Sports for African children with Disabilities

The Kids League Report for the Inclusion through Disability Sports (IDS): Activities Undertaken in July

The month of July was the turning point for the project in terms of fulfilling its objectives. On 9^th July the season activities began in earnest. The season started after a lot of hard work had been done by the partners within the schools and the above. Prior to 9^th July there was an exhibition week of intense training to show the public about the IDS project in the District. The following activities were carried out during July.

            ACTIVITIES

1. Arranging the children into teams for the various games/sports undertaken
2. Delivering coaching sessions to the school teams alongside their coaches
3. Visit to Nwoya District to exchange them memorandum of understanding between GDPU and the local government
4. Drafting formal letters for the schools to clarify the schedule of the season

Children from the schools in the programme have been taking part in various games like wheelchair basketball, volleyball, boccia and showdown during the competitive weekend activities – which have formed the official league aspect of the project. However, other games like goalball, football and netball are being introduced at practice sessions during the week to show how they can be adapted for children with disabilities. This is good preparation for future seasons as these activities will not be entirely unfamiliar when they are incorporated into the programme, perhaps in September. They can also be used in addition to the current sports when we do advocacy work in schools with able-bodied children to create awareness in the community about disability.

Season logistics: the basketball, volleyball and boccia leagues all comprise four teams, and the competitive activities take place at the GDPU centre.

After the refresher training courses the coaches were familiar with what they needed to do, in terms of delivering quality training for the children involved in the programme, and in and for promoting the activities in their schools/communities. This has been sustained through further guidance during the first weeks of the programme Also delivering the training schedule for the wheel chair basket ball training at GDPU centre.

CHALLENGE IN THE MONTH.

The number of children who are participating in the sports activities (be it training or competitive games) and interest levels in the project have gone beyond what was initially expected. We need to manage expectations and set out a clear guideline for the number of children who are involved at any given point. The exact number of participants will be clarified before the next season starts. This will be done through consultation with the TKL head office in Kampala, the TKL coordinator and GDPU.

There is currently no money set aside in the budget specifically for refreshments (water) for coaches and participants during the activities. We are trying to get around this within the budget but a specific allocation for future activities would be helpful.