Athletes with disabilities get a place for hoops and volleyball — with an assist from Rotary
Some of the biggest names in basketball (think Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Peja Stojaković) hail from the Balkans, where basketball is part of national identities. In a survey of people with disabilities in Zenica, about 40 miles northeast of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 90 percent said that playing sports — including the beloved pastime — was a way to boost inclusion and belonging. In response, the Rotary Club of Zenica and partners, with funding from The Rotary Foundation, upgraded a basketball court at a popular park in the city for wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball, culminating in a two-day tournament to celebrate the new space.
Six wheelchair basketball teams from across the region gathered at Kamberovića park for the inaugural tournament in September 2024. A survey revealed a desire for more spaces for people with disabilities to gather and socialize.
Zenica Rotarian Harun Imamović helped organize the tournament with support from a regional coalition of organizations of people with disabilities.
The Zenica Rotarians got involved in helping people with disabilities when the women’s sitting volleyball club in Zenica, the only one in the country, approached them for financial support to attend a 2022 competition in Italy. In 2024 Rotarians launched a multipronged project that included leadership workshops, a panel discussion on the need for inclusive employment, and a media blitz to raise public awareness. Four teams played in the kickoff volleyball tournament, and two new players joined as a result. Another tournament was held in June 2025.
This story originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Rotary magazine.