THE city of Durban could do with more sporting tournaments for persons with disabilities.

This is the view of the manager and team member of uMlazi-based eThekwini Spears, a basketball team for people using wheelchairs, Olona Sosibo and Musa Dlamini, respectively.

On Thursday (June 25), Sosibo and Dlamini attended the SBS Tanks annual Wheelchair Challenge, which the team manager said was a fun awareness-raising initiative.

“It is always nice to watch able-bodied people, some who think it is easy, trying to play a game of basketball while using a wheelchair,” said Sosibo, who added that the awareness also extends to persons with disabilities, for them to know that there is so much more that they are able to do.

Sosibo said another good that comes from the challenge is that SBS Tanks services and repairs the team’s wheelchairs.

Sosibo said though the yearly, once-off donation from SBS Tanks is welcomed, it can only do so much, especially for a club of 50 or so women and men members who take part in numerous tournaments, most of which are hosted outside of KZN.

“The challenge is that we don’t have a lot going on in Durban, so we have to travel to Johannesburg most of the time and travelling means making arrangements for transportation that can meet our very specific needs, and all of this is very costly,” said Sosibo.

Sosibo suggested that more sporting tournaments of different codes for persons with disabilities should be set up.

The club, added Sosibo, is in need of a sponsor, one who would not only assist with travelling costs and kits, but with a stipend of sorts for club members who, in this tight economy with high levels of unemployment, are just “playing for the love” of the sport.

Dlamini echoed Sosibo’s sentiments, and pointed out that some of the club’s members are based outside of the province, which amounts to additional travelling costs for them when the need arises.

For Dlamini, the wheelchair challenge should serve as inspiration for persons with disabilities, for them to remember “you can do anything in life as long as you put your mind to it”.

Dlamini tasked the families and friends of persons with disabilities, especially young people, to always be a support system that offers guidance and encouragement.

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Calls for sponsors for eThekwini Spears

Anyone who wishes to sponsor the club can reach Sosibo on 068 403 7584 or Dlamini on 061 473 4653.

SBS Tanks CEO Delayne Gray said this year’s fundraising target for the challenge is R500 000, which will “bless” different beneficiaries, including Made for More, Little Eden Society and Aunt Hanelli’s Helping Hands, a Queensburgh-based organisation that helps people in its area.

Gray thanked the community, the company’s suppliers and customers who “have got behind” the challenge.

“Disability doesn’t choose colour, gender, or religion, so our endeavours target people across the length and breadth of society,” said Gray.

The SBS Tanks Wheelchair Challenge began in 2021 when Gray accepted a challenge from The Little Eden Society to spend a full day in a wheelchair.

After 14 hours navigating everyday life on wheels, the experience gave him a far deeper understanding of the daily challenges faced by those living with limited mobility and inspired what has now become an annual fundraising event.

Since then, the challenge has grown into a community-driven initiative that brings together families, schools, businesses, and the wider public to raise awareness, build empathy, and help provide wheelchairs for those in need.

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