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      Wheelchair-bound Players Challenge Uganda's Perceptions of Disabled

   by Lizabeth Paulat

   For many disabled Ugandans, life is incredibly hard. A lack of
   accessible buildings, transport and activities means the disabled end
   up spending most of their time at home.

   But thanks to Uganda's parasport teams, athletes' lives are slowly
   improving.

   Joan Nagujja, a volunteer with Uganda's Paralympic Committee, says she
   found self-confidence through sports.

   Naguija says because her hand and leg are paralyzed, she had felt
   self-conscious. As she grew older, she looked for ways to challenge
   herself and she discovered sports and that changed how she felt about
   herself.

   She was no longer afraid to talk to talk to people and she now feels
   proud.

   ''Basketball group

   That is the goal of Uganda's Wheelchair Basketball Association, where
   the aim is to keep disabled athletes fit, both physically and mentally,
   while instilling a sense of pride.

   The Uganda Disabled Basketball Association began in the northern town
   of Gulu in 2007 and now has teams across the country.

   The goal is to expand their reach internationally. In coming months,
   the association hopes to travel to Somalia to train teams, and there's
   also talk of an international match between Uganda and Kenya.

   Their coach, Edwin Mulima, who used to play basketball on Uganda's
   national team, says he had to learn how to play in a wheelchair when he
   became their coach.

   The team uses special sports wheelchairs for quick maneuvers and to
   prevent falls.

   However, Mulima says it wasn't always this way. He says it was very
   tough in the beginning with old style wheelchairs, which were hard to
   control and the players would often fall.

   Funding issues

   He says that changed after the Lion's Club of China donated new
   wheelchairs, which make maneuvering around the court much easier.

   Along with the basketball association, there are disabled sports
   associations for rowing, football and swimming. Although they are part
   of the Uganda Paralympic Committee, they receive very little funding
   from the government, relying on NGOs for funds.

   The associations are hoping that as their groups expand across East
   Africa, so will their budgets.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/wheelchair-bound-players-challenge-ug
   andas-perceptions-of-disabled/2646210.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/wheelchair-bound-players-challenge-ugandas-perceptions-of-disabled/2646210.html