THE Aloe T Squatter Camp Crusa-ders’ netball team will not only shoot through the goal ring this season, but will be shooting for the stars in the brand new kit they received last week.
Since its establishment in 2015 by part-time domestic worker, Faniswa Mafenyana, the team didn’t have its own uniforms – preventing them from participating in matches.
At times they had to borrow tops from a local soccer club – something which their captain, Chulumanco Tembisa, said made them a laughing stock.
“We were called names like ‘impoverished bunch’ and others were awful to a point that some of my teammates were discouraged and eventually dropped out of the club.”
But a donation of R22 293,38 by friends of Komani community acti-vist, Jacqueline Wijtenburg, the owner of the house where Mafenyane works, has restored the group of girls’ confidence.
With the money, Wijtenburg managed to buy the team of 31 a full set of kit with training shoes for each player and poles with goal rings.
Wijtenburg handed over the items last Friday at the Aloe T Squatter Camp, an area which is known for its high crime rate and drug usage.
She said, “I don’t deserve the attention because I only assisted mama Mafenyane to raise funds after seeing the good work she was doing to keep these young girls busy and away from all sorts of ill activities. She is the heroine not me.”
Mafenyane, who only gets time to coach the team after work, said her next target is to see the team playing professionally. “Not all these girls will make it academically for a number of reasons, like tuition fees.
“But through sport I believe some of them will make a name for themselves and change their homes and inspire others who might be thinking of giving up life because of their unfortunate backgrounds,” she said.
Mafenyane’s dreams for the Aloe T Squatter Camp Crusaders could soon turn into reality, as principal for Queenstown Girls’ High School, Theo Anaxagoras, guaranteed the Crusaders coaching and game time in proper facilities at the school’s netball court.
“I will organise them proper coaching and friendly matches with the GHS netball team so they can test and hone their skills on the court, because we want to produce top netball players not just average,” he said.
Anaxagoras also said this would see some of the best performing girls academically and on the court from the Crusaders score themselves bursaries to further their studies at the school.
