I was a very active kid, I used to play every sport up until the age of 13
when I was diagnosed with bone cancer
a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma.
I had 20 operations, and the end result was they removed my right hip completely.
There was a moment where I was suicidal, the person who stopped me was my mum
she came into the room, and that’s when I realised that I wasn’t just fighting for my survival for myself
but it was also for her and my entire family.
Wheelchair tennis changed the course of my life
it brought me back to life from a really dark depression and gave me hope and a purpose in life.
In 2013, at the World Team Cup where I met the Tanzanian junior team.
Some of the stories were heartbreaking.
I could see that their equipment was really old and out-dated.
And that’s when we started planning a trip to Tanzania.
So, I have collected over 100 kilos worth of stuff: wheelchairs, tennis racquets, all kinds of equipment!
Driving from the airport into the city and the roads were very dirty, dusty, terrible.
Could hardly get around in the wheelchair at all.
When I first saw Novatus, I didn't recognise him. He had grown up so much in the previous four years.
His style of play had changed and developed and it was amazing to see his progress.
So Riziki is the Tanzanian wheelchair tennis coach.
He doesn’t get any support or funding for all the coaching that he does.
He even has two of the players living with him in his house, along with his four kids.
He goes around to schools introducing wheelchair tennis to kids with disabilities
and giving them a chance to play.
Some of the disabilities I saw, well you just don’t see them in Australia.
Some of the kids at school would have had a broken limb, a broken leg
and wouldn’t have been able to afford treatment then they would be unable to walk ever again because of it.
Neema Crafts is an NGO, a charity, who employ and train and empower disabled people.
The community, they feel that, a disabled people, he or she cannot do anything to help society.
Now the community they know us, they come here and they see what we have been doing here
and I think now they respect us.
I saw all the strength from the people who work at Neema,
what they have overcome, I was inspired by them.
Everyone was a really good sport
and everyone was there to have a good time and connect with the other players.
They were pretty competitive too!
Watching Novatus and seeing him win the tournament
and seeing how happy he was it was such a beautiful, amazing moment for me
and it was a moment I’ll cherish forever.
I feel like this trip marks a different point in my life, it has impacted me so deeply
I didn’t see many disabled people, I see people who choose to put their focus
on what they can do rather than what they can’t.