Radio presenter Criselda Kananda has received the highest honour for her outstanding contributions to society during her career in the broadcast industry. Criselda is dancing for joy as she has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Zululand.
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The personality and activist has been an open book her whole life, letting people in on her most personal experiences ever. By doing so, she has seized the opportunity to uplift and instill hope in others. She lives to serve the public and has been rewarded for that.
Taking to Instagram to express gratitude and honour for the award, in a lengthy post Criselda said it has not been an easy journey but it was definitely worth it, “Today is Dr Criselda Kananda Day. This is so humbling and gratifying for me. As a broadcaster I made a choice to give hope and instill positive values using my personal experiences and life lessons.
“When one finally drops, or stops writing, often there’s not much to show and for such a reputable institution with a proud history of producing leaders in different spheres of society. Since its inception, great leaders, professionals and business people have passed through their academic conveyor belt. I’m just at a loss of words that I was chosen and honored for serving humanity. It was never easy but so worth it.”
Criselda then went on to quote a professor Sipho Seepe who celebrates graduates;
“A degree earned at a University is a public testament that a student has satisfied all the requirements for a particular qualification. It serves as promise to would-be employers that a graduate has acquired the knowledge, skills and requisite attitude to perform certain functions in his or her career.”
“Honorary degrees, on the other hand, are reserved for those individuals that have contributed immensely to society. The holders of honorary degrees are often pathfinders. Before an honorary degree is awarded, citations and demonstrable achievements are presented to the appropriate committees of a University. In my view, there is a distinction between a promise that a degree certificate holds on the one hand, and the honour that is bestowed by the University to an individual, on the other. The latter is a recognition and validation of already work done. Professor Sipho Seepe.”
The activist has been living with HIV for more than two decades, and this year was the hardest ever since was diagnosed with HIV. She says this year she was forced to take ARVs as her immune system recently deteriorated.
“In the 22yrs of living healthily with HIV infection, I could have never anticipated that I’d have my heartbroken and the feeling of betrayal would lead me to a weak immune system, post-traumatic disorder, ICU Hospitalization and for prevention of possible exposure to The Coronavirus, I made the decision to start ARVs. It’s been a year that tested all my theories about HIV.”
She still came out victorious and succeeded against all odds!