How a U.S. Paralympic Fencer Is Helping Build Parafencing in Namibia

When Jataya Taylor PLY handcycled across southern Africa in the summer of 2023, she didn't expect the trip to change the trajectory of parafencing in Namibia. But after she delivered donated gear from the Denver Fencing Center and the Denver Fencing Foundation and ran a parafencing demo, one local coach wouldn't let the idea go.

Shekinah Mpunwa kept reaching out. He wanted to know what it would take to start a program.

Two years later, Taylor, a retired U.S. Marine and U.S. Paralympic fencer, returned to Namibia in October to see what Mpunwa had built. She was stunned.

"I was surprised to see how quickly the program had grown and how organized they were, already having support from the Namibian National Paralympic Committee and local fencing community," Taylor says.

During the October visit, the Denver Fencing Foundation donated an official fencing chair, painted in Namibia's national colors, along with FIE-approved gear for three fencers ready for international competition. Taylor spent her days leading the Namibia Parafencing Camp, coaching basics and working with athletes like Nelson Maetja, who she said showed up every day hungry to learn more.

For Mpunwa, the stakes go beyond sport. Taylor said he described parafencing as a chance for people with disabilities to show their community what they're capable of. As word spread, requests for equipment and training poured in from outlying regions — more than one coach could handle alone.

Taylor sees her work in Namibia as personal.

"Honestly, I see this as an extension of the military career I never got to have," she says. "It allows me to travel and work with others to make a difference while representing my country."

Her trips have been self-financed. A recent video from Namibia, in which Mpunwa and Maetja thanked Taylor by name, caught her off guard.

"I was honestly surprised and honored they took the time to mention me," she says.

Through what the Denver Fencing Foundation calls the Africa Parafencing Initiative, Taylor and Mpunwa share a long-term goal: build Namibia into a regional training hub where fencers from across Africa can develop.

"We all want to be number one," Taylor says, "but unless we help others grow, we will not have those to push us to be better and grow ourselves."