Leading with confidence

Justicia Shipena Petrina Aron was born in August 2000 at Otindi - a small village in the north of Namibia.In 2006 she moved to Windhoek and started her pre-primary education. She enrolled at Namutoni Primary School for her grade one then later moved to People's Primary School for grades four to seven.In 2014 Aron enrolled at Centaurus High School, where she is currently a grade 12 learner. She was raised by her aunt, Ndahekelekwa Hainyanyula.Aron said the biggest challenge she has faced during her high school life was failing grade 10. She felt like the world was coming to an end, but with the encouragement of her coach, Ramah Mumba, she managed to make it through the second time and she is thankful to them. Her journey with BASAron joined the Basketball Artists School (BAS) in 2011 and her coaches during that time were Frank Albin (head coach), Ramah Mumba (co-ordinator) and Pondo Nailenge (life skills coach). According to Aron, BAS is driven by the motto 'School first, basketball second'.“When I joined the programme, we were a group of 12 girls and 12 boys from different primary schools in Katutura,” she said.She said BAS changed her life in many areas. She added that it helped her grow and taught her life skills. It has become her second home.“BAS brought out the best in me, all the hidden talents and gifts God blessed me with. I grew into a beautiful young lady with morals and values,” she said.She is currently a BAS and Namibia Basketball Federation (NBF) volunteer. At BAS she tutors the smaller ones (the Rookies) in English on Mondays and Wednesdays. She also coaches the Rookies and assists as a life skills teacher.At NBF she helps with the organisation of the high school league and is also an official and treasurer for the primary and high school leagues.In 2017 she participated in the Young Lions Cup in Botswana with her team, Young Beast, was awarded a silver medal. She recently participated in the same tournament with a new team and ended fourth. “What I enjoyed about this tourney is the life skills workshop we had every morning, which was based on communication, sexual education, financial literacy and many more,” she said.Aron added that it taught her how to communicate with people better, about the consequences of practising unsafe sex and how to earn and spend money wisely.During the recent tourney in Botswana, Aron said the challenges she faced was that some people could not speak English, hence it made it hard to communicate with them.Aron was chosen to be an ambassador for the prestigious tourney. During the last day she was tasked to deliver a speech of appreciation and share her experiences during the tourney. Her speech resulted in her being awarded an International Basketball Federation (IBF) leadership award. The IBF will also show an exclusive video of her around the world.“I thank God for this achievement. So many people told me that I will never become anything and told me that I was a bad leader and I cannot lead by example. I am glad I proved them wrong,” she said.Aron has represented Namibia in Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho and Turkey. Apart from basketball, Aron is also an up-and-coming model and has worked with Maila Kalipi and Meriam Kaxuxwena and looks forward to working with many more.Her last fashion show was held at the University of Namibia (Unam) and raised money for charity. Her first modelling competition was taking part in the Miss People's Primary School pageant, which she won, and that is where love for modelling began.Aron also played netball and received a medal for the best player while in primary school, as well as various certificates at Centaurus High School. Aron's achievements:• She was a prefect in primary school.• She is a peer promoter for blood donation at her current school.• She was captain of the netball team.• She is the captain of the BAS Falcons. • She was captain of the Young Beast team.• She is a treasurer for the primary and high school leagues.• She is an IBF ambassador.• She is the coordinator for the girls' empowerment programme at BAS.

Leading with confidence

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Leading with confidence

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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