A hundred Kenyan Physical Education teachers and educators have been trained in disability-inclusive basketball coaching at the Basketball Experience Disability Inclusion (BE-DI) Teachers' Awareness Day on Saturday at Fam Sports Arena in Kitengela, Kajiado County.
The event formed part of the Basketball Experience programme, a collaboration between Agence Française de Développement Group and NBA Africa that uses basketball to promote education, life skills and inclusive opportunities for young people. The training combined classroom sessions and on-court activities, introducing participants to the Jr. NBA curriculum and inclusive coaching methods.
Disability Inclusion Basketball Experience coach Kimani Peter said the initiative aims to equip teachers to sustain the programme in schools, particularly as direct visits by programme coaches become less frequent. "The educators must be empowered to have the skills and knowledge how to keep coaching the game," he said.
NBA Africa Director of Operations Kita Matungulu said adaptive coaching techniques and inclusive curriculum design would help remove barriers that prevent children with disabilities from participating in sport. He called for increased investment in sporting infrastructure to host major basketball events and tap into Kenya's talent pool.
Coach Lavender Achieng said the programme would continue reaching schools to ensure the skills translate into opportunities for more than 100,000 children across 128 schools in Kenya. Delivered in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross, the programme highlights how sport can promote teamwork, resilience, leadership, health awareness and social responsibility.
