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The Commonwealth Games events begin today, 29 July, with athletes from 72 nations competing in Birmingham, UK.

Netball is one game that shall be played by female players from 12 countries.

Uganda’s national team, also know as ‘She Cranes’, will hit the court for their first match this Saturday.

Joan Nampungu is the team’s defence player, she’s been playing netball since she was eight years old.

Recently she’s been travelling to different districts in Kampala, making several stops with her national team, to meet young girls and teach them how to play netball.

Joan herself is from a village called Nateete in Kampala, and she talks about why it is important for her to go back home, and visit children there.

The team went to a district call Gulu, and Joan recalls the reaction from some of the children there.

"People were happy, they were like yeah, 'these are the girls we saw on TV', you see them happy, you see them inspired, and they were like, 'I want to play netball, how do we play netball? We have to be like you guys.'"

She ends by explaining what playing in the Commonwealth Games this year will mean for her.

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