Sport: Bolivia’s Wrestling Cholita and Parkour in Gaza
Three short films look at how sport can change lives – from wrestling in Bolivia to cycling in Rwanda.
The Wrestling Cholita
Bolivian Teresa Huayta uses the unlikely forum of a wrestling ring to combat discrimination in her native Bolivia and press for the rights of her indigenous people. Cholitas, indigenous women who wear pollera skirts and have their hair in plaits, often face discrimination in Bolivia, one of South America’s poorest countries. Wrestling has brought her fans from all backgrounds in the country who now see cholitas as equals, Teresa says, allowing her to “wear her pollera skirt with such pride”.
Free Running Gaza
In the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza, Mohammed and Abdullah have found a way to distract themselves from the overcrowded tenements and squalid alleyways. Both young men have trained for years to become Gaza’s leading practitioners of parkour. Parkour involves traversing and scaling obstacles and barriers through running, jumping and vaulting. For Mohammed, Abdullah and the latest generation of young Palestinians to have grown up in the camp under-educated and unemployed, it is the ultimate means of escape.
King of the Mountain
Samuel Mugisha always dreamed of professional cycling as a way to support his family. After he won a coveted spot on Team Rwanda, his dream became a reality. In a country still showing the scars of genocide, Samuel discovered that cycling for his country comes with important responsibilities.