Everyone out to play: Inclusion at the East Africa Cup

It is difficult not to be impressed watching the players during a game of sitting volleyball, but when the clouds clear and Kilimanjaro is in the background it adds something else.

At the East Africa Cup, sitting volleyball takes place as a mixed under-sixteen event. sportanddev spoke to some of the players.

Nigel
At 16, Nigel is an impressive force on his team, Burundi National Paralympic Committee. He cheers, claps and leads his fellow team mates in chants.

Nigel lost the lower section of his leg at the age of three due to infection.

Watching volleyball on television, he became inspired to play and started going to his local team. His morale rose as he joined in training activities, and it was his coach that introduced him to sitting volleyball.

Nigel describes the experience as uplifting, "Being on the court with people cheering makes me feel like a star." He says that it is easy to pity yourself when you have a disability, but playing and making friends makes you feel better.

Chris
From Zambia, Chris is 10 years old; physically he appears to be half that age.

He had tuberculosis of the bones and was found on the street by Sport 2 Build. His family blamed his illness on a twin sister who ate the majority of the household food.

After receiving medical treatment with the help of Sport 2 Build, Chris is living again with his family and twin sister.

He is also competing at the East Africa Cup in sitting volleyball, working very hard to improve his serve.

Names have been changed to maintain privacy.