Annual Event
Sports, Health & Wellness Day
The Manguzi Gijima is South Africa's most remarkable grassroots disability inclusion event — drawing close to 2,000 participants annually, over 40% of whom are people with disabilities.
The Journey
From 42 to 2,000+
Manguzi Gijima initially started as a small community sports day organised by the local Manguzi rehabilitation and dietetics teams. 36 runners and 6 wheelchair users participated. Barring the two years spanning the COVID pandemic, Manguzi Gijima has been held annually ever since.
Today the event attracts close to 2,000 participants, of whom over 40% are people with a wide variety of disabilities. In 2025, 150 wheelchair users participated in the event, with a record 37 competitors taking on the massive MedBull challenge.
Participation has broadened to include 'out of towners' — including participants from Mozambique and Swaziland — and has slowly grown across all race distances including the 21km, 10km, and 5km.
2,000+
Participants (2025)
150
Wheelchair athletes
37
MedBull competitors (record)
84
Volunteers
Race Categories
72 potential prize categories across all distances — with professional electronic timing for every participant.
Half marathon — open to runners and wheelchair athletes
Open fun run — including wheelchair participants
Family walk/run — fully inclusive
Wheelchair technical challenge course — the crowd favourite
Inclusive children's event with all-abilities play area
The Crowd Pleaser
The MedBull Wheelchair Challenge
The brightly branded MedBull wheelchair technical challenge course is a crowd puller and clearly demonstrates ability — showcasing some of the top local wheelchair athletes in action.
In 2025, a record 37 competitors took on the MedBull course. The course also presents a unique opportunity to invite dignitaries to trial a wheelchair themselves — after watching the athletes show them how it's really done.
First-hand experience is always a winner, and really opens doors to conversations around service delivery, access, and attitudes toward disability.
More Than Sport
Comprehensive Health Screening
Comprehensive primary health screening has been available at every Gijima event since 2019, run primarily by the local Manguzi Hospital team — which means follow-up care is possible for every case identified.
New cases of diabetes, hypertension, and malnutrition have been identified at the event. Spectacles and walking aids have been issued after appropriate screening. One year the team screened all 60 children and adults with cerebral palsy at the event and followed up with home visits — finding 30% had malnutrition and 70% had never seen a dentist. All gaps were addressed.
Services available on the day
- Blood pressure and diabetes screening
- Malnutrition and BMI assessment
- Vision screening and spectacle provision
- Mobility aid and wheelchair repairs
- HIV/TB testing
- Cerebral palsy assessment
- Mental health awareness
The All-Children's Tent
The objective is simple: address attitudinal barriers early in life through inclusive play. The all-abilities children's tent features fancy dress, adaptive games, jumping castle, and activities designed so every child can participate alongside every other child.
Because when children grow up playing together — regardless of ability — they carry that understanding into adulthood.
Join Us at the Next Gijima
Whether you run, wheel, volunteer, or simply cheer — you're part of the change.