Newsletter

🌟 Member of the Month – February – FINAL

Pelgrina Ndumba

✨ Meet Pelgrina — warm, determined, and a quiet powerhouse. She lights up Saturday mornings with her kindness, infectious smile, and love of learning. Pelgrina has challenged herself to rediscover running after more than a decade away, and in doing so has reminded us all why Achilles Adelaide exists: inclusion, friendship, and the shared joy of moving together.

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🌍 Early Life, Family & What Home Means

Pelgrina is the first of three children and grew up in Namibia, part of the Kavango people, where mahangu porridge with spinach (mutate) is a staple food of her tribe.

Her early family life was loving, but also shaped by challenge. Pelgrina was the first person with a disability in her family, and because her parents had never seen a child with visual impairment attend school, she did not begin formal education until the age of 12. Before that, she stayed at home assisting with household chores.

Starting school was transformative. It was there that Pelgrina encountered disability-friendly teachers who recognised her gifts and nurtured them. She discovered she was both a vocalist and an athlete, and was deeply inspired by a blind teacher who showed her what was possible.

For Pelgrina, home is not just a place — it is where resilience was forged, where culture and family shaped her values, and where belief in possibility first took root.

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👁️ Sight Journey

Pelgrina lost her eyesight overnight. She went to bed able to see and woke the next morning unable to see at all. After multiple medical assessments, her family was told that the optic nerves were irreversibly damaged — a condition known as bilateral Optic Atrophy.

This sudden loss profoundly shaped Pelgrina’s resilience, her outlook on life, and the way she connects with others in the blind and low vision community. It also strengthened her commitment to advocacy, education, and inclusion.

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🏃‍♀️ Athletics Roots – Sprinting for Namibia

Pelgrina began athletics in her early teens and went on to represent Namibia at the Zone 6 Youth Games in 2004 (Mozambique) and 2006 (Namibia).

Her favourite memory remains the 100-metre sprint in Mozambique, her first international race. Sprinting has always been her passion — fast, focused, and powerful.

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🎓 Studies, Teaching & Purpose

Pelgrina is currently in Adelaide on a two-year study scholarship, completing a Master’s in Inclusive and Specialised Education.

Her academic focus is deeply personal. Her favourite module to date is Personalised Curriculum Design for Learners with Disabilities, driven by a strong belief that:

“Inclusive education should leave no one behind. The voices of people with disabilities must be included — not spoken for.”

Pelgrina’s long-term goal is to help transform classrooms so that every learner has access to quality, dignified education, shaped with — not just for — students with disabilities.

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🌱 Life in Adelaide

In Adelaide, Pelgrina is:

• A vocalist with the Overseas Student Christian Fellowship
• A volunteer at the South Australian School and Services for Learners with Visual Impairment
• Actively involved with Beyond Blindness, Blind Citizens Australia, and Guide Dogs SA/NT
• An Achilles Adelaide family favourite

She speaks warmly of Adelaide’s inclusivity, kindness, nature, and quietness, which have made it feel like a welcoming place to learn and grow.

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💛 Achilles Adelaide Journey

Since joining Achilles Adelaide, Pelgrina has rediscovered her love of running and movement. With the support of guides and fellow athletes, she has:

• Completed the 6 km City-Bay (September 2025)
• Begun preparing to return to sprinting, with a guide training alongside her
• Smashed the Glenelg Classic
• Entered Run Moana on 15^th February (results to come)

Over the summer break, Pelgrina will returned to Namibia (11 December 2025 – 13 February 2026) to spend precious time with family before resuming study and training in Adelaide.  We look forward to her return.

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🎯 Looking Ahead to 2026

Reflecting on her Achilles experience, Pelgrina shares:

“When one is with people with the right mindsets, one can accomplish so much. Achilles Adelaide is full of people with the right mindsets — they helped me rediscover my love for running.”

Her hope is that this same mindset continues to help others find purpose, confidence, and belonging.

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🌈 Hopes, Dreams & Purpose

Pelgrina believes deeply that everyone is placed on this earth for a reason, though not everyone has the opportunity to discover why. She hopes to help people find their purpose through formal and non-formal education, including motivational speaking and advocacy.

Like many women, Pelgrina also dreams of family life — marriage, children, and raising them with strong values.

Professionally, she hopes to use her studies to strengthen learner support systems in schools, particularly as many disability-friendly educators retire. Her aim is to ensure students with disabilities are supported, valued, and empowered.

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🤝 How Our Community Can Support Pelgrina

Pelgrina would welcome support with:

• Finding weekday running partners, particularly for short-distance training
• Access to short-distance or sprinting opportunities
• Attending information-sharing sessions (like Run DNA) to share learnings back in Namibia
• Assistance finding a part-time job (up to 24 hours per week)
• Exploring ways to raise funds for inclusive education workshops and initiatives

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🌟 Fun Facts (In Pelgrina’s Words)

• Favourite Namibian food: “Litanda and Tjikundu.”
• Favourite thing about Adelaide: “The nature and the quietness.”
• Fun fact: “I smile even when I’m angry — people don’t take me seriously because of it!”
• How friends describe me: “Straightforward. Right is right, wrong is wrong.”

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💛 Pelgrina’s journey is one of courage, purpose, and quiet strength. We’re so proud to celebrate her as our February Member of the Month and grateful for all she brings to the Achilles Adelaide community.