3 November 2013 - A wheelchair basketball game held as part of activities to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities was a prime opportunity to support them and raise awareness about their challenges, UNMISS Chief Hilde F. Johnson said in Juba today.

“This will help to break the barriers in South Sudan and the rest of the world,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, “South Sudan still has too many disabled people who need to be supported.”

A dozen players, including victims of landmine incidents, participated in the match, organized by the South Sudan Wheelchair Basketball Association in collaboration with UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and Handicap International.

These players were victims of war, including landmines, or of polio and road accidents,” said the basketball association manager Gabriel Nyambuki Kenyi. “No matter what caused the disability, they are still part of the community and we should not discriminate against them.”

In an UNMISS press release ahead of the game, SRSG Johnson said exclusion of the disabled and physically impaired from society had damaging consequences to the lives of persons with disabilities and to the progress of communities.

“In South Sudan we must work harder in removing these barriers, to more inclusion and participation of all persons with disabilities,” she said.