Karate for all
... BOKA reaches out to people with disabilities
The newly elected president of the Botswana Karate Association ( BOKA), Mpho Bakwadi, has announced ambitious plans to introduce karate to people living with disabilities. During a recent address to affiliate members, Bakwadi stated that the organization plans to “cultivate those children and teach them even those on wheelchairs so that at least by the end of the year, we can have a tournament for people living with disabilities.” Despite this determination, BOKA has not yet revealed a detailed plan for how they will roll out this initiative.
Bakwadi also acknowledged the need for the organization to become less reliant on government funding and instead raise funds through hosting quality tournaments and securing sponsorships. He emphasized the importance of building the karate federation together and addressing any issues that arise. Bakwadi also discussed plans to invite instructors from overseas, provide training for trainers, send chief instructors abroad for training, and develop referees to improve the organisation’s standards.
In terms of developing the sport, Bakwadi emphasized the importance of starting training athletes at a young age, citing countries like Morocco and Egypt as examples of countries that perform well at international stages. He also acknowledged the importance of development programs like the Debswana sponsored “Re Ba Bona
Ha” for the development of the sport.
Bakwadi also addressed concerns from parents of athletes and acknowledged the lack of school sports in the country. He stated that the organisation is planning to compete at the all Africa games scheduled for Ghana later this year. Bakwadi also mentioned the need to groom their administrators on issues of maladministration following bad publicity due to accusations of maladministration and corruption in the previous BOKA executive committee.