Cheza U.S.A. Sports Day and Fundraiser for Persons with Disabilities

The Cheza U.S.A. Sports Day and Fundraiser for Persons with Disabilities is an annual advocacy and inclusion initiative in Uganda connecting sport, art education and accessible infrastructure. It brings sporting participation into a wider discussion about disability rights and inclusive development.

The initiative is organised by Cheza with the Uganda National Association for the Blind, International University of East Africa, Uganda Society of Architects and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development of Uganda.

Participation depends on the environment

Access to sport is influenced by the spaces in which activities take place, the way programmes are organised and the opportunities participants have to engage. The initiative addresses these connected issues through sport, education and dialogue.

Its purpose is to bring disability inclusion into the centre of programme and infrastructure thinking. A sporting opportunity is more meaningful when access, participation and the surrounding environment are considered together.

Connecting sport with accessible infrastructure

The collaboration links organisations concerned with disability, sport, architecture, higher education and public policy. It creates a platform for practitioners, policymakers and academia to consider the relationship between accessible spaces and participation.

Universal design is a central advocacy theme. The initiative draws attention to how infrastructure can enable or restrict engagement in community life, including sport. By connecting this issue with a public sporting event, it gives accessibility a practical setting rather than leaving it solely within a technical discussion.

Adaptive sport, art and education

The gala combines a sporting focus with art education and awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities. These elements connect physical participation with expression, learning and public engagement.

Adaptive sport is part of the initiative’s inclusion agenda. It recognises that sporting opportunities need to accommodate different abilities and access requirements. The broader educational programme helps connect that participation with understanding of inclusion and accessible development.

Cheza’s contribution

Cheza contributes its experience in sport-based community engagement and the development of African games. Its role as organiser places sport within a partnership that also brings disability advocacy, architectural knowledge and institutional dialogue.

The programme aligns with Cheza’s vision of play, unity, development and health. Disability inclusion is integral to that vision: sporting development needs to create opportunities for people whose participation may otherwise be constrained by the design of activities or spaces.

Fundraising and public advocacy

The event’s fundraising purpose accompanies its public-awareness role. It creates an opportunity for supporters to engage with disability inclusion through participation, contributions and collaboration.

The project’s documented significance is its connection of sport with universal design, adaptive participation and disability rights. The direction for future delivery is to deepen that connection through practical partnerships and clearer routes into accessible activity.

Disability organisations, educational institutions, architects, public bodies and supporters can contact Cheza about collaborating on accessible sporting opportunities, advocacy and future editions of the gala.