Amaza* was so excited to compete in the National Life Saving Champs, it was going to be a dream come true; this is her inspiring story!
Cape Town, South Africa (05 May 2020) – The Home From Home is a non-profit organisation that provides loving foster homes for vulnerable children in communities in Cape Town. They shared the inspiring story of Amaza, who took her near-drowning experience and used it to become a lifesaver.
When she was eleven years old, Amaza came close to drowning during a swimming outing with her siblings. It was a scary experience for all. After that, all the children received swimming lessons which were sponsored by Swim4Life and Amaza soon grew to love the water and became a strong swimmer.
Six years later, after learning to surf, she joined a local life-saving organisation. Amaza was selected for the Western Cape Junior Life Saving team earlier this year. She never thought this could be possible but was so determined and had a goal and vision for herself.
Amaza feels proud of her achievements and knows that if she keeps doing some daily training in her backyard, there will be new opportunities in the future for her. She is determined not to lose heart. It’s not easy with limited data, but she researches and downloads a few workout session on YouTube and does these twice a day, morning and evening.
“My dreams changed suddenly when Covid-19 became a pandemic and our President took action to firstly, slow down the virus by prohibiting sporting events and discouraging domestic travel and then introducing Lock Down.”
Amaza was training six times a week for two hours a day and loving it. The life-saving drills were fun and challenging, and she was enjoying getting into peak fitness. “It has been really tough not to be able to go outside and run or swim for five weeks” the young athlete explained.
Amaza enjoys school,, and her favourite subjects are English and Xhosa. She will be writing Matric next year and after school, hopes to study a Sports Science degree or Marine Biology. These are the subjects she is most passionate about.
“I have a dream and I plan to stick to it” She says. I have had some hard knocks in life but I feel blessed to be a resilient person who keeps going no matter what!”
“I am also so grateful to Home From Home. The love and support I have received over the years from my foster mom has been so amazing. It is wonderful to be part of a caring family. It has made all the difference in my life.”
*Her name has been changed to protect her identity in accordance with the Child Protection Act.