South African Paralympic and World Championship gold medallist Ntombizanele (Zanele) Situ is an inspiration to those who shy away from challenges.
She participated in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo specialising in the javelin throw.
Situ, 50, is a two-time gold medallist at both the Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships and is the first female South African black athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal.
At the age 11, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis in her spine which left her paralysed from the waist down. However, since childhood she had loved sport and after becoming disabled, she took to parasport and participated in seated throwing events such as javelin, shot put, discus and table tennis.
With her motto “If you can dream it you can do it”, she has scaled great heights during her three-decade long career.
She urges parents to invest in their children’s upbringing for the betterment of them and society.
This is the sixth Paralympics Situ competed in. She said the biggest challenge she experienced was disability discrimination. “Though, I did not let that bother me and I focused more on doing my best in parasport.”
“I see my participation in the global sports arena for paraplegics as a celebration of being a strong woman,” she said.
Situ has the backing of private higher education institution MANCOSA who has donated a wheelchair especially designed and built for her by Zahied Mukaddam which she used during the games in Tokyo.
“I am most thankful to MANCOSA and Zahied for their goodwill towards me. I am hopeful that more organisations will sponsor younger para-athletes that need assistance to reach their goals,” said Situ.
Lutfiya Adam, Director in Human Resources and Employability at MANCOSA at MANCOSA, said the MANCOSA Centre for Women in Leadership (CWIL) rooted for Situ in all her games in Tokyo.
“The wheelchair donated to Situ is only one of the many supportive causes we are involved in.
“The CWIL is committed to advocating for women to be given an opportunity to explore meaningful work and professional opportunities and will continue to strive to create an enabling environment for the promotion of women leadership roles,” she said.
ENDS
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MANCOSA, a leading provider of management programmes through supported distance learning in Southern Africa, is renowned for its MBA offering, which is ranked among the 10 of the best MBAs in Africa. A member of Honoris United Universities – the first Pan-African private higher education network focused on nurturing the next generation of African leaders and professionals. MANCOSA serves as an innovation hub for undergraduate and postgraduate management, offering over 50 accredited programmes. A selection of Executive Education Short Learning Programmes is also offered to meet the requirements of professionals in both the private and public sectors. See: www.mancosa.co.za
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About Honoris United Universities
Honoris United Universities is the first and largest Pan-African private higher education network committed to educating the next generation of African leaders and professionals able to impact regionally in a globalised world. Collaborative intelligence, cultural agility and mobile mind-sets and skills are at the heart of Honoris’ vision of higher education. Honoris United Universities joins the expertise of its member institutions to develop world-class African Human capital that is competitive in today’s fast-paced, demanding and increasingly digitised labour and start-up markets.
Honoris United Universities gathers a community of 57,000 students on 70 campuses, learning centres and via on-line, in 10 countries and 32 cities. The network counts 14 institutions: multidisciplinary universities, specialised schools, technical and vocational institutes, contact, distance, and online institutions. Students have an opportunity to experience exclusive partnerships and exchange programs in more than 85 universities across Europe and the United States. Over 300 degrees are offered in Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Creative Arts and Design, Media, Political Science and Education.
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Issued by:
Yogin Devan
Meropa Communications
(031) 201 0550 / 083 326 3962
On behalf of:
Honoris United Universities
Durban