Dagbreek's extraordinary teacher

Tunohole Mungoba

31-year-old Chriszell Louw has been a teacher at Dagbreek Special School for the past five years and she recently completed her referee course to become an official referee for boccia in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Boccia is a precision ball sport that accommodates people in wheelchairs. Louw is the first qualified boccia referee in Namibia. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with severe physical disabilities. “The sport is still developing on the African continent and so far, only Namibia and South Africa have played on national level. We are trying to make it more popular in our disabled community,” she said.

The sport was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now it also includes athletes with other physical challenges that gravely affects their movement. In 1984 it became a Paralympic sport and is practiced in over fifty countries worldwide. Louw was introduced to boccia in 2015 after starting with basic training to be an ambassador for boccia. “I decided to take few children in wheelchairs from Dagbreek and we started practising. In 2017, we participated in the national games in South Africa and although we did not win, I can say that it was a good experience for the children and for me,” she said.

Boccia can be played by individuals, pairs, or teams of three. All events are mixed gender and one of the benefits is that it does not have an age limit, but does require participants to be a minimum age of 14. “Boccia provides hope for people, especially young people in wheelchairs,” she said. According to her, the aim is make sure Namibia and South Africa have enough trained athletes to send to the Paralympics Games in the near future as currently there are no African teams taking part in this sport on international level. “This year, we could not attend the national championships that took part in South Africa because limited funds. However, we plan to definitely take part next year,” she explained.

Louw aims to develop her coaching skills by gaining official training. “I want to enroll for a coaching course next year to make sure we are fully equipped. By then, I will be able to send a few of my partners to also enroll for a referee and coaching course,” she said. Born and raised in Windhoek, she always dreamed of working in a classroom. “I have always wanted to work with children,” she said.

After getting her education diploma at the University of Namibia (Unam), she started teaching at a mainstream school in 2012. According to her, she did not enjoy it as it was not fulfilling enough. “For me it was not as satisfying compared to teaching children with special needs. You can see them grow in so many different areas, whereas many children in mainstream schools only develop academically and that’s it,” she said.

In 2013, she decided to take a chance and applied for a teaching position at Dagbreek Special School. Although she struggled to adjust in the beginning, she enjoyed every minute of it. “It was definitely not what I expected. I had to change my teaching methods and also my way of thinking because special needs children require more attention.” One of the methods she had to leave behind was making use of a chalk board. “Some of the children are not capable of copying and writing in their exercise books. You have to do everything through playing. I had to adapt to teaching through playing, having fun and making it interesting for learners,” she explained.

According to her the challenges she experiences teaching in a special needs school include parental involvement. “Sometimes you teach something at school and you would ask the parents to continue to make sure that the children understand before moving to the lesson and many would not try. This is very frustrating because you want to avoid starting the whole process over,” she said. She also says that society’s lack of involvement and assistance can make their work challenging at times as “some people are not interested or scared to get involved”.

Her next step is starting a boccia federation in Namibia. According to her the two athletes she has worked with have enjoyed themselves over the years and they appreciate all small things in life. “My advice to parents with special needs children is not to give up on them. There is a whole community of parents raising children with special needs and there is a whole network of people who are willing to help you. There is always a way.”

Fast facts about boccia:

· The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – bottia.

· Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and is one of only two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic programme.

· Boccia is a game of skill, accuracy and strategy, and is a sport often overlooked by many.

· Boccia is one of the only the Paralympic sports that has no Olympic counterpart.

· Boccia has ancient Greek origins, as Greeks used to throw stones at stone targets.

· Boccia is played on a court measuring 12.5 × 6 m with 2 m of empty space around it. The surface of the court is flat and smooth.

· The throwing area is divided into six rectangular throwing boxes in which the athletes must stay completely within during play.

· The balls themselves are made of leather and are slightly larger than a tennis ball, weighing approximately 275 grams and measuring 270 mm in circumference.

· Balls are available in different grades of softness and hardness.

· All Boccia events include both men and women competing together.