Icexpress partners with Namibia
South African Icexpress Progressive Prosthetics will be Namibia's technology partner ahead of the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Icexpress Progressive Prosthetics, in conjunction with Is Ability Sports Club and the Jumping Kids Foundation, will serve as technology partner to Team Namibia ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The collaboration, a knowledge-sharing platform for the fitment and maintenance of prosthetic sports solutions, was reached when Namibian Paralympic Committee secretary-general Michael Hamukwaya, accompanied by Windhoek prosthetist Werner Nakale, visited Icexpress to fit Etchegaray Nguluwe with his first 'blade'.
Nguluwe is a below-knee amputee who represented Namibia in the T44 long jump item at the 2015 Paralympic World Championships. Now, fitted with a sports prosthesis, he is set to become Namibia's first 'blade runner'.
Icexpress has a long-standing relationship with Namibia. In 2011 the team joined with OK Prosthetics in Rundu to demonstrate the latest prosthetic manufacturing technology, while fitting 30 Namibians with advanced walking prostheses.
“One must remember, although the technology to assist athletes competing with prosthetic equipment is widely used, it is still not accessible to marginalised communities. Our vision is to provide neighbouring countries with affordable sports solutions,” says Icexpress's Johan Snyders.
By including Is Ability Sports; a club established to provide sport opportunities for athletes living with amputations, and Jumping Kids; the company's social responsibility initiative, Icexpress's vision is to help create a new generation of blade athletes ready to perform on the world stage.
“The idea is to replicate the process used for Ntando Mahlangu – a bilateral above-knee amputee who went from a wheelchair-bound ten-year-old to Paralympic silver in only four years. With a holistic approach to prosthetics, rehabilitation and knowledge-sharing, we hope to contribute to a strong South and Southern African Paralympic squad in preparation for the 2020 Paralympics,” Snyders said.
ICEXPRESS
The collaboration, a knowledge-sharing platform for the fitment and maintenance of prosthetic sports solutions, was reached when Namibian Paralympic Committee secretary-general Michael Hamukwaya, accompanied by Windhoek prosthetist Werner Nakale, visited Icexpress to fit Etchegaray Nguluwe with his first 'blade'.
Nguluwe is a below-knee amputee who represented Namibia in the T44 long jump item at the 2015 Paralympic World Championships. Now, fitted with a sports prosthesis, he is set to become Namibia's first 'blade runner'.
Icexpress has a long-standing relationship with Namibia. In 2011 the team joined with OK Prosthetics in Rundu to demonstrate the latest prosthetic manufacturing technology, while fitting 30 Namibians with advanced walking prostheses.
“One must remember, although the technology to assist athletes competing with prosthetic equipment is widely used, it is still not accessible to marginalised communities. Our vision is to provide neighbouring countries with affordable sports solutions,” says Icexpress's Johan Snyders.
By including Is Ability Sports; a club established to provide sport opportunities for athletes living with amputations, and Jumping Kids; the company's social responsibility initiative, Icexpress's vision is to help create a new generation of blade athletes ready to perform on the world stage.
“The idea is to replicate the process used for Ntando Mahlangu – a bilateral above-knee amputee who went from a wheelchair-bound ten-year-old to Paralympic silver in only four years. With a holistic approach to prosthetics, rehabilitation and knowledge-sharing, we hope to contribute to a strong South and Southern African Paralympic squad in preparation for the 2020 Paralympics,” Snyders said.
ICEXPRESS
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article