Run Along supports Eluwa School with sports equipment

Multi-sport
Mariud Ngula
  • 1 Day Ago
mariud ngulaThe Run Along Sport Foundation handed sports equipment and spectacles worth over N$60 000 to learners at Eluwa School in Ongwediva on Sunday as part of their Beyond Sport Programme.



Eluwa was presented with the first batch of spectacles for seven identified learners living with albinism, football and netball balls, including two sets of bibs. They were also handed blind football goalposts, goalball goalposts and blindfolds to advance adaptive sports development.The event formed part of the programme’s first beneficiary rollout, following its commencement in January and its official launch in October this year. Some of the donations were made possible through funds raised at the Nictus Chase event in Ongwediva earlier this month. Excitement and visibility



Deputy sports minister Dino Ballotti also attended the handover and took part in the inclusive games alongside members of the blind football team and board members of Run AlongHis participation brought excitement and visibility to the initiative, creating joyful interactions with the learners.



In a statement issued on Tuesday, the foundation extended appreciation for the sports minister’s continued support.



“His bond with the children was evident and deeply appreciated by the school community,” read the statement.



The day also featured several inclusive sporting demonstrations, including a blind football demonstration, a goalball match with visually impaired learners, as well as football and netball games played against deaf learners. Inclusive sports infrastructureRun Along also announced plans to construct inclusive sports infrastructure at the school starting next year.This will include a 25-meter swimming pool, expected to be ready from January or February after all required approvals and paperwork are completed, and a small indoor multidisciplinary facility, scheduled for March, to accommodate both able-bodied and para sport athletes. The indoor facility will double as a school hall and support a range of sports, including blind football, goalball, boccia, archery, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, para table tennis, para judo, para taekwondo, para shooting, para fencing, badminton, and para powerlifting. Speaking to Sport Wrap yesterday, Run Along coach Jean-Paul Schmidt confirmed that the foundation has been invited to host another Beyond Sport Programme in Opuwo at the beginning of December. “The programme is our way of keeping our athletes in school so they will have something to fall back on after their sporting careers. We started this initiative because we saw that shortcoming,” said Schmidt. He added that the programme was designed to ensure athletes take their education seriously and see it as a priority for their future security.“We want them to understand early in their lives that an athlete’s sporting career has an expiry date and that education will provide a solid foundation.”Schmidt also thanked their vehicle sponsor Indongo Toyota, which has helped them ‘reach places others dare to go.’– mariud@nsh.com.na