Wheelchair-bound teen in his element on the basketball court

THE TEENAGE wheelchair basketball player from Gugulethu enjoys spending time at school more than at home.

Isiphile Ntenge, 14, lost both his lower limbs at an early age and has been wheelchair-bound since then.

He said he spends the week at Tembelatu School for Learners with Special Educational Needs hostel and goes home on weekends.

At home, Isiphile lives with his mother, father and younger brother in a one-room shack, which gives him limited space to move around in his wheelchair.

Isiphile said at the hostel they share a dormitory with other pupils but each one has their own bed.

“In the morning we get woken up by house mothers and we start making our beds before taking a bath and getting dressed in our school uniforms,” he said.

He said they then move to the school premises where they eat breakfast with other pupils and then off to class.

During the day while school is still on they do not go back to the hostel they spend most of the day at school.

He said after school they go straight to the hostel to change, do their homework and eat.

“Once we are done with homework, some of us go to the TV room but if one wants to spend their time in the dormitory they are allowed to do so,” he said.

Isiphile said the younger ones at the dormitory go to sleep first while the older ones go to bed at 9pm.

He enjoys staying at the hostel because he is always with friends and he is able to move around freely in his wheelchair.

“At home I can’t move a lot because our house is very small, I enjoy being at the hostel even though at times I miss my family a lot,” he said.

However, he said because of Covid19 there are no sporting activities at the school and he doesn’t practise any more.

When the Weekend Argus visited Isiphile at school, he got a chance to play around the school’s basketball court and enjoyed himself, he couldn’t stop bouncing the ball.

“I miss playing and going to practise, now all we do is watch TV at the time we should be out there,” he said.

His basketball coach, Pinki Zinto, said she introduced him to the sport because she could see potential.

“I could tell that he could make a great player and to date he is one of our best players, and even went to represent the province in a national tournament.”

Zinto said the children want play basketball but the challenge resources.

“The wheelchairs they use for the sport are very expensive and the school can’t provide for them so they use their everyday chairs,” she said.

She said they welcome any kind of help they can receive to keep the pupils active in sport. to is