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Film, Afghanis and wheelchair basketball

Apr 28 12:56

Oprah says if you’re female and live in the US, you have it better than 90% of the women in the world (when you look at equal rights and opportunities). But if you ask me, the real fortune lies with American disabled citizens. We have it good. Damn good.

We have the ADA, access to health insurance, necessary medical equipment, adapted athletics and other “get out there and live” adventures than people in developing countries could only dream of. And that is why supporting the film, The League of Afghanistan, is something each and every one of us should do.

Once made, this film will highlight the amazing things that can happen when you expose people with disabilities (in this case disabled Afghani men) to adapted athletics. Paralyzed high-jumper Jess Markt, who discovered wheelchair basketball after his injury, will be the lucky guy who gets to travel to Kabul to coach these b-ball newbies the ropes of wheelchair basketball.

What’s going to be really fascinating will be the individual stories it will tell. Many of the men in this film were injured from some kind of violence (from when the Taliban was in power) and it will be a great to hear their stories. So many people with disabilities are silently suffering in developing countries, and any film that shows they can be helped - and hey, here’s how you can do it (and no it’s not rocket science!) - is monumental for humanity

There's a 6 minute intro to the film, giving viewers a taste of how huge a little thing called wheelchair basketball can mean to the lives of these disabled men. Getting involved in a physical activity, working as a team, even dreams of the Paralympics can take your mind out of that dark place (when you have a disability) that so many of us know all too well.

They started a Kickstarter campaign on April 25th with a goal of reaching $20,000 to help make the film, and they exceeded their goal by over $5,000! But despite that sum making a film in Afghanistan costs a pretty penny, so they decided to leave up their campaign until May 6th (hoping they’ll hit the $30k mark).

Love this film’s message and I can’t wait to see the final product. Make sure to check out the 6 minute promo video below!

Kickstarter: The League of Afghanistan

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Spin 2.0

By Tiffiny Carlson

Tiffiny Carlson Disability buzz, travel, fashion and dating — fun things to amp up everyday wheeling life.

Tiffiny Carlson is freelance writer and writes the “SCI Life” column for New Mobility. She's also a C6 quad from a diving accident that occurred when she was 14 years old. A lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Tiffiny has been a writer in the disability community for over 10 years and writes for several publications and blogs, as well as her personal blog BeautyAbility. Her work has also appeared in mainstream publications such as Nerve.com and Playgirl.