The Winners Circle
YVONNE CHAKA CHAKA ON RECEIVING THE ELLEN KUZWAYO AWARD AND HER JOURNEY THROUGH ACADEMIA
If you ever thought juggling academic studies with an illustrious career was impossible, Mam’ Yvonne Chaka Chaka is someone whose book you may want to take a page from. Known as the Princess of Africa, the singer and songwriter was recently awarded with the Ellen Kuzwayo Award for her extraordinary impact as both a musical icon and a compassionate humanitarian by the UJ Awards Council. The award was also presented to iconic singer, Letta Mbulu. Kuzwayo was a writer, women’s rights activist and politician. To be conferred with an award in honour of her, is a momentous achievement, said Chaka Chaka. Now aged 59, there is no stopping the acclaimed songstress. She has been honoured by different institutions for the work she has been doing and has completed her Honours Degree in Management Practice through Henley Business School – Africa, arguing that there was no time limit to learning and acquiring knowledge. “Education for me is very empowering so the award gives me some kind of reassurance that you can be a mother, you can be a wife, a working woman and still study and acquire as much knowledge and skill as you want.” Chaka Chaka shared that as part of her humanitarian work, she provided funding for students entering university, “Growing up in the township, there was always a sense of ubuntu among us in communities. People have now commercialised ubuntu but ubuntu has always been there in the black community,” she enthused, expanding on the African concept of ubuntu, meaning humanity, and how a person is a person through other people. “You would never go to school without food or go to bed without food. My mother taught me at an early age that if you are successful and your community does not have, that is not success. Success means if you have and are able to share with your community, that is what I call success,” she said. On reaching her glass ceiling, Chaka Chaka says people tend to box you and while she may not find issue with it, she believes it is important for one to always do what makes one happy. “I say to myself, you can’t say you know it all. There comes a time when you need to be vulnerable and say ‘I’m prepared to take from those who know better than me and I’m prepared to be teachable.’ “You can still do what makes you feel good and empowers you,” she asserted. In the spirit of Youth Month, Chaka Chaka said if there was any lesson she would want the youth to learn from her, it would be to fight for what you want to achieve. “We’ve got the generation that was born in the 1990s, who don’t know what apartheid is or what it felt like to navigate life during those times. While this is true, I do still feel young people still need to fight for a place in the boardroom; or a position with their counterparts,” the musician explained, before pointing to a silver lining. However, at least the young generation is able to sit in a lecture room with their counterparts. Segregation doesn’t exist like it did in our times.”
“BEING CONFERRED WITH THE ELLEN KUZWAYO AWARD MEANS A LOT TO ME. HAVING THREE HONORARY DEGREES GIVES ME PALPITATIONS BECAUSE IT SAYS TO ME, ‘YOU NEED TO STUDY MORE.’ I HAVE JUST FINISHED MY HONOUR’S DEGREE WITH HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL AND I AM CONTEMPLATING PURSUING A MASTER’S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)” SHE SAID.
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ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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