By Aubrey Merki | Development Assistant
Like many of our students, Kristen’s early childhood education was interrupted by deprivation and family obligations. Even at a young age, she was burdened with looking after her younger siblings and trying to help her family survive.
When she began attending Christel House, Kristen struggled with scars of anger and frustration from her childhood. For her, Christel House quickly became a place of hope and healing.
“The teachers and other kids were very kind, like family,” Kristen reflects. “At this school, I learned how to deal with what I had been feeling.”
While attending Christel House, Kristen was introduced to fencing. She used the sport as a method to channel her frustration and overcome her past. She flourished and competed nationally and internationally.
After graduating from Christel House in 2010, she began a Bachelor’s degree in Sports, Recreation and Exercise Science at the University of the Western Cape. She put her studies on hold temporarily to participate in a professional coaching course in Dakar, Senegal. She is now a “Master Coach in Arms” and one of only four fencing coaches in South Africa. She is also certified by the Fencing Federation to coach anywhere in the world.
“My aim is to develop sport, specifically fencing, in my own country,” Kristen says proudly. “I’m going to share what I’ve learned and make a real difference.”
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