“It shows that the government of Gambia has in mind everyone, wherever you are, whoever you are, and in whatever situation you are, because everyone has a stake in the national development efforts.”

The Gambian Minister for Youth and Sports, Alieu Kebba Jammeh and the President of the Gambia National Paralympic Committee, Sulayman Colley, hailed the wheelchair basketball exhibition game at the Gambian 2014 National Youth Conference and Festival (NAYCONF) a success.

It was the first time that para-sport was represented at NAYCONF, a bi-annual conference which is known as the biggest youth gathering in Gambia.

Jammeh said: “It shows that the government of Gambia has in mind everyone, wherever you are, whoever you are, and in whatever situation you are, because everyone has a stake in the national development efforts.”

Jammeh was also impressed by the crowd that attended the game, which he sees as an indication that able-bodied people appreciate and acknowledge that being impaired does not mean a lack of ability.

Sulayman Colley now hopes that the success of the conference will also encourage the regions in Gambia to further develop para-sport.

“This is what we have been yearning for years, so what we are hoping now is that the regions that are here and see what we are able to do by producing two wheelchair basketball teams from Banjul and KMC, that the regions will incorporate sports for people with an impairment by the next NAYCONF,” Colley said.