New Opportunities In Sports

Sports on wheels.

I must admit that US citizens have much available to us. Some 25 years ago, we passed and implemented the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which brought many of those who have physical, intellectual, and emotional challenges into the societal mainstream. Yes, we still have to fight for those opportunities, but more is available than before the ADA was passed.

But if you look at other countries, the path to mainstream participation has many more barriers. Lizzie Kiama, who lives in Kenya, experienced a loss of mobility when she was in a car accident at the age of 18. She spent a lengthy recovery period depending on a wheelchair for her mobility needs. She fought against being labeled as disabled, primarily because that meant being marginalized.

Since that time Lizzie regained the ability to walk, got married, and also worked towards a bachelors degree in business administration from American International University. But after the birth  of her daughter, Ms. Kiama lost her mobility permanently.



Now, she had a baby and had become depressed about her physical condition. Essentially, coming through that depression meant embracing the label of disabled at the age of 30, but not necessarily the societal view. Lizzie said, "It took really looking at myself and accepting that I was, indeed, disabled and that I could look at it as something negative or I could let it be a source of empowerment."

So, she rejoined the mainstream, but there was still something missing. There were very few opportunities for women, especially, to participate in adaptive physical activities. If there were going to be opportunities for her and other women with disabilities to become physically active, she would have to blaze that trail herself. That led her to form This-Ability Consulting and then the WOMEN AND WHEELS PROJECT.

But first she attended a three-week Women's Institute On Leadership & Disability program in Eugene, Oregon, where she learned about sports and adaptive recreation. She got the chance to play wheelchair rugby. Then, she took all that knowledge back home with her to women who were hungry for that type of opportunity.

Now, she holds rugby workshops, where both disabled and abled women play adaptive rugby, along with some men. At times, they have some reluctant joiners, who just need a bit of persuasion to try, and then forget about the challenge of beginning through being able to play the sport. It's a way of acceptance, a journey back into the mainstream. It comes in the sweat and joy of play.

Lizzie Kiama

This concept/project is still in its beginning stages, but it is growing and demonstrating inclusiveness, just as Lizzie Kiama always dreamed. It's something that she makes possible, "Whether they are able-bodied or disabled or gay or lesbian, or however they may identify, I want a society that is accepting of them. That is encouraging. That is affording the same opportunities. A state where everyone can be good at what they do or can be whoever they want to be." And she is making this type of world right on her own doorstep.

Everyone gets to play, as long as they have a foursome of wheels.

Thanks to this article from Empowering Women And Girls Through Sports: http://globalsportswomen.org/blog/gsmp-2014-lizzie-kiama; from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/lizzie-kiama-women-wheels-project/; and the above links.

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