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Zanele Situ: My Story

As a young girl Zanele Situ was told that she would never walk again. Being in a wheelchair did not stop her. She worked and trained hard and became a winning athlete on the world stage. This is her story…

Suggested age: 7–12岁 · Reading level L3 · 14 illustrated pages

Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 1, English text included

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As a young girl Zanele Situ was told that she would never walk again. Being in a wheelchair did not stop her. She worked and trained hard and became a winning athlete on the world stage. This is her story…

Shared-reading note: 人物生平或历史背景需要成人补充解释。

Read all 14 story pages
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 1, English text included
Zanele Situ: My Story
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 2, English text included
I was born in summer, in a town called Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. Matatiele is near Lesotho where there are many mountains. In the winter they are covered with snow.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 3, English text included
My father was a builder and he moved from place to place to find work. We moved to Lesotho and that’s where I started school. I was very happy. But when I was eleven years old, I grew tired and weak, and then I couldn’t walk. My parents took me to the hospital. "What is wrong, doctor?" "I don’t know. We must do some special tests to find out."
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 4, English text included
I had to stay in hospital for three years. I was very tired and I slept many hours every day. After three years the doctors told me I would not be able to walk again. I was very sad because I love sports. "We think Zanele has got TB in her spine. It has attacked her nerves. I am very sorry, but she will be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life."
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 5, English text included
I went to a special school in Umtata, and my teachers encouraged me. It was a very busy school, with lots of activities like sport and sewing. On weekends we had tasks to do. We had to clean our rooms, polish our shoes and clean our wheelchairs. "Zanele, how far can you throw this javelin?"
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 6, English text included
I decided to keep trying, and never give up. If you have a disability, you can still do something you love. I love to see how far I can go, so I entered a competition. I won a bronze medal for shot putt, a silver medal for discus and a gold medal for javelin.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 7, English text included
"Well done, Zanele — you are really improving!" I wanted to get better and better at my sports, so I trained very hard. When I rested, I loved to sew and listen to gospel music.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 8, English text included
I entered more competitions and I got many medals and prizes. I started to dream about maybe competing in the Paralympics one day.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 9, English text included
The Paralympics are just like the Olympics, where the best athletes in the world compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. But in the Paralympics, the athletes are disabled in different ways, so they have to try even harder to train and win!
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 10, English text included
Then I heard that I was going to Sydney in Australia, to take part in the 2000 Paralympics. At last we were in the plane, flying over the Indian Ocean! "I am so excited!"
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 11, English text included
But when I got there, I suddenly felt very scared of all the people watching me. I just wanted to go home again.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 12, English text included
Then, when I threw my javelin it landed far in front of everyone's. I broke the world record and I got a gold medal! I was the first African woman to win a gold medal in the Paralympics. I was so happy and very proud.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 13, English text included
My motto is: Keep going, follow your dreams and never give up. Even if something happens to make you sad or scared. That is what I teach my little girl, Azamazi. She is eight years old and she also loves to do athletics and gymnastics. I am still training and going to competitions, and in 2016 I hope to go to the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Zanele Situ: My Story — original illustrated page 14, English text included

Creators and open license

Written by
Liz Sparg
Illustrated by
Jesse Breytenbach
Created by
Andy Thesen (Designer); Jesse Breytenbach (Illustrator); Liz Sparg (Writer)

Source: Book Dash
Original: Zanele Situ: My Story from Book Dash
License: CC BY 4.0

Original illustrated spreads and embedded English story text preserved; website layout and printable PDF assembled by Little Leaf. Age, level, theme and recommendation are editorial suggestions. Web and printable layout adapted by Little Leaf. Age and reading-level suggestions are editorial. Original stories and artwork belong to their credited creators. Website narration uses the selected synthetic Voice 7.