Ayanda Desiree Magwaza

Ayanda grew up with her two siblings in the rural areas where she was mostly surrounded by adults and due to this she never knew what it really meant to be a kid and what childhood experiences where like.  Living with a small family surrounded by adults limited her to different behaviours which led her interest in studying psychology.

Ayanda later at a stage moved to Port Shepstone in the lower South Coast to do her studies from primary up until to she obtained her matric, which she obtained at Gamalakhe Commercial High. She later went to further her studies at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal where she did her Bachelor’s degree majoring in Forensic Criminology  and Psychology.  During her second year that’s when her interest in Psychology grew and wanted to learn more about why people’s behaviours are different and get more detailed information pertaining different personalities. Studying psychology has helped to be able to understand and accommodate different perspectives of behaviours and has taught me how to deal accordingly with those behaviours. 

Using what I’ve studied, I am aiming at using the IESHER organisation as a source of bringing change in the community focusing more on gender equality . Society has made man believe that a man is expected to act in a certain and their emotions are not always prioritised compared to a woman’s.  A man who expresses his emotions  is often labelled as weak and his masculinity is often questioned. As a young mother raising a son I’m aiming at installing the mentally that it’s ok for a man to cry and express his without fearing being judged or labelled as weak. I hope to open a platform in future where man are also equated to woman and prioritised as woman are ,working in hand with the IESHER organisation as gender equality is one of its aims.