From the refugee camps to corridors of higher learning The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has been a key partner for the African Leadership Centre (ALC), since the 2011-12 academic year. As part of their 18 month training programme, ALC Fellows undertake a 6 month work placement at an African University in order to begin applying some of the skills already learnt and to develop them further, before returning to their home institution on the continent. The ALC is a global community of scholars, based at King s College London and the University of Nairobi, whose research on peace, leadership and security issues aims to inform and influence policy change both in Africa and at a global level. The ALC was founded in Nairobi in 2010 and runs groundbreaking masters programmes and a highly competitive Fellowship programme that allows those involved to work and study on several continents. To date, ALC has trained approximately 100 young African scholars and policy practitioners on its programmes. The University of Johannesburg (UJ) received an ALC Fellow for the 2012-13 Academic year: Eric Blanco Niyitunga, a UJ doctoral student, who takes us through the journey of his life from the refugee camps to the corridors of higher learning which have been both astounding, as well as fascinating. Testimony Niyitunga articulates I truly cannot fathom how I got where I am in my career, however, my story is a testimony for those who are suffering under the burden of poor governance and inequalities in Africa. May this story serve as an inspiration to the young minds to pursue their dreams in life with the knowledge that out there, there are institutions like Daystar, ALC, the Division for Internationalisation at UJ, SARChI in African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, and the School of Leadership with passionately well-meaning personalities like Mr Lebethe Malefo, Director: Study Abroad, Division for Internationalisation, Dr Pinkie Mekgwe,
Executive Director, Division for Internationalisation, Dr Sydney Mufamadi, Director: School of Leadership and Professor Chris Landsberg, Director: SARChi Chair of African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, who truly care, and can listen to your story. From zero to hero When I was approached by the Division for Internationalisation to recount my academic journey from King s College London to the University of Johannesburg, the critical incandescent moment for me, that illuminates years before my academic journey and after, is a flash of the injustice and inequality whose burden I had to bear as a refugee from Burundi-running away from a conflict whose cause, as a child, I could not understand, running for my life, with nothing in my possession, except the resilience to prevail, says Eric. The key to education Kenya became my home after many years of living in refugee camps and doing manual jobs such as washing clothes for people and being paid as little as kes. 300 per month which is equivalent to approximately 30 rand per month. I had always wanted to further my education in Peace and Conflict Studies specialising in the international mediation and diplomatic techniques of resolving political violence. This led me to apply for a BA in International Relations at the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi, Kenya. Unfortunately due to lack of fees I was denied a place to join the University and almost lost hope in life. It was after many years of struggle with support from well-wishers, notably from Daystar University-US office, that I was able to pursue my Bachelor s degree in Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies at Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya, and graduated with a Magna Cum Laude, which is a first class honours in the British system. Due to my academic performance during my first degree, the department of peace and International Studies retained me in the department as a graduate research assistant. It was during my tenure as a teaching and research assistant at Daystar University in 2011 when one of the students in my class brought me an African Leadership Centre (ALC) advert for the 2011 cohort that I first heard about the ALC programme at King s College London. ALC Fellowship I read about the ALC s values - especially the pursuit of excellence, vision and mission for training young Africans that will drive peace, security and development agenda on the continent - particularly struck my mind. Moreover, I got to understood that ALC fellowship is of a twofold programme. The first programme recruits only women and these women are taken to King s College London and Nairobi to be trained on the issues of gender and the
role of women in leadership. The second programme recruits junior scholars who are admitted into the King s College London Masters programme to do research on the issues of Peace, Security and Development. These programmes made me reflect on the paucity of leadership in Africa, and the many generations lost because of Africa s poor governance since independence. I subsequently made a choice to apply to join ALC at King s College London to be part of the agent for change in Africa. In the same year 2011, I applied for the fellowship with full confidence that my application would be successful. Unfortunately, I was not accepted into the ALC programme. I, however, did not lose hope of joining the programme. I decided to apply for a deferment of my Masters admission in International Peace and Security at King s College London to 2012. It was when I applied for the second time that my application was successful and I, therefore, made it onto the programme. The academic requirement to join the Masters programme at King s college is very high, and the ALC s interview process is extremely competitive. At the time of our cohort intake, further requirements were for the selected fellows to register for a Masters in Conflict, Security, and Development or a Masters in International Peace and Security at King s College London. Students were expected to do coursework that was examined in essays, a final exam and thesis. Students held rigorous interactive mentorship sessions with various invited key players in the fields of Gender, Security, Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, Leadership and Development in London (London is ideal for these sessions since it is a central meeting point for key players from around the world). The programme also entailed simulation exercises; mentorship sessions for one month in Nairobi; and a field visit in New York for one month to learn about the UN system and major institutions in the field of Security and Development that are based in New York. Regrettably, due to some unavoidable circumstances, I was not able to join the team that made the study visit to the UN Headquarters in New York, and various international institutions working on Peace and Security issues across the globe. Finally, the programme has an attachment component of six months in any academic or regional institution of higher learning in Africa. The institution must have partnership with ALC, and University of Johannesburg (UJ) is one of these institutions. Relationship with UJ At the beginning I did not choose to come to UJ, my initial choice was to join the Institute of Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Unavoidably, and fortunately in the end, given my current experience at UJ, I found myself in UJ. I started my six months attachment at the University of Johannesburg in the SARChI Chair in African diplomacy and
Foreign Policy in October 2013 under the supervision of Professor Chris Landsberg. But before I go in-depth about my experience under Professor Landsberg, I would like to talk about the critical role that the Internationalisation office plays in the life of ALC fellows at the University of Johannesburg. Without the support of the division for Internationalisation, ALC fellows cannot make it to UJ, and easily cope with life within the university. The department offered me an invitation letter which facilitated my Visa application. Upon arrival, the Director for Study Abroad, Mr. Lebethe Malefo was kind to me. I was offered an office near his office, and fully furnished accommodation on APK campus. He took me around UJ campus square including taking us on a tour of Mandela House Museum in Soweto. Dr. Pinkie Mekgwe, the Executive director for Internationalisation, would often come to my office and check on what I was doing. She encouraged me to work hard and be focussed in life. I expressed to her my passion in teaching and to my utter dismay, she immediately picked up her phone and made a phone to Soweto campus that made my dream a reality. She asked Dr. Sydney Mufamadi, the director of UJ School of leadership Soweto campus to offer me a part time teaching opportunity. I ended up getting a temporary appointment as a senior tutor and researcher in the school of leadership which was initially on voluntary basis but was later converted into a remunerating part-time job. The SARChI Chair in African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, under the supervision of the able true Pan-Africanist, Prof. Chris Landsberg, has been tremendously fulfilling in my career development. I have been able to publish one article in the South African peer reviewed journal. Since I had an interest to do a PhD, I had earlier approached Dr. Mekgwe expressing my interest in doing it at UJ. She had advised me that I should pursue the discussion with my supervisor. When it was one week to my departure after completing my attachment at UJ as a research fellow, Prof. Chris Landsberg was impressed by my article and asked me if I would consider doing further research at the doctoral level on the same theme of my article under his supervision. He shared with me his academic experience and how a book chapter he wrote became his doctoral thesis at Oxford University. He encouraged me that the article I had just published can be converted into a doctoral proposal and do further studies at the doctoral level. I liked the idea, meanwhile he asked me to apply for a UJ scholarship. I did apply for the UJ scholarship, got it and got registered in the doctoral programme. Future looking bright
I am currently a doctoral candidate, having submitted my doctoral thesis in under two years. From the time I registered for my PhD studies, I continued publishing, as per now, I have my other two articles accepted for publication in peer review journals and other two articles and two book chapters have been submitted for peer review. In the meantime, I applied for a fulltime advertised job as a senior lecturer and researcher in the school of leadership at the Soweto campus and the interview was a success. I am also in the process of being interviewed for the position of house warden at the Kopano Residence DFC campus. I am already a house warden there on temporary basis pending an interview.