Mammuso Makhanya
Wordworks Director
Mammuso is a socially conscious, engaged African feminist. She was inspired to a career in social development by her experience of an academic and social enrichment programme which helped her to excel at school. As a result, she relishes opportunities to contribute her skills and experience to enhance the potential of others.
Mammuso has worked with not-for-profit organisations for most of her 30-year career, spanning a wide range of sectors, including Early Education and Youth Development. Most recently, since 2013, Mammuso has been the Senior Client Relationship Manager at Tshikululu Social Investments. In this role she managed the social Investment programmes of two major foundations in partnership with a number of NPOs, in the ECD and education space. She has worked closely with government departments including the Department of Basic Education and Department of Social Development on Early Childhood Development policy and implementation.
Gabriel Boka
Finance & Operations Manager
Gabriel worked for the Public Service in various Ministries for more than sixteen years. He worked as Accounts Clerk, Human Resources Clerk, Accountant and then as Internal Auditor. He has Diplomas in Financial Accounting and in Credit Management. He also has a degree in Business Administration (BBA) and has done a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA). Gabriel has been with Wordworks since 2010.
Andrea George
Communications Manager
Andrea has had 15 years of language teaching experience at various primary and high schools, as well as tertiary institutions. She also co-ordinated the Writing Centre at UWC for 3 years. After a stint in the corporate world, Andrea developed her interest in communications when teaching the subject in South Korea. For 6 years, she worked as communications manager at the Black Sash, first part-time and then full-time, before taking up her current position in communications at Wordworks in 2016.
Edeline Boka
HR Officer and Office Administrator
Edeline worked as a Secretary for the Ministry of Justice for three years before joining Wordworks in 2012. She has a B.COM in Human Resources Management and a National Diploma in Secretarial studies. She has also attended various short courses in administration and Human Resources.
Christine MacLachlan
Programmes Officer
Christine joined us after working in the corporate industry for 12 years. She graduated with an Executive Legal Personal Assistant Diploma and then worked as Marketing Assistant in the Financial Services Industry while studying for her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree through Unisa. She then went on to work in Stellenbosch for a Property Development company where she was a Personal Assistant for nearly 10 years. During this time she graduated with a Post-Grad Diploma in Marketing Management through Unisa. She has a great love for South Africa and is delighted to be working for an organisation that is building up the younger generation and making a difference in our beautiful country.
Bonga Magazi
Audio-visual Material Production Coordinator
Bonga likes to call herself the child of the NGO sector because that’s who she is. With a certificate in Community Development Practice, Bonga has served in a number of organisations and has done work around gender-based violence, arts and culture, recycling and literacy development to mention just a few.
Her love for story-telling has seen her working in a number of productions at Artscape and the Baxter Theater as a stage manager. She has also shared the stage with many critically acclaimed poets in the country.
Her TV production work and experience has seen her producing a documentary on teen pregnancy and was part of the team that produced the last season of Siyayinqoba, ‘Beat it!’ She has worked as script editor, translator, language supervisor and assistant to the director in a number of productions commissioned by the SABC.
Bonga’s mission in life is to create and contribute in spaces where community development is at the top of the agenda for the marginalised and less privileged.
Kirsten Deane
Online Producer and Writer
Kirsten is a Creative Writing Masters students at the University of the Western Cape. She is currently completing her thesis that explores the relationship between poetry and photography. She majored in English literature in her undergraduate degree and went on to start her specialty in creative writing in her honours year. Kirsten has worked as a creative editor for her university and also tutored undergraduate students in English Literature. While being a fulltime student, Kirsten also spend her time working on the craft of her writing and finding her own unique voice. This resulted in numerous publications, including The Best New African Poets 2019 and 2020 anthologies. Kirsten tends to focus on poetry but she has also published a short story through New Contrast, a well-known South African literary journal. Kirsten is our online writer and producer, writing stories and uploading online content is her specialty. Kirsten also has an interest in furthering and developing education.
Jane Coombe
Deputy Director
Jane taught at Mount View and Cathkin High Schools on the Cape Flats, during the 1980s. She was awarded a Masters Degree from the Institute of Education, University of London and then worked at UCT where she was involved in teacher and curriculum development. She was Director of the Mathematics Education Project and went on to establish UCT’s Schools Development Unit. She was National Programme Director at the Black Sash for eight years before returning to her roots in education by joining Wordworks.
Colleen Hughes
Head of Operations
Colleen started her career as a teacher and taught for seven years in Cape Town. After completing a Master’s Degree in Education at Sussex University (UK), she took up a range of positions in educational (and broader social science) research, project management, monitoring and evaluation, strategic partnerships, strategic corporate support and business performance management. Her most recent work was at an international NGO where she provided advisory and business operations support to national NGOs in various African countries. In 2020, Colleen completed a Master’s Degree in Development Practice (MDP) at the University of Pretoria.
Isabella Hugow
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager
Before joining Wordworks in 2015, Isabella obtained her BA from the University of Cape Town where she majored in English Literature, Film Studies and International Relations. She has experience in tutoring both foundation phase and high school learners as a volunteer, and has also worked as a tutor for university students. She is currently enrolled at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology at Stellenbosch University, studying part-time towards a PGDip in Monitoring and Evaluation Methods.
Tahirih Smith-Adams
Materials and Finance Officer
Tahirih completed Parts 1 and 2 at the Institute of Chartered Accountants CA (GH), and then started working for Latex Foam Rubber Products Limited in 2008 as a receptionist. She became an accounts officer (2009–2012), and then was promoted to Assistant Accountant (2013–2014) upon completion of Level 2 of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (GH). In 2016, she was the co-ordinator of the Wordworks Ready Steady Read Write Programme at Liwa Primary School (Nyanga), while assisting in the Wordworks office on a part-time basis. Tahirih joined the organisation on a full-time basis in 2017.
Jacqui Botha
Materials Design and Production Manager
Jacqui obtained her BComm (Marketing and Communications Management) from the University of Pretoria in 2007. She worked in corporate fashion for few years before realising that she had a passion for all things design and layout. After working as a freelancer for many corporate businesses and NGOs, she solidified her passion for design with several short courses, focusing on book design and editorial layout. She has been working with Wordworks in a part-time capacity since 2011 and joined full time in 2021. She is as passionate about helping people as she is about designing beautiful things.
Katherine de Wet
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer
Katherine is a qualified social worker and she has experience working with school aged children in various settings. After practicing as a school social worker she was drawn towards bigger picture interventions, specifically within early literacy. She completed her Master’s degree in Social Development at the University of Cape Town, which looked at the reading habits of parents with young children, and joined Wordworks full-time in January 2022. The combination of practical programmes and a commitment to learning/ research at Wordworks provides the perfect balance for Katherine’s interests.