To celebrate the Wits Centenary the CCDU is encouraging students to consciously show kindness to one another in a campaign that is running until September.
Peer educators and career practitioners from the Wits Counselling and Careers Development Unit (CCDU) had a walkabout at the Education and Main campuses on May 30 and 31, surprising students with notes of affirmation and sweet treats as part of a campaign to spread kindness.
Some of the affirmational notes read: “Hello beautiful, you look really great today. Believe in yourself”; “You have a beautiful smile!” and “Wishing you a burst of sunshine and happiness today!”
The CCDU launched the 100 days of kindness campaign to celebrate the Wits Centenary and to build a connected university. The campaign is set to end in September 2022.
Other than the affirmational notes and treats to students, the challenge also includes video interviews where students are asked what kindness means to them, how they have received kindness and how they have shown kindness to others.
Waheed Audu and Kamogelo Tsheoga were two of the peer educators (people who teach students about facilities on campus and raise awareness about health issues and personal growth) who embarked on the challenge designed to spark positivity.
Audu said that the challenge was not only to show people the importance of kindness but also to encourage students to be kind to one another even through the smallest gestures.
“A wise man said service to humanity is the best walk of life. We (people) are a product of service. We did not come out of the womb by ourselves. Every opportunity that we have to do service, I think it’s a privilege and one should jump at it,” he said.
Lindelwe Cili, a career practitioner (provides information about career options and helps people to manage their careers), said that students were going through difficulties such as exam stress. She also said that it was imperative for students to know that the CCDU is a “caring” department that provides support to them in order to boost their confidence and enhance their well-being.
A third-year BA student majoring in international relations and sociology, Benzokuhle Gomba, was shy upon the arrival of the peer educators at the Library Lawns on May 31. However, she later opened up and told them that she had experienced kindness through a stranger who said kind words to her when she was not in a good space emotionally.
She said she shows kindness through giving advice to someone or offering a shoulder to cry on, and added that she was grateful for this challenge because it had enabled her to reflect on how she could improve herself and increase her contribution to the personal growth of others.
FEATURED IMAGE: A peer educator from CCDU handing out affirmational notes and sweets to two students. Photo: Busisiwe Mdluli
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