The Sonke Gender Justice staff are:

Bafana Khumalo is the co-founder and co-director of the Sonke Gender Justice Project. Bafana served as the Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission on Gender Equality from 2000-2006. Prior to being appointed to the CGE in 2001 he was a pastor and director of the Lobethal Lutheran Conference Centre and later the Executive Director of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) where he managed the SADC Region and was responsible for project implementation including designing, facilitating and monitoring training programmes for member churches in South Africa and the SADC region. Active in the anti-apartheid struggle, he worked with the Soweto Civic Association and subsequently participated in the  peace accords. At the CGE he has assisted National and Provincial Departments of Government to plan and coordinate many activities related to men, gender and HIV/AIDS. These include  the development of the National Gender Machinery Working Group on Men and Gender Equality, and running a multi-year “Men's Dialogue” in all nine provinces.

Dean Peacock is co-founder and co-director of the Sonke Gender Justice Project. Over the last 15 years Dean has developed and implemented many projects on gender and HIV/AIDS. He founded and directed the Men Overcoming Violence (MOVE) Youth Program,  co-authored The United States Agenda for the Nation on Violence Against Women and developed and coordinated the Building Partnerships Initiative to End Men’s Violence for the Family Violence Prevention Fund. From 2001-2005 he was the South Africa Program Director for EngenderHealth and provided ongoing training and technical assistance to many government departments and civil society organisations on the implementation of the Men as Partners (MAP) Program, including the establishment of the National Gender Machinery Working Group on Men and Gender Equality. Dean has worked as a consultant to many national and international organisations including many United Nations agencies, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Treatment Action Campaign, Soul City, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and the Family Violence Prevention Fund.  In 2003 he was selected by the United Nations  to attend the “Expert Group Meeting on Reaching Men and Boys to Achieve Gender Equality” held in Brazilia and in 2004 gave a plenary address at the United Nations on the occasion of International Women's Day. His writing has been published in many peer reviewed journals including The Lancet, the International Journal of Men's Health and the Journal of Men and Masculinities. In addition to his work at Sonke Gender Justice, he is also a member of the UCLA Program in Global Health.

Donald Ambe is currently Office Administrator for Sonke. Donald was born in Buea in the South West province of Cameroon in West Africa, and started his advocacy work as head of the student government at Bilingual Grammar School. Donald is now a gender and AIDS activist with extensive experience implementing Men as Partners initiatives. His first involvement in MAP was while working for EngenderHealth in South Africa. He was instrumental in reaching out to the refugee and migrant communities in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, and also served in the administrative unit. In 2006, Donald worked as a consultant for EngenderHealth in his native Cameroon where he trained health service providers on the MAP approach. Since joining Sonke, Donald has been involved in both research activities and operations. He was the lead researcher on a survey entitled ‘Understanding Men’s Perceptions of Their Own and Government’s Response to Violence against Women,’ which generated significant national and international attention; he was also part of the research team that compiled the South African Country Report for the UN's Commission on the Status of Women.

Zithulele Dlakavu currently works for Sonke Gender Justice implementing One Man Can activities in Nyanga District. He is also the Artistic Director of Siyanqoba Theatre Project and a member of Bonfire Theatre Company and runs weekend camps for men with Men’s Trust. In addition to being an OMC facilitator, he is an aspiring young actor, writer and director of educational plays and participant in playback theatre. He has performed in a number of critically acclaimed plays including: Diaries of my Womanhood and Echoes of Our Footsteps which premiered at the Grahamstown Arts Festival. He has directed plays addressing gender equality, cervical cancer, termination of pregnancy and on water scarcity and strategies for saving it.  He recently worked with the Center for Digital Storytelling to produce a short documentary examining notions of masculinity and fatherhood.

Patrick Godana is a gender and social justice activist currently coordinating Sonke Gender Justice’s One Man Can Campaign in the Eastern Cape, where he is working specifically in two rural areas to support men’s greater involvement in meeting the needs of children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Patrick was an anti-apartheid activist in the Eastern Cape township of New Brighton. With the arrival of the new democratic dispensation, Patrick earned a degree in theology from the University of the Western Cape and shortly thereafter took a position at the Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa where he was influential in shaping the design of the Men as Partners (MAP) Programme.  After leaving PPASA, Patrick coordinated a workplace HIV/AIDS programme for Ford Motor Company in Port Elizabeth. He then joined EngenderHealth in 2005 and provided training and technical assistance to a range of organisations in the Western and Eastern Cape including the Treatment Action Campaign, the Steven Biko Foundation and Masimanyane. During this period Patrick represented the MAP Network internationally traveling to Sweden and Mozambique, amongst other places. He and his wife Thoko have two young children and now live in Cape Town. 

Jean-Pierre Kalala has extensive experience in the gender, HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health fields, with a particular focus on managing programmes with refugee communities. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Pierre is a nurse by profession and has taught nursing in the DRC and also in Rwanda where he worked in the late '90's.  At Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA), he managed and implemented their Refugee Life Skills Programme in KwaZulu-Natal and more recently worked for the Mennonite Central Committee.  This work included developing training materials on peer education, training a variety of stakeholders on refugee reproductive health and setting in place coordinating structures. Jean Pierre has presented at a number of different national and international forums, exploring specifically the psychosocial impact of HIV/AIDS on refugees.

Nyanda Khanyile is a gender and HIV/AIDS activist and has worked with men for many years. Since leaving the private sector where he worked for First National Bank, he has developed and implemented many male involvement programmes. At PPASA he worked closely with the Women's Health Project and EngenderHealth to implement a gender equity project within the South African National Defence Force and trained many SANDF social workers and other military personnel on HIV/AIDS and gender based violence prevention. Since then he has been actively involved in the Men as Partners Network and worked as a consultant with EngenderHealth and Hope Worldwide to coordinate a MAP intervention in Soweto, and with UNICEF to implement MAP activities in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. Nyanda lives in Soweto with his wife and son.

Vital Kabamba Mabondo is from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  His interest in the field of HIV/AIDS began in 2000 after finishing his first year in Public Relations in DRC.  Vital also holds a matric in general mechanics.  After he arrived in SA in 2001, he enrolled with PPASA and as part of the peer education training in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS in 2002.  Subsequently in 2002-2005 he worked with PPASA as a peer educator for the refugee program. He has run many workshops in different French language churches and with youth from various communities. Vital has extensive experience in refugee community mobilisation.

Stubbs Maluleke started working in the HIV/AIDS and development field more than ten years ago with Township AIDS Project (TAP) in Soweto as a volunteer. In TAP he was involved in many roles including counseling, conducting workshops on HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and peer education. In 2002 he was awarded a scholarship called Professional Applied Exchange Knowledge (PEAK) from the University of Michigan USA for young professionals to do course work at the university and other leading reproductive health institutions in USA. On his return from the USA he started  a cyber café at TAP for  youth in school and out of school to be taught about reproductive health issues and using the internet and at the same time gaining the much sought after computer skills. In 2005 he left TAP to join HIVSA, where he was a training coordinator responsible for the capacity building of lay counselors, nurses and home base care givers from the accredited ARV roll out sites and NGOs in Soweto. Training was on ARVs , HIV/AIDS and adherence counseling. He was responsible for the accreditation of HIVSA by the HWSETA.

Leo Mbobi is currently working for Sonke on the One man Can Campaign in Nyanga district. Included in the work he has done with Sonke is the mobilization of communities of Khayelitsha against gender based violence and rape. Leo has also worked on encouraging fatherhood and the active promotion of healthy relationship. His involvement has lead to the unveiling of murals aimed at raising the awareness of communities at large.  Leo has volunteered for Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA) as a facilitator working with men.   In addition, Leo has worked as a volunteer for (ASSET) Association for Educational Transformation where he championed issues of women empowerment, the protection of vulnerable children and career guidance.Leo is an entrepreneur, a youth leader and a pro-active individual who wants to see an end to the gender wars currently raging on the African continent.

Duduzile S. Ndlovu was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where she also grew up. As a little girl she dreamt of becoming a doctor so she could help people. Her dream of becoming a doctor was never realized but Dudu’s passion for working with people thrives as she works in the fields of HIV and AIDS and gender. She holds a Bachelor of Science Honors Degree in Environmental Science and Health. Dudu is also a certified HIV and AIDS counselor. Dudu has worked in Zimbabwe in rural development, drought relief, HIV and AIDS mitigation programs and humanitarian projects.

Mabel Ngum is originally from Bamenda in the North West Province of Cameroon. She has been a school teacher for the past 6 years in both the Republic of Cameroon and in South Africa. As a teacher, Mabel has always taken it upon herself to provide HIV/AIDS education amongst her students. She is currently a volunteer with Sonke Gender Justice Network in Cape Town and also a final year BA (Human and Social Studies) at UNISA. Mabel hopes to become actively involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to promote public awareness on issues related to gender equality.

Freddy Nkosi is the coordinator for the Refugee One Man Can Project in the Western Cape. He comes from a diverse background, where he has studied political studies, nursing science, tour guiding and lifesaving. He worked as a coordinator of the Refugee Sexual and Reproductive Health and Life Skills Project at Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA) before joining Sonke. Freddy has excellent facilitation skills which make every workshop that he runs an unforgotten moment. He has a wealth of experience in working with refugees, especially on the issues that affect their sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS, STIs and gender issues.
Freddy strives for professionalism, excellence and a high standard of service delivery.

Thami Floyd Nkosi has been a gender and HIV/AIDS activist for seven years. He has been involved in the Man As Partners network whilst working for Hope World Wide as a facilitator. Thami has trained trainers for many organisations in and around Gauteng and other provinces as part of the MAP intervention. This was done in part as a strategy to implement programmes that promote male involvement on eradicating HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. Part of his experience includes working as a consultant for Sonke Gender Justice Network to implement the One Man Can campaign and to provide training for organisations in the Free State and the Western Cape.

Lena Nyahodza is a One Man Can Trainer working on the Refugee Project in the Western Cape.  She started working with HIV/AIDS and gender related issues in 2000 under the Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe.  She is a qualified educator holding a BA in Education, including guidance and counseling. She went through a programme offered by the Ministry of Education in 2002 and trained as a facilitator and trainer in the department of HIV/AIDS education. For five years she worked as a facilitator assisting other teachers in the AIDS Education department.  She also worked as a Girl Child Patron assisting girls facing different kinds of abuse in homes and in schools.  For two years she worked as a volunteer at the Widows Affairs Organisation offering assistance to widows who face a variety of challenges after the loss of their husbands.

Dikeledi Nobesuthu Ramongane is a Refugee Programme Officer at Sonke Gender Justice and is based in Tshwane. She started working as a trainer in  sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and development programs 6 years ago with PPASA Gauteng. She worked closely with refugees and migrants in Gauteng, implementing the Refugee Life Skills Program where she was involved in peer education, as well as the training of refugee service providers on refugee reproductive health issues.  Before this, she worked as a volunteer with SACC, as a trainer in disaster management programs and with NICRO, working with juvenile offenders. Nobesuthu currently resides in Tshwane with family.

Sgidi Sibeko has been involved in MAP work for many years. Until he joined Sonke Gender Justice, Sgidi coordinated the country’s largest MAP project for Hope Worldwide managing staff in the Eastern Cape, KZN, the Western Cape and Gauteng. Prior to his involvement in MAP, Sgidi was a trade unionist and also lived for a while in Lesotho where he ministered to a congregation in Maseru. Sgidi has designed and implemented many HIV/AIDS workplace trainings for a wide range of corporate clients including South African Airways, Coca-Cola and Liberty Life. Sgidi is recognized for his training and facilitation skills and for his ability to support and encourage youth leadership.

Raoul R Swart’s interest in the field of HIV/AIDS began in the mid-80’s when as a Medical Technologist student he worked with patient’s HIV positive blood samples at Somerset Hospital, Cape Town.  Raoul went into political exile in 1986 and underwent military training in Libya.  He spent the rest of his exile in Zimbabwe where he got married to his wife Yumna and where their first of three children were born.  Subsequent to his return from exile in the early 90’s Raoul worked for the National AIDS Programme (NAP) of the National Progressive Health Care Network (NPPHCN) as an administrator and trainer.  Raoul was central to the establishment of the Men as Partners (MAP) Student Peer Education Programme at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town Campus.  Besides implementing MAP, Raoul has trained the academic and non-academic staff at CPUT and has also worked with trade unions, within prisons and with civil society organizations.  Raoul is active in the Muslim community in Cape Town and has recently been re-elected as Chairperson of the Douglas Road Primary School Governing Body.

John Treat currently serves as Sonke’s Manager of Operations, where he supervises the organisation’s core operational functions and development of organisational systems, policies and procedures. Prior to joining Sonke, John served as Senior General Manager for Organisational Services and Senior Advisor to the Secretary General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, a global civil society advocacy and capacity-building network with members in some 100 countries. John has substantial previous experience in international development work, with an emphasis in integrated social, economic and political development and initiatives that strengthen links between citizens and institutions at all levels, including several years as Programme Officer on a major association-building project in one of the most ethnically divided parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. John has worked as a university lecturer, and has extensive experience in the design, development and implementation of organizational systems, policies, and planning and management tools, as well as in research, writing and editing.

Kelly Engel Wells is an intern focusing on creating educational materials to inform the public about their rights under the Sexual Offences Act. Originally from Pittsburgh, USA, she graduated from Stanford University in 2005 with a BA in Comparative Literature and Honors in Latin American Studies. As an undergraduate, she worked with the Fundación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos (Regional Foundation for Human Rights Consulting) in Quito, Ecuador to write and publish Mujeres Sin Refugio/ Women Without Refuge, a gendered analysis of refugee policy in Ecuador. She was also active in local migration-related issues, co-founding a student organisation called Habla la Noche dedicated to tutoring Stanford’s immigrant service workers, and working with the East Palo Alto Community Legal Project to draft policy regarding immigrants’ use of identification documents. After graduating, Kelly joined Teach for America and became a dual language primary school teacher in New York, NY. Kelly lives in Cape Town with her partner, two roommates, and a cat.