A wheelchair basketball coach for people with disabilities would arrive in South Sudan’s capital Juba today to coach players, train coaches, classifiers and referees from Juba and Yirol.
Jess Markt is coming from the United States at the invitation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“We are excited that Jess will coach the South Sudan team. They are very motivated and we hope that this training will enable them to participate in international competitions in future” said Venkatakannan Packirisamy, ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Project manager in South Sudan.
Jess began playing wheelchair basketball at the age of 19 after suffering a spinal cord injury. He has been coaching wheelchair basketball since 2009, and has trained teams in Afghanistan, India, Palestine, Cambodia and in his home state of Colorado.
In South Sudan, the ICRC supports three physical rehabilitation centres that provide mobility devices and therapy. Together with the South Sudan Wheelchair Basketball Association (SSWBA) it organizes weekly wheelchair basketball games to promote social inclusion for people with disabilities.