Rwanda hosts leadership training for East African NPCs

East African Paralympic committees in Rwanda last week to discuss how to further develop disability sport in their region. 27 Nov 2012

Young Athletes arrive at the Agitos Foundation Youth Workshop in Rwanda

The Leadership Training Workshop and Meeting of the Federation of East Africa for Sports of People with Disabilities (FEASPD) set out a four-year sports programme.

ⒸIPC

By IPC

The meeting set out a four-year sports programme and established several training plans to further develop athletics, goalball, sitting volleyball, powerlifting, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, boccia and table tennis.

From 23-25 November, Rwanda’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) hosted a Leadership Training Workshop and Meeting of the Federation of East Africa for Sports of People with Disabilities (FEASPD) in Kigali.

The event included NPC representatives from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Collectively, the NPCs sent 33 athletes to London 2012, with Kenya picking up two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

The leadership training covered topics such as strategic planning, project management, leadership models, problem solving and managing resources.

“Sports in the region cannot develop without strong leaders who know their roles and responsibilities and who are accountable in whatever they do,” said President of NPC Rwanda Dominique Bizimana.

The meeting set out a four-year sports programme and established several training plans to further develop athletics, goalball, sitting volleyball, powerlifting, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, boccia and table tennis.

The FEASPD decided to organise regional competitions for sports in which more than three countries host national championship events.

They also plan to lobby inter-university and secondary competitions in East Africa to include goalball, and for the FEASPD to be recognised by the East Africa Parliament.

“We are dealing with different people who have different impairments,” said Bizimana. “So, by developing different sports, we are providing opportunities to different people to practise sports and we are also increasing visibility of our sports in public. Once you increase the participants in different sports, you are increasing also the chance of medals in Paralympic Games.

“You cannot expect medals with one athlete in one sport.”

NPC Rwanda also pledged to continue to help NPC Burundi to introduce new sports such as wheelchair basketball and boccia, sending their own coaches to Burudni to train future ones.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries will be invited for competitions and regional development meetings and seminars organised by FEASPD members.

The next General Assembly of the FEASPD will take place in 2013 in Kenya.