Mohammadullah was born in the Wardak province, south of the capital. He is ethnically Pashtun.
In 1992, he lost the use of his legs due to a splinter wound in his back. He only learnt how to read and write because schools were inaccessible for people in wheelchairs. To help his family, he fixed bicycles - mostly punctures - and spent time in his father's second-hand shop.
Mohammadullah was quiet and patient, and he seemed to be quite unambitious, almost hopeless. In reality, he dreamt to be an entrepreneur and own a real shop where he could meet people, and feel like he was part of the world. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. He was well aware that it was impossible to do that for a person in a wheelchair in Afghanistan and on top of that there was no money.
However, what hurt him the most was that no one believed in him. Settle for what you have, they told him. He fell ill, he had pains all over, in his head, in his shoulders, in his kidneys. He slept little and poorly. He spoke even less and was always gloomy.
He hesitated when they told him that someone was recruiting people for a basketball team. His physiotherapist had to push him to join the team. This will be another disappointment, thought Mohammadullah.
It wasn’t. It was love at first sight. In less than a month, his pains disappeared. During training, he was committed like never before. He was a fast learner and incredibly focused. Most importantly he is a team player. He does not play for himself. Everyone wants him because he is helpful, precious and reliable.
He triumphally became part of the national team, became the hero of his neighbourhood, travelled and played in Italy, China, Thailand and Japan. Not bad for someone who never left Kabul! He made friends, he saw things he never even imagined. He was even interviewed on television.
He still wants to own a shop, but now another dream makes its way: to make a living from basketball, coaching youth teams. His request was accepted right away. Finally, someone believes in me, he thinks.
I know that someone will replace me as captain eventually. But the new captain will be someone that I trained.
There is a touch of sadness in his voice when he says this. But there is also the pride and serenity of someone that knows sport will always be part of his life.
The project La Forza dello Sport supports the Afghan wheelchair basketball teams, finances the costs of national teams participating in international tournaments, donates competition wheelchairs, trains professionals (referees, coaches and classifiers) in the field of sport for the disabled. The project also financed the rehabilitation of a sports facility in Maimana and, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the construction of a sports hall for the disabled in Herat, the second in all of Afghanistan. The project is directed by Alberto Cairo, member of NOVE, two-time candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, recipient of the Henry Dunant Medal and head of the Orthopedic Program of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan for over thirty years.