It was not easy maintaining our team’s balance when the playing field was sinking. The CCS staff cohort was reduced dramatically at the beginning of 2009, given a prohibition against formal hiring of any CCS staffperson aside from the director, Patrick Bond – an edict by the UKZN deputy vicechancellor and dean (both of whom left in December). When that crippling restriction was lifted, two research officers – Baruti Amisi and Shauna Mottiar – were given contracts for CCS projects on xenophobia and social philanthropy, respectively.

In addition, our hard-working Community Scholars on short-term contracts during 2009 included Dudu Khumalo (Mzinyathi), Faith ka Manzi (Cato Manor), Oliver Meth (South Durban), Orlean Naidoo (Chatsworth), Molefi Ndlovu (Durban Sings communities) and Shepherd Zvavanhu (Inner City). Administrative functions were ably carried out by Helen Poonen, Amy Ramsamy and Lungile Keswa, and John Devenish provided contract web-based support. Their patience and commitment were outstanding, a testimony to the CCS mission. Six post-graduate students were affiliated to CCS: Amisi Baruti, Richard Kamidza, Simphiwe Nojiyeza and Prishani Naidoo (after receiving high honours for her masters thesis), and Rehana Dada and Trevor Ngwane pursued masters/research theses. Visiting Scholars were productive and generous with their ideas and activism: Tess Arenas (Univ of Wisconsin), Simone Claar (Univ of Frankfurt), Andréas Godsäter (Univ of Gothenburg), Sofie Hellberg (Univ of Gothenburg), Rebecca Hinely (Georgetown Univ), Schwarzanne Leafe (South Durban Community and Environmental Alliance), Hayley Leck (Royal Holloway Univ of London), Giuliano Martiniello (Leeds Univ), Pamela Ngwenya (Univ of Oxford), Khadija Sharife (independent writer), Umesha de Silva (Univ of Ottawa), Nick Smith (Univ of Chicago), Sofie Statzel (City Univ of NY), Kristine Wasrud (University of Oslo), Claudia Wegener (London-based audio producer) and Daria Zelenova (Moscow Institute of African Studies). At the end of 2009, Ngwenya was granted a post-doctoral fellowship to work with CCS in 2010, especially on expanding participatory video research/training. 

CCS also welcomed School of Development Studies masters students who enrolled for two courses taught by our faculty. Additional students were hosted by CCS, from St Catherine’s University in Minnesota; the University of Ottawa’s Department of Development Studies; and the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa for a tailored course on Economic Justice Advocacy. And our community was cheered in late 2009 by the award of new space for the centre to occupy in 2010: three floors at the top of Memorial Tower Building, Durban’s highest point.