Kwangwa changes lives

Veronica Gwaze recently in Bulawayo

ONE of her parents’ precious souvenirs is an old and discoloured newspaper cutting from 2014 when she broke into the Zimbabwe senior netball team.

The newspaper article was aptly headlined “Netball —Kwangwa is the perfect fit”.

Back then, the netball gods must have seen into Felisitus Kwangwa’s future.

On her maiden appearance at the African Championships in Botswana, the then 19-year-old perfectly fit the goal defender (GD) position, which had been the national team’s Achilles Heel for years.

Five years later, she rose to be the first Zimbabwean player to be signed by a top European club, Surrey Storm.

She is the current Gems skipper, whose on-court tactics are a marvel across the globe.Her 2019 Netball World Cup performance was the icing on the cake as she carved her name in netball history.

With 44 deflections, 18 intercepts, 119 centre-pass receives and 10 rebounds, she finished the World Cup as one of the top defenders. This was her chance to live her dream. In one of her interviews with The Sunday Mail Sport in 2014, she said her dream was to play at the Netball World Cup and be signed by a foreign club.

Her accomplishments have materially changed the lives of many people in her home area in Phelandaba West.

“We never dreamt that sport could take her this far… Feli has transformed our lives and sometimes it actually feels like a dream,” her mother, Peggy, said.

Kwangwa contributed to the construction of her parents’ seven-roomed Phelandaba home, bought them a car as a surprise gift and changed their entire household property, among other things.

“Sometimes people even have to ask us to show them our identity cards or even to call Feli just to prove that we are indeed her parents.

“We were used to being a quiet family but everything has changed. We have to be careful in everything we do or say, especially in public, because we now have a big name to jealously protect.

“Some schools even visit us with their young netballers just for inspiration…it makes us proud.”

The community may not have the privilege to watch most of her games on television or the internet, but they speak so highly of her. A reserved person even in the dressing room, Kwangwa draws much of her character from her humble upbringing.

Her mother recalls how her father foretold her greatness a few days after she was born.

Being the firstborn and only girl in a family of three, the lanky goal defender was delivered at Chrome Hospital in 1995 when her father was still employed at Zimasco Mine.

The following year, they relocated to Bulawayo, where she later enrolled at Mtshede Primary School.

Her netball journey started in 2007 when her netball coach — Mrs Mabvongodze — forced her on court because of her height.

Peggy Kwangwa recalls reprimanding her daughter for playing netball.

“I wanted her to focus on school work, little did I know then that my life would change because of the sport,” she said.

“One day I refused to give her $5 to participate at a tournament but her father gave her, and I was embarrassed when she came back with $150 that she had won.”

Thereafter, she excelled on and off the court. Sometimes her coaches would visit the parents to seek permission for her to participate at some tournaments.

Her performances attracted interest from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), which later employed her when she was only 18.

In 2012, she made he debut for the Young Gems, before graduating into the senior side two years later.

By then, her mother had become her biggest fan after realising how well she could balance sport and education.

The star netball player seems to have a knack of pleasantly surprising her parents.

When she was still playing for the Young Gems, she bought her mother a refrigerator.

“She does not make promises, she simply surprises us … Often-times, I look at the fridge and feel proud about my daughter.

“My best memories are when she bid us farewell when she left for the World Cup in 2019. Athough I could not accompany her to the airport … I still see the wide smile.”

However, when she left for Surrey Storm, Peggy was a bit uneasy.

“It is normal for every mother to be worried about her child’s safety… Sometimes I had sleepless nights but she always assured me that she would be fine, and knowing her character, I gave her my blessings.

“Shortly after, she surprised us with a car and new furniture . . . I wish her well in her future and hope she gets a supportive partner when she decides to settle.”

Her father, Simeone, is charmed by her exploits and feels she is yet to reach her peak.

“Maybe it is because she is the first-born, but as a baby, whenever I held her in my hands, I felt a weird sensation and something told me she would one day be a big name.

“Even as a young girl, Feli always took seriously whatever she did, which is why I supported her from the onset … Her hard work is bearing fruit.

“She has always been reserved growing up; fame has not changed her and I am glad she is still pursuing her studies as well.”

Felisitus is now working on going back to her England base following a Covid-19-induced delay, which forced her to redo some of her paperwork.