Cape Town - Advice from a medical practitioner after a gymnastics injury has literally led to Naadirah Moola climbing to new heights.
Growing up, Moola was a multisport-athlete, who always wanted to try something new. She played netball and participated in figure skating but it was always her dream to try out gymnastics.
As her love for the sport grew, she decided to give it a shot and soon represented the Western Province team. However, she quit the sport after an arm injury benched her for eight months.
Not knowing where she would regain strength and extension in her arm, her doctor suggested rock climbing. Ironically, two months before her injury, she learnt how to climb. This soon became her new passion and within a few months, she regained strength in her arm.
After a few months of climbing, Moola noticed a group of youth training with the head coach of her climbing gym at the time. She wanted to get involved with the climbing community in a bigger way for a while but wasn’t sure how to go about it.
In a change of events, she was appointed as head coach of an NGO called DreamHigher. Their goal is to bring rock climbing to the vulnerable youths of Cape Town.
Moola said she enjoys seeing the measurable difference in the performance and happiness in children during and after a session and watching it translate to other aspects of their lives.
“You develop a friendship with each member and they truly become like family. I also enjoy breaking the stereotype of what it means to be a climber, climbing is freeing. It brings out our inner child and reminds us that it’s wonderful to play and problem-solve.
“Our mission has been to offer sustained climbing opportunities to local youth, who have navigated tumultuous childhoods that involved regular exposure to distressing events. The instability of their past and the chronic stress they have experienced often results in the presence of trauma, a psychological response to overwhelming experiences of stress. We have found however that climbing can help to heal these wounds.
“Each month we run multiple coaching training sessions at indoor climbing gyms alongside regularly climbing outdoors at local crags and bouldering areas. Our most committed participants are rewarded with annual gym memberships, therefore allowing them to become independent climbers, and up-skill as coaches if they express an interest.
“The gym becomes a safe space where our participants develop confidence, learn to control their emotions and to build healthy relationships. This set of skills developed through the practice of climbing can be applied to the daily challenges faced by our youth. We also participate in adventures where our beneficiaries discover their surrounding mountains, reconnect with their natural world and learn to respect it,” she said.
On the academic front, Moola is completing her PhD in molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry in the Plant Stress Lab at UCT and the Lab of Applied Mycology and Phenomics at Ghent University in Belgium.
“I am currently writing up my PhD which investigates a biopesticide as a preventative treatment to two fungal infections, botrytis cinerea and fusarium verticillioides, in tomato and maize respectively. I am passionate about science and particularly love public speaking relating to science. Besides science and sport, I love reading and eating,” she added.
Her lifelong friend, Fathima Osman, said: “It was a simple friendship that evolved into (sisterhood). We are very different beings, but our friendship is like an anchor which grounds us both, we find comfort, advice, compassion and empathy within the confines of a safe and honest space.
“Her energy, drive and motivation is so contagious, you don’t have to physically be around her to get caught in it. She motivates and inspires effortlessly merely doing the things she loves. Her strong-minded drive is something I always admire. If she decides to pursue something, she puts 100% into it,” she said.
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