frances Baines

  • Watching a video of the work done by the recipient of this year’s St Anne Award leaves no doubt this Alum is deserving of this achievement. She has shown heart towards the orphaned and abandoned, as well as determination to ensure that the children are kept safe and loved. It gives us great pleasure to present this award to Paula Owen (Class of 1991, Macrorie).
    Matriculating from St Anne’s in 1991, Paula joined the workplace and started working at Style Eyes Clothing, a design and manufacturing supplier to local retailers. However her heart has always gravitated toward the Non-Profit sector. She is currently the Chair of the Ilembe Chamber of Business’ NPO Forum. Through building a beautiful friendship with Gogo Esther, a pillar and heart of the Etete community 12km from Balllito, KwaZulu-Natal, Paula’s vision began to take shape. After 15 years of Paula and Gogo Esther walking the neighbourhood streets, visiting the sick, down-trodden and hungry, SummerHill House was born of which Paula is the Founder and Director. The struggle has been real, but step by step, land was acquired, funds were raised and buildings were built. Summerhill is a registered cluster-foster facility for the long-term care of orphaned and abandoned children. There are currently 11 children in their care that call Summerhill home. The organisation also operates a Community Centre where homework, reading, sport, feeding and social care programs are provided to the greater community. Summerhill House provides assistance to a consistent 30 children a day, 15 crisis families a month and up to 200 children a day during their holiday feeding programs. Paula finds her greatest reward in the work that she does. She is not just fulfilling a need but something that she has been called to do. Paula recalls the following about her time at St Anne’s, “Schooling as a young teenager at St Anne’s definitely ignited a sense of passion and social responsibility within me, as our country faced the AIDS/HIV pandemic. At St Anne’s I developed a good sense of personal identity, shaped by my friendships, the staff and my time in Chapel.” Thank you for inspiring us Paula, we are so proud of you!

     

    Year: 1991
    House: Macrorie

  • Mr Peter Gush joined the St Anne’s Diocesan College Board in 1968 at the age of 37. He was a chartered accountant and partner of Price Waterhouse at the time which stood him in good stead when he was elected as the Chairman of the Board Finance Committee in 1970. He became Chairman of the Board in 1979 and he chaired the Board for 12 years until 1990. Mr Gush was a very involved Chairman and he attended many Board and Finance Committee meetings, as well as Speech Days and other special college functions. He was involved in selecting three Heads of school – Tony Cheetham, Bill McQuade and David Wilkinson.

    Mr Gush gave 52 years of humble, selfless service to the College both on the Board and the Foundation attending many meetings until 2018. He was renowned for his fierce guardianship of financial constraint at the College and preferring to save money “for a rainy” day. He interrogated all requests for funding from the Foundation and this attitude ensured the substantial growth of the Foundation funds. He assisted in getting the loan of R2 million to build Mollie Stone, and he surprised everyone by sanctioning a donation by the Foundation for the funding of the extensions of the Chapel.

    His wife Caroline, their three daughters (Julia (1979), Katie (1981), Hilary (1987) and many of his extended family have been educated at St Anne’s. Sadly Caroline passed away in 2000 and in 2006 Peter battled and won the fight against cancer. Peter is a devoted family man and loves spending time with his children and grandchildren.

    St Anne’s runs through Peter’s veins due to his close family ties with the College over the decades. He is a strong believer in women having equal opportunities and supporting themselves and he has proudly associated himself with St Anne’s core values, which represent his own. He has seen many changes during his time at St Anne’s and he has been an inspiration to us all with his unconditional dedication and service to the growth of the College.

    The St Anne’s Old Girls Guild take great pleasure in awarding Mr Peter Gush with the St Anne Award as well as inviting him to be part of The Guild as Honorary Old Girl.

  • Nokuthula (Thuli) Sibeko is a social entrepreneur at heart. In 1999, prior to starting her career journey, she was a member of a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) called Community Youth Empowa’ment (CYE), an organisation committed to social upliftment through community based initiatives. Some of the key projects of CYE were the established and running a Saturday School for learners in Soweto where they tutored Maths, Science and English; facilitating a self-development programme; building resource Centres in some Soweto schools and hosting career workshops for learners. In 2012 and 2013 she cycled the Cape Argus for charity to help raise funds for school uniforms for one of the charities. She then co-founded Girls Invent Tomorrow (GIT), an NPO dedicated to initiating programs designed to empower, educate and mentor girls about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Through her GIT initiatives and with the support from her clients, she has hosted STEM career days, coding session and ran a 12-week tech Saturday programme. In 2015, she launched the NEXTgen Leadership Conference aimed to engage, motivate and inspire young people to maximise their potential and to guide them as they navigate their way to having a successful career. Thuli was nominated in the category Future ICT Leader at the 2016 ICT Achievers Awards, she was listed as one of the 60 women changing the narrative in Girls Code Blog and listed a Top 10 Youth that are helping revolutionise SA tech. In 2017 she was Awarded the Distinguished Woman in Business Excellence Award at the African Women Leadership Gala Dinner. Thuli continues to inspire girls to reach for their dreams and is a well deserving winner of the St Anne Award.

     

    Year: 1997
    House: Mollie Stone

  • On Old Girls’ Day Jo James was awarded with the prestigious St Anne Award for her incredible service to mentally challenged children. After completing her Bachelor of Social Science degree majoring in Social Work, Jo immediately began making a difference in the lives of numerous children. She began her positive impact on young people while working for the Empangeni Child Welfare after first doing social work for the Pietermaritzburg Mental Health Society. Jo later became Principal of
    Sonskynhoekie Special School for mentally handicapped children which at that time was only open to white pupils. While the Director of Zululand Mental Health, she was alerted to the desperate need for help to assist the high number of black handicapped children in the area. In 1981, she started Thuthukani Special School in her garage. From the initial 4 children, the number rose to 100 children in 6 months and she realized the enormous need to build a school. Relying solely on donations she struggled to find suitable land. In 1990, Jo was granted R500 000 by the government to build a school from scratch and was also gifted a piece of land from a local farmer. The first ever multi-racial special school for mentally challenged children in South Africa was built and officially opened in 1993. What an accomplishment! The school now has 412 children of all races with 180 on a waiting list. Jo remains a Trustee 36 years later and is a worthy and deserving winner of the St Anne Award for 2017

     

    Year: 1967
    House: Frances Baines

  • Angela was so appalled that desperation forced humans to scavenge on the landfill site at Grahamstown that she masterminded a recycling project and under her competent management she has improved the plight and self-respect of impoverished citizens in Grahamstown/eRhini. Her project had created jobs, developed skills, reduced litter and pollution, and alerted people to environmental issues. After a successful career in teaching and prior to her recycling initiative, Angela nurtured and encouraged many teachers in farm schools and in remote parts of the Transkei. Her adherence to commendable values such as empathy, disciplined thinking and the benefit of teamwork was probably first learned in the classrooms and on the playing fields of St Anne’s. However her quiet selflessness in uplifting disadvantaged people sets her apart as a blessing to South Africa and a deserving recipient of the 2015 St Anne Award.

     

    Year: 1960
    House: Andrews

  • For the past 60 years Jenifer has quietly devoted a lifetime of service to others and has served her community with distinction doing charity work. She lives in Johannesburg where she has raised her four children. She has worked in many areas including running the Department for Physically Disabled Children, belonging to Child Welfare at Vrededorp School, working for the Red Cross, Tara Hospital, the Sandton Ambulance Services, Hospice and Lifeline counselling. SANCA visiting schools and educating children on drug abuse and for over a period of 12 years has been counselling at the Linden, Bramley and Sandton Police Stations and at the Sandton Clinic.

     

    Year: 1953
    House: Marianne Browne

  • Ros O’Connor was recognised for her indefatigable social conscience and the considerable gifts of her time, energy and determination to make a difference to diverse and disadvantaged school communities.

     

    Year: 1966
    House: Frances Baines

  • Didi Francis cycled from Cairo to Cape Town, with a team of seven fellow (male) cyclists, to raise funds for the Millennium Promise and the Millennium Villages project in Tanzania. Their efforts resulted in R 1 500 000 being raised.

     

    Year: 2001
    House: Usherwood

  • Jennifer Shumaker began working with The Heifer Project, a privately funded group that assists the poor by donating a heifer (or a similarly appropriate animal) to a deserving recipient. Later, Jennifer joined the Mercy Corps and was sent to Liberia to help to rehabilitate child soldiers. Most recently she has established a family practice specialising in conflict resolution, working particularly with abused women and children in homeless shelters.

     

    Year: 1969
    House: Andrews

  • Jane Inglis has been instrumental in making changes at Turning Point Home in Brixton, Johannesburg where she is fondly known as ‘Mama Jane’, a loving nickname she has acquired from the boys.

     

    Year: 1964
    House: Macrorie

  • Tessa Carss, in partnership with her husband, established the Zoë Carss Education Trust as a memorial to their daughter, with the intention of advancing education, most particularly amongst children and young adults, in developing countries.

     

    Year: 1964
    House: Frances Baines

  • Sarah Dottridge devoted nearly thirty years of her life to the community of Sweetwaters, in the Kwazulu-Natal region of Vulindlela, near Pietermaritzburg. Sarah made a significant difference to this densely populated, semi-rural community of about 100 000 people, most of whom live in conditions of extreme hardship and deprivation.

     

    Year: 1968
    House: Macrorie

  • Meryl Harrison fought for the plight of neglected and abandoned animals in Zimbabwe during the land distributions.

     

    Year: 1956
    House: Macrorie

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS

  • The Award of Excellence is a testament to those who have not just succeeded, but excelled in their chosen field. Lynn’s journey began at St Anne’s in 1967, where she held the position of Head of Macrorie and served as the Vice-Captain of tennis, earning her tennis Colours.

    After school Lynn soared to remarkable heights in her field of expertise, particularly in marine science. Beginning her career as a teaching assistant and later a junior lecturer in the Zoology.

    department at the University of Natal, Lynn’s passion for the marine world led her to pursue a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Marine Law from the University of Cape Town.

    For 24 years, Lynn dedicated herself to the Marine Pollution Division of the Department of Environmental Affairs, eventually rising to lead the department. Her work has brought her into collaboration with local, national, and international government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and industry leaders.

    Today, Lynn stands as a beacon of expertise and dedication, having established herself as an independent consultant under the name of Coastal and Environmental Consulting. Her contracts span a wide range of topics, from coastal management to marine pollution and invasive species.

    Lynn Jackson exemplifies the spirit of excellence and achievement that we hold dear at St Anne’s. Her journey is not only a testament to her individual success but also a source of inspiration for us all.

     

    Year: 1967
    House: Macrorie

  • Thuli was awarded our Award of Excellence for her determination and excellence in her field as a Pediatric Nephrologist. Pediatric nephrologists are specialists. They are coordinators of a team that includes specialized nurses, dieticians, and social workers, all dedicated to the care of children with kidney diseases. They work closely with other physicians such as pediatric urologists, pediatric surgeons, and pediatric radiologists. During her engaging presentation one got the sense of how mentally and emotionally strong she needs to be in order to remain professional while caring for her patients. She highlighted the importance of palliative care as a key intervention for her patients who are suffering from renal failure. She believes this type of intervention allows her to give her patients a better quality of life during their treatment journey. Thuli is truly an exceptional Old Girl who changes the lives of her patients and their families on a daily basis. Her “home team” who are her husband, daughter and two sons are the most important people to start her day with – they are her support system. Thuli left us with the words “Not every day will be a great day, but it doesn’t take much to make it a better day. Stay young.”

     

    Year: 1998
    House: Usherwood

  • We were very fortunate to have Gillian join us at St Anne’s on the 17th of March during a visit home from the UK. She was presented her Award of Excellence by Debbie Erskine in the Theatre in front of an audience who had many questions for the Triathlete Olympian. Gillian has represented SA internationally for 11 years. Most recently at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. She has been to the London and the Rio Olympics, and competed at 2 Commonwealth Games where she was a silver medalist in 2014. There were questions regarding her routine followed as a triathlete, her dedication to her sport and whether she would aim for another Olympics. “I am accountable to myself,” says Gillian, “this keeps and kept me motivated to keep going during my training.” Gillian retired from being a professional athlete last year but continues to compete in her personal capacity. Congratulations on your award and it was fabulous having you back at St Anne’s Gillian!

     

    Year: 1999
    House: Andrews

  • Taryn flew down from Johannesburg to join us on the afternoon of the 18th of March to receive her Award of Excellence. In the spirit of her speaking about her experiences at the Olympics she dressed up in the actual outfit that she wore to the opening ceremony of the Olympics which was designed by a Durban designer especially for the Hockey team. At university she started by captaining the Maties Hockey team, but this was just the beginning. She then went on to play U21 Provincial hockey And later went on to on to represent SA in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. After receiving her Award from Old Girls’ Committee member Debbie Erskine, the audience asked many questions, including whether she met Kevin Durant? No unfortunately she didn’t but many of her team mates did. It was lovely having Taryn back at St Anne’s and the girls thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her time at the Olympics. Congratulations on your award Taryn and thank you for joining us, we wish you many more years of successful hockey playing.

     

    Year: 2009
    House: Mollie Stone

  • The Old Girls’ Committee would like to congratulate Lisa Linfield (née Denoon-Stevens), Usherwood, 1992, who was presented with our Award of Excellence on the 5th of November. In her presentation to the Committee, Lisa embodied the St Anne’s values of “Reflect, Embrace and Reach Out.” Her enthusiasm, her determination to help others, and her down to earth outlook on life was inspiring. She has over 23 years of financial services experience in the UK and South Africa. Over the years, Lisa’s career has evolved to include, Personal Finance Expert, Investment Manager, Author, Keynote Speaker, Course Creator and Podcast Host. She has a goal to equip, engage and empower 1 Million Women to live a financially free life – so that they too may be able to live a life of purpose and choice. To support that goal, Lisa established a weekly podcast, Working Women’s Wealth, featuring women who’ve achieved personally and professionally, as well as shorter episodes to engage, equip and empower her listeners to manage their money. So far her podcast of over 200 episodes has been downloaded more than 75,000 times in 125 different countries. Lisa’s book titled Deep Grooves: Overcoming Patterns That Keep You Stuck aimed to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together. Lisa teaches a holistic approach to money to people of all ages and financial means, in an easy-to-understand way that incorporates financial best practice, as well as the latest research in thinking and mindset change. It was a great privilege for the Old Girls Guild to award Lisa the St Anne’s Excellence award and we are very proud to have her as an alumni of our school.

     

    Year: 1992
    House: Usherwood

  • On 5 March we presented Megan Berning (Usherwood, 2011) with the Award of Excellence. This award is presented to Old Girls who model determination, success and excellence in their chosen field of endeavour. Megan has done amazing work at Ardmore working closely alongside her mother and assisting with inspiring the Ardmore artists in their day to day work. She has been a part of the design team and worked closely with her sister, Catherine, on the Hermes collaborations and new fabric collections.

    She is the Director of the new non-profit Ardmore Community Fund which will bring art and creativity into local, rural schools in Lidgetton.

     

    Year: 2011
    House: Usherwood

  • On Thursday, 17 October, we presented Spoen Green (2013, Macrorie) with the Award of Excellence. This award is presented to Old Girls who model determination, success and excellence in their chosen field of endeavour and Spoen certainly illustrated this with her presentation to the girls when she spoke with great passion and enthusiasm about the Oxpecker Trail Run event and how the idea started and grew to the success it is today.She explained how the Oxpecker Trail Run is South Africa’s top 2-day trail running event and that this is not just a race but an OXPECKER experience! It was hosted in 2015 with 490 runners and has grown to a 3 race weekends event and 3000 runners in 2019.Spoen further demonstrated her determination to be successful in everything she starts by winning the contest on the television show, My Kitchen Rules South Africa, with her sister Rox, in 2018.Spoen left the girls with the message, “Bravery will get you places, it takes 20 seconds of insane courage and something good will come of it.”

     

    Year: 2013
    House: Macrorie

  • On Friday, 1 February, we hosted Toni Burton (nee Spiller, 1976, FB) at St Anne’s and presented her with the Award of Excellence for her commitment to training and empowering disadvantaged women. In 2007, she started up her company, Zizamele, and was able to employ a number of ladies who she had trained in the art of creating ceramics. Zizamele has grown from strength to strength and the ladies who fashion these beautiful pieces have the security of employment and a steady income. Toni addressed the girls of St Anne’s before accepting her award and was an inspiration to all. She present 3 girls who asked her favourite questions with beautiful Zizamele pieces. She also gave St Anne’s an iconic Ubuntu Bowl which we will proudly display!

     

    Year: 1976
    House: Frances Baines

  • On 2 June 2017, the St Anne’s Old Girls’ Guild awarded Sarah Collins with The Award of Excellence for her incredible journey empowering impoverished women with the Wonderbag. In 2008, during the rolling blackouts that gripped South Africa, Sarah had an idea. She had found her destiny and was about to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of women across impoverished areas of Africa. The next day, Sarah created the prototype for her heat-retention cooker, the Wonderbag. After food is brought to a boil, the pot is placed in the heavily-lined bag where it slow-cooks for up to 8 hours. “Finding firewood for cooking takes a huge amount of rural women’s time,” explains Sarah, “and gathering it is very dangerous. The wood fires used to cook then cause indoor pollution, a leading cause of death worldwide in children under five. Having the Wonderbag would empower the women to feed their families, generate an income, and save them time.” The Wonderbag eases the impact of health, social, economic and environmental problems facing Africa and developing countries. It enhances people’s quality of life by reducing time spent cooking. This small home business has expanded into a global social impact business. It is a dual model company with The Wonderbag Foundation focused on distributing bags to the poor. The busy Wonderbag factories produce hundreds of Wonderbags daily and a percentage of the proceeds from each Wonderbag purchased around the world are donated to the Foundation, helping them distribute Wonderbags to poverty-stricken communities. Sarah’s new goal is to sell 100 million Wonderbags to people worldwide. With the sales of these Wonderbags, the Foundation is committed to programs that continue to support the donation of bags to families in need which will act as catalysts for change! Sarah spent an afternoon interacting with the St Anne’s girls and imparted much inspiration. She is a true visionary and has an incredible heart for people. Her enthusiasm and dedication for this cause can only lead to its continued success. www.wonderbag.co.za

     

    Year: 1987
    House: Usherwood

  • This week we were able to honour one of our remarkable Old Girls by presenting Susan Abro (Frances Baines, 1981) with the Award of Excellence. This award is presented to Old Girls who model determination, success and excellence in their chosen field of endeavour and Sue certain fulfills all these criteria and so much more. She has always been passionate about her career and is highly regarded as a specialist in family law where she has focused on the rights of women and children. Sue is regarded as an international specialist on Family Law matters and has done much work in connection with the abduction of minor children. She was the first woman vice-president of the KZN law society, is a member of the Law Society of SA, and the Chairperson of the Family Law Committee of SA. Sue has really excelled and the outstanding accolade of being named SA’s Family Lawyer of the Year for 2016 is a credit to her integrity, dedication and skill. Sue’s firm has also been named the South African Boutique Family Law Firm of the Year for 2017. She is an incredible role model as she has forged her way through commitment to her chosen career and the community she has served, and she has managed to retain a balance with family, friends and work – and she has a wonderful capacity for fun! Our current girls were delighted to hear Sue’s advice and insight into pursuing a career in Law as well as her stories from her time here at St Anne’s.

     

    Year: 1981
    House: Frances Baines

  • Annabel is the project Director of the Stellenbosch Community Development Programme which she started in Kayamandi 10 years ago. Working tirelessly she has built it from non-existent to a remarkable, self-sustaining, donor funded, non-profit organisation ,which evaluates 2300 children in the community and supplies those who are malnourished, approximately 2000, with a daily meal. S.C.D.P. has also initiated a food parcel programme for parents, encouraged the establishment of food gardens at homes and helps parents identify and create income earning opportunities through training and mentorship programmes. Annabel is making a dramatic difference in so many people’s lives and is a well deserving winner of out St Anne Award 2016. S.C.D.P.

     

    Year: 1979
    House: Frances Baines

  • The inaugural Award of Excellence was presented to Francie Lunch on 21 October 2016 in recognition of her incredible social work. In 2016, Rhodes University awarded Francie with an honorary doctorate for her lifelong work as a social policy and welfare activist. This was presented to her in particular for her chairmanship, in 1995 and 1996, of the Lund Committee of Enquiry into Child and Family Support investigating forms of support for poor children in post-apartheid South Africa, which Lled to the introduction of the Child Support Grant. Francie attended the University of Cape Town where she completed a Bachelor of Social Science, cum laude, in 1968. In 1969 she went to work in Scotland as a social work therapist and in 1971 she received a post graduate diploma in Community Development from Manchester University, and later, a Master’s degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She was promoted through the ranks of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is now a Senior Research Associate at the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, where until retirement in 2008, she was tenured Associate Professor. Francie is also the international director of the Social Protection Programme of WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), a global research and advocacy network involved with improvement of the conditions of work of poorer informal workers. Francie’s unfailing commitment to community welfare makes her a well deserving winner of this prestigious award.

     

    Year: 1964
    House: Usherwood