Irene Mpofu, a South African, is registered for a master’s degree in Law at the University of Pretoria. Irene plans to join the National Prosecuting Authority as a state prosecutor specializing in fraud, money laundering and forensic auditing. Irene has completed two undergraduate degrees, one in law and the other in commerce, both from the University of the Witwatersrand, and is now pursuing two master’s degrees; one in law and one in fraud, risk, and money laundering.

Irene’s compelling motivation in all her work is to make South Africa a safer space for the 30 million women who live in there. She points to the low prosecution rates of white-collar crimes in South Africa (less than 7%) and unequivocally believes that women and children are the unseen victims of white-collar crimes, which most frequently steal funds designated for projects in impoverished communities.

As a young woman Irene witnessed a great deal of injustice against women and children within her community. She has always been concerned by the inability of the current structures in South Africa to provide adequate redress for the women in her community, including her own mother. It is her mother’s journey of navigating life in South Africa as a black woman that motivated Irene to want to change the status quo for all women in South Africa. The passing of her mother in 2018 solidified this ambition to work hard for the women in her life and all women in South Africa.

Irene volunteers as a debating coach for the South African Schools Debating Board. She coached the South African national junior debating team, which in 2017 the team was the youngest to reach the finals of the Asian World Schools Debating Championships in Thailand. She has also volunteered at the Wits Law Clinic, where she focused on obtaining housing assistance for low-income families in and around Johannesburg, South Africa.

Zakiyya Laher is a South African enrolled in a PhD program at the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, at the University of Pretoria. She is a school-based speech therapist and audiologist working at a government-funded school. Her research focuses on the effectiveness of communication intervention approaches for persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). Zakiyya’s extensive experience as a therapist has shown that intensive interaction opens possibilities for communication, teaching and learning for persons with PIMD. She is deeply passionate about creating communication opportunities for children who are frequently “written off” by society and aims to train teachers, therapists, families and school administrators to communicate with persons with PIMD.

When Zakiyya was growing up, her mother refused to perpetuate gender-based roles and her father had the strength, courage, and wisdom to nurture her goals in the face of societal and cultural constraints towards girls. These values passed on by her parents made her deeply passionate about creating communication and participation opportunities for children with complex communication needs who are frequently “unheard” and “unseen” in their homes, educational, and social environments. It is a legacy she hopes to share with her colleagues and patients.

Zakiyya’s goals include undertaking evidence-based research that will assist and train families, teachers, therapists, nurses, and teaching assistants to interact and communicate with persons with PIMD in ways that enrich their own lives as well as those of children with PIMD.

She volunteers with support groups for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, Down Syndrome, and PIMD. Zakiyya also organizes parent and staff training workshops on augmentative and alternative communication strategies for children with complex communication needs.