Gaza on Bicycle .. a bicycle path for persons with and without disabilities
The Social Developmental Forum(SDF) carried out the first event of its kind, Gaza on Bicycle, which gathering cyclists with and without disabilities through Wasla Advocacy Centre. This event comes as part of a sport advocacy campaign advocating the right of persons with disabilities (PWDs) to participate in sports in all its forms, the right of access to various sports facilities without any difficulties and the need to adapt them to the needs of PWDs.
Specialists from the Committee of Bicycles for people with Disabilities and the Palestinian Union of Bicycles gave safety instructions to riders in order to keep them safe during the track. Bicycle professionals have also accompanied riders to organize the track and follow their movements
Ahmed Abu Nar, a representative of the Committee, said: “I participated in several bicycle activities and events, but this activity was unique for a number of reasons. This is the first bicycle activity to bring together persons with disabilities and without disabilities. Additionally, part of its importance is that it’s part of the sports campaign which aims to pressure decision makers to adapt sports facilities to facilitate access for persons with disabilities. “
In the same vein, many local actors have been co-operative in organizing the tour track in Gaza City, both the Ministry of the Interior and all its agencies, namely the traffic police, by facilitating the traffic of bikers. Both the Palestinian Medical Service ambulance and Gaza Municipal workers accompanied cyclists along the track to ensure their safety.
The starting point of the track was Yarmouk Stadium in the middle of the Gaza Strip through Dabeet junction, tayaran junction, Al-Azhar junction, Etisalat junction, Al-Shuhadaa Street, Abu Khadra junction and back to Yarmouk Stadium.
Cyclists on the track pledged to deliver a range of messages to the local community to work on, such as the need to ensure the effective involvement of persons with disabilities and to facilitate their access to sports services in the Gaza Strip. In addition to the need to improve the inclusion of a variety of sports programmes and activities for persons with disabilities within sports clubs, intensify efforts to facilitate the access of persons with disabilities to sports facilities and increase the number of sports facilities that are compatible. They also delivered messages on the need to promote local awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities to participation in sports.
Khaled Nofal reflected on his participation in the track, saying, “My participation in Gaza on Bicycle was one of the most beautiful tracks I participated in. The impression was very good because the integration between persons with disabilities and without disabilities is usually this influential. We think that our message has been reached through this activity, in which we have participated as persons with disabilities: the right of persons with disabilities to have access to all sports facilities and to be integrated with the community. We hope that we will also have the chance to participate on the local and international sporting levels and that the flag of Palestine will be raised in all international forums. “
Abdallah Altalmas, one of the participants without disabilities, emphasized the impressions of his colleagues, saying “Our participation according to the holistic approach in the track was mainly to communicate campaign messages to decision makers, highlighting the right of persons with disabilities to participate in sports without any difficulties or obstacles.”
WASLA Training and Advocacy Coordinator, Mariam Naji, concluded with thanking all participants and those involved in the success of the track, emphasizing the right and fairness of sport participation and the need for equal opportunities and rights for all groups in society.
The Gaza on Bicycle is part of a sport campaign designed and carried out by members of WASLA Centre and partner institutions, which highlights the right of persons with disabilities to access sports services and facilities in the Gaza Strip, one of the campaigns recently launched WASLA Centre.
It is important to mention that the digital advocacy campaigns launched by WASLA Centre are part of ‘Improving local community response to advocate the rights of persons with disabilities in the Gaza Strip- WASLA Project’, in partnership with Medical Aid for Palestinians – MAP.