Athlete Ju-wyne Witbooi, 16, from Ottery, will be carrying the torch for his school after he qualified to run in the National Winter SASA II Games, in Mpumalanga next month.
He will be representing Blouvlei LSEN (Learners with Special Education Needs), in Retreat, at the games on Monday October 3 – but he still needs to raise funds to cover the costs of getting there before he can get on to the bus on September 28.
On Friday September 2, Blouvlei held a Spring Ball to raise funds to cover some of Ju-wyne’s participation costs as well as to cover some of the running costs of its organisation. The event was held at Chateaux Le Baroness.
Principal Cordelia Davids: “Ju-wyne and his family collected over R400 with a collecting list and the staff had curry bunny sales and made some profit. His travelling fee of R5 200 was accomplished. He still requires the tracksuit money of R600 and any donations of clothing will be welcomed. These may include track pants, track tops, running shoes, T-shirts, shorts, a travel bag, etc.”
Ms Davids said Ju-wyne had represented the school at an inter-school sports event in June where he had competed against pupils from other SID (Severe Intellectual Disability) schools.
She said Ju-wyne, who has severe intellectual disability (SID), is exempted from mainstream schooling and is in the Occupation Oriented Phase. “He has three electives named ancillary health, consumer studies and agriculture,” she said.
Ms Davids said Ju-wyne does not have an official coach but he gets his training from senior staff members who run laps with him at school. “He does not train on a proper track but since January he practised at Pollsmoor during the school day with David Helm and the rest of the sports team.”
When asked how Mr Helm would describe Ju-wyne as a person and athlete, he said: “Ju-wyne is a humble being and gives his time to help in his community.
“Ju-wyne is a very down-to-earth young man and respects his peers and all the staff. His commitment to school activities and his good mannerism makes him popular. He displays good leadership skills. Ju-wyne is a calm person and is very protective of both staff, our school and his friends. We are so proud of him and cannot think of a greater ambassador for Blouvlei School and Resource Centre.”
When asked who Ju-wyne’s sports hero was, he said footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, who plays for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team.
Anyone would like to help Ju-wyne can call the school at 021 712 0857.
