Criselda Kananda is happy, healthy & finally divorced after a hectic year

Activist and media personality Criselda Kananda recently celebrated overcoming huge life obstacles and coming out triumphant.

Just this year, the media personality began her journey with ARVs (antiretroviral drugs), had gallbladder surgery, fought Covid-19 pneumonia and finally got divorced after a three-year battle.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE Criselda expressed her joy at having conquered challenges that could have broken her. 

“Through the pain and the challenge at the time you feel like it's unending and you feel like you are targeted but then you focus on the positive and realise that there's so much strength in you ... One of the mantras that I subscribe to is acknowledging that nothing lasts forever,” she said.

Criselda described her three-year journey to finalising her divorce from ex-husband Siyolo Dudumashe as “draining”. She added that though she's opening up about it now, it happened six months ago and she chose to wait till she was healed before speaking about it.

“I just kept it to myself ...  realising that it's done and real ... when I began to talk about it, I talk from a place of being completely healed.” 

“It was three years of trauma, three years of depleting finances, it's ridiculous, I feel like there should be a better system for people who choose to opt out of toxic relationships,” she added.

Criselda admits that during her divorce she fell into depression which took a toll on both her mental and physical health.

“I didn't know that it was depression. And in that depressive state, my skin, appetite, changed. I was not the nicest person to be around while going through the emotional turmoil which lead to trauma.”

Succumbing to depression caused a lot of physical turmoil for Criselda. In May, she went through a surgery to remove her gallbladder - necessary because of the stress she was under.

“It's part of the stress, anxiety and depression, because I was going through those emotions. Not understanding them they decided to affect different parts of my body. I was depressed and ended up with gallstones so big that the best way to treat that was just to remove the gall bladder.

After successful surgery, Criselda says while she was celebrating she was diagnosed with Covid-19 - another battle for her.

“Every time I'm asked about my Covid-19 experience I  relive the nightmare of the Covid-19 ward ... every day ... every hour there's a body being wheeled to the mortuary, people are dying right before your eyes.”

With the Covid-19 pandemic being on a constant rise, Criselda says she started taking ARVs to “double protect” her system against the virus and she's grateful she made the decision.

“I would even confess with my mouth that I would get out of there. It drew me closer to believing that there's a power beyond us and gained perspective.”

Criselda says she invested in counselling and healing to get through that time of her life, which she conquered because she looked within herself and to God.