Romanes for Uganda, mission to Africa for wheelchair rugby

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Published by Marta Strinati on 27th June 2025

Wheelchair Sports in Uganda

Playing sports improves well-being especially for people with disabilities. In Uganda, however, surviving with a severe disability is already a great challenge.

'In Uganda it is missing everything that we quadriplegics and paraplegics take for granted in Europe.

For example, if you find yourself paralyzed, you are very lucky if you manage to survive the first year of your new life and you have to face enormous difficulties related to urological dysfunctions, the risk of bedsores and mobility, due to the lack of hospital facilities and essential medical devices, starting from wheelchairs made to measure for each person, as well as the inaccessibility of roads and means of transport., explains our friend Rufo Iannelli, president of Romanes Wheelchair Rugby, himself a wheelchair rugby athlete.

The Courage of Jairus Wanyera

Jairus Wanyera is a young tetraplegic since 2008. With the spirit of a survivor, he celebrates his birthday every year in the dilapidated Spinal Unit of the Mulago hospital in Kampala where patients, doctors and nurses try to get by with the few means available.

Jairus Wants to Bring Wheelchair Rugby to Uganda and managed to share this dream with about 40 candidate athletes with disabilities.

Beyond the obstacle

In 2018, Jaiurus founded the Uganda Wheelchair Rugby Federation (https://uwrf.ug), still without any support from the Uganda Paralympic Committee.

The aim is to train the Ugandan national team and one day organize a tournament with South Africa and Kenya, the only other countries in Africa where rugby is played in wheelchair.

Resources are needed

The athletes They are forced to train on an outdoor concrete court with wheelchair basketball, not suitable for playing rugby and above all not safe, as they were designed for milder disabilities.

Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for people with severe disabilities, such as tetraplegia., and in the rest of the world it is played on parquet or linoleum and enjoys increasingly sophisticated dedicated equipment.

Mission Romans for Uganda

Great help to these courageous athletes now comes from mission Romans for Uganda.

'Me and other rugby players in Italian and English wheelchairs, mostly tetraplegics, we aim to bring to Uganda 8 used sports wheelchairs, donated by our respective member clubs.

We will bring them in person, despite the problems associated with such a trip for disabled people, so as to experience and share the difficulties that young disabled Ugandans like us face every day.

This way, we will save on shipping costs and we will be able to purchase and carry with us a greater quantity of sports material, Spares parts e medical supplies for Kampala Spinal Unit. Disabled travellers are in fact entitled to bring with them a wheelchair for everyday use, a sports wheelchair and a bag of medical supplies at no additional cost', explains Rufo Iannelli.

A week of sharing

In week between August 10 and 17, 2025 training sessions will be held with all the young people in wheelchairs that Jairus and his friends will be able to involve in the game of rugby. Considering that, among the major problems of disabled people in Uganda – and not only, unfortunately – there is also inaccessibility to means of transport.

'We will have the opportunity to teach the training techniques that we use, form the coaches, organize workshops on the rules for players and arbitrators, share knowledge about sports equipment maintenance with the help of a mechanic. We do not want to limit ourselves to sending an 'anonymous package of aid', we want to express our closeness and give a personal meaning to this concrete help', underlines Rufo Iannelli.

Our contribution is needed

The 'Romanes for Uganda' mission is ready, but a financial contribution is needed to purchase part of the material and a container in Uganda, which will serve as a storage facility for sports equipment.

For to donate There are three ways: