Paralympic Exhibition Underway In Farafenni

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on May 31, 2010 at 10:30pm

·         Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The Gambia National Paralympics Committee on Tuesday morning in Farafenni NBR commence their sports exhibitions with the first event of the day featuring a one kilometer wheelchair race from AFPRC Hospital gate to the Farafenni multipurpose youth center.

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·         The delegated reporter of the Sports Journalists Association of The Gambia (SJAG) Musa Fatty of Sports Digest said six contestants took part in the race and Salifu Kujabi came in first position; follow by Malang Tamba and Demba Jarjue in second and third position respectively.
“The second event was a goal ball played by only blind men to show case their talent, which is an indication that disabilities does not mean inability. The game is one of the most interesting games with only six players in a small seize court; three for each side and it lasted for only 15 minutes, Fatty said.
The game required a complete client from the spectators as the players only had the sound of the ball but cannot see it. 

Though the game doest not have handball, throw and corner as in football because players use their hands to play by rolling the ball into each other’s net. At the end of the game team B won by 5-1with goalkeeper Alhagie Mbye scoring most of the goals. Fatty also reports that the third activity for the day featured an interesting volleyball match played by the deaf and hard of hearing between Red House and Blue House. 

The game as described by Fatty was a tough encounter between the two strong sides, with a good display of skills by athletes. Blue House emerged victorious with a closely fought 37 to 32 points.
The touring team’s last event in the North Bank Region (NBR) was a thrilling basketball encounter between KMC and BCC. As usual BCC gain the upper hand against their arch rivals in the first quarter, but KMC bounce back in the second quarter to reduce the points.

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·         Both sides showcased a brilliant display, attracting a large turn-out of spectators from the community of Farafenni.

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·         BCC won by 27 to 21 points with the recently SJAG Paralympics athlete of the year 2009 Malan Tamba and Salifu Kujabi scoring most of the points. In an exclusive interview with the NBR Regional Secretary for Disable Association under the auspices of the Disable Association of The Gambia Mr. Abdoulie A.O. Bah, expresses gratitude to the National Paralympics Association’s visit
to the region, describing it as a way of improving sports in the region.

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·         “ My expectation after this trip is to say no to discrimination against the disable people in the country, this is why we come up with this programme to give support to the disable people so that they will not think that been disable means the end of one’s life. There are some disable people sitting at their homes who can really excel in anything in life if they are giving the opportunity,” Mr. Bah who doubles as the Red Cross Coordinator in the Region said.

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·         When asked about the main constrains affecting the NBR Disable Association. He said their main challenges remain the availability of facilities and finance, saying we still don’t have an office and financial support to conduct some of activities in the region.