Julius Van der Wat has Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy, his limbs are effected and has very limited voluntary movement.
Despite this his motto in life is: “I have Cerebral Palsy, Cerebral Palsy does not have me.”
Julius is passionate about advocating for those with severe physical disabilities especially regarding accessibility, for example: access to public buildings and spaces as well as to information.
An avid sportsman, participates in Boccia a sport specifically for people with severe physical disabilities. He is proud to say that he represented Gauteng on national level nine times and has been a national champion in the pairs’ competition for his division three times. Boccia is a co-operative game which relies on everyone participating to work together to achieve great things; support from coaches, family, volunteers, referees and classifiers play a vital role. This game teaches us that together we can accomplish much more. Boccia is a recognised Paralympic sport.
In addition to his participation in sport he is also an Abstract artist and using a digital tablet as his medium.
Julius is also an assistant teacher at Helpmekaar College in Johannesburg. He is Co Director at a NPC – Abilities without Limits. They strive to educate the public about the Abilities and capabilities of Persons with Disabilities, especially those with Cerebral Palsy and wheelchair accessibility challenges. He is featured in primary school textbooks to help further educate the mainstream about Persons with Disabilities.
Recently he was appointed as an ambassador for the Casual Day and Nappy Run campaigns owned and administrated by the National Council of Persons with Disabilities.