*Dr Arole Shivambu the first PhD holder in the village*
The community of Nhombelani in ward 25 of the Collins Chabane Local municipality has broken into wild celebrations.
This follows the graduation of village resident Dr Arole Shivambu who has received a Doctor of Philosophy in Nutrition from the University of North West Potchefstroom Campus.
The graduation took place on July 30 2026 and Dr Shivambu is the first in the village to attain a PhD.
His thesis was: The association between the Global Diet Quality Score and cardiovascular disease risk in South African adults: The AFRICA PREDICT and PURE-NWP-SA studies***.
Shivambu examined South African diet quality and its relationship with cardiovascular disease risk and mortality among South African adults He found that diet quality amongst South Africans was low, although improved modestly over time.
His research demonstrated that better diet quality was associated with more favourable cardiovascular risk profiles in young adults.
Amongst older adults, higher diet quality was associated with lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of mortality.
His study provides early South African evidence supporting the use of the Global Diet Quality Score as a practical tool for monitoring diet quality and informing strategies to prevent non-communicable diseases and improve population health.
The community if the Ward 25 of the Collins Chabane Local Municipality went into wild celebrations because before 30 July 2026, there was no one in the village who had attained a PhD.
Representing the community, Foster Maluleke who is the ward committee under councilor Simon Mavikane said the community is happy with the way handles himself in relation to community matters and therefore hails his achievement;
“He is a unifier in the village and a torch bearer. Whenever we want advice from him, he readily assists and that is why community members went into spontaneous celebrations when they got wind of his graduation. Now it will become easier to motivate young people to fight for excellence because his story means that anyone, irrespective of background can succeed,” said Maluleke.
His childhood friend Makungu Maluleke said he found it difficult to understand his friend’s achievement given his past struggles he had to pass through.
“I call him the living testimony as he broke generational curses and transformed the whole family situation and went on to become the first PhD holder in the whole village. Now I am very proud that I have an educated friend,” he said.
Khongelani Masingi says she is very proud of her nephew’s achievement.
“The PhD represents more than eight years of late nights, sacrifice and dedication to the field of Health sciences. Since he is also the first graduate in the family, we regard him as a living testimony that hard work pays,” she said.
In an interview with The Village Voice, Shivambu said this was not smooth sailing.
“The involved a lot of struggle, but not giving up but vowing to fight until one succeeds,” he said.
He first registered as a student at the University of Limpopo but dropped out because of his financial situation.
Then he later accessed the National Student Aid Fund and enrolled where he completed his degree in record time.
Then he joined the University of North West as a research assistant.
He took the opportunity to register for a Master of Science degree which he completed in 2023.
The same year, he enrolled for a PhD at the same university but he faced a lot of challenges along the way.
He has just completed it and he is happy. The community has joined on his happiness.
