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Source: UN News

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Ahead of the launch, the autism ambassadors of Ghana led by Alice Mamaga Akosua Amoako organized an in-house autism awareness session for the Soronko Academy.

The initiative to mark their new partnership and commitment to the App which seeks to promote the autism awareness, help develop digital children living with autism, and finally organize capacity building initiatives for the volunteers.

“It is time for all of us to accept children living with Autism in the society and give them the adequate resources needed to help them live an enabling life Alice Mamaga noted. This is why the Autism Ambassadors of Ghana is introducing to you the Autism Aid App, the first Android app for Autism in West- Africa,” she added.

The Autism Aid App provides a helpline service for families of children living with Autism to get information from professionals on how to care for their children.

The Autism Aid App also provides a Picture Exchange Communication System for children living with Autism and it provides an Awareness platform for the society to learn more about Autism.

Regina Honu, the founder of Soronko Academy at the brief ceremony to commemorate the partnership said, “this is a great and bold decision and initiative taken by my fellow social enterprise colleague. We as Soronko academy are readily and ever ready to support great social ventures as such to promote children living with the disability, young social enterprise initiatives and Ghana as a whole. My team and I endorse technologically inclined social initiatives and we are ready for the Autism ambassadors of Ghana.”

Download the Autism Aid App from the Google Play Store or dial *800*24# on any network to get access to support services for children with Autism.

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Source:  Autism Aid App

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Autism is a highly variable neurodevelopmental disorder, which usually affects children at the early stages and presents among other things, great communication and emotional challenges for them.

In Ghana, autism affects approximately 1 in every 150 children.

My Sister’s Keeper Foundation on Thursday 29th June 2017, partnered with Glam Africa Magazine, to host ‘Glam Africa Ball’ to raise a targeted GHc 250,000 to support the project.

The funds were raised from different sources, including selling the dinner tables at the glam event, auctioning items including outfits from the Nineteen 57 by KOD clothing line, Modella B fashion, paintings from the Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre, art work from respected Ghanaian artist Kofi Agorsor as well as a brand new vehicle courtesy of Svani Motors which was raffled on the day.

The highly successful event brought together philanthropists and well wishers across the globe. The President, Nana Akufo-Addo and the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo were also present to support their children, who are focused on creating an impact-driven organization to give back to the society and help to build a safer and happier nation.

According to one of the sisters, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, “it is imperative for Ghanaians to be educated about ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to stop the stigmatization that is usually associated with autism. It is sad that in Ghana, some people attribute autism to witchcraft, and in the process, ostracize the affected persons instead of providing an enabling environment for them to be able to gain crucial therapy which will give them the independence to assimilate into ‘conventional’ society.”

The funds will be used to improve the lives of the 50 children with ASD being cared for at the Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre, RUN BY Aunty Serwah Quaynor, giving these children a new breath of life and hope, as well as to raise much needed awareness for ASD.

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Credit: Glam Africa

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Speaking at a brief ceremony to present the items, President of the group, Richmond Adu-Worae, called for more sensitization of the general public on autism to combat the stigma that is associated with the condition.

“It is important that Ghanaians are made to understand that autism is never a curse and that persons with autism are only special and need to be cared for with patience and compassion” he stated.

Mr. Adu-Worae further stressed that, “organizations providing care for autistic children must be supported by the general public, Corporate Ghana and other benevolent organizations.

He also called on government to provide more care, training centers and resources to autistic people to enable them participate effectively and meaningfully to society.

On her part, Founder and Director of the Autism Awareness Care and Training (AACT) center, Serwah Quaynor, expressed her profound gratitude to the group and made a clarion call on the public to shun all forms of stigmatization against autistic children.

She further called on other youth-based organizations to emulate AID Ghana and the gesture extended towards her organization, and other organizations committed to positive social initiatives.

According to Serwah Quaynor, her “motivation to start the center was borne out of frustration and anxiety when she returned home from abroad over fifteen years ago with an autistic child and found that there were no centers and no resources to assist her in raising him.”

“When I returned to Ghana some fifteen years ago, searching for autism services for my son proved rather difficult. Nortey was sixteen years old with raging hormones, many challenging behaviours, ranging from self-injurious behaviours (Sib’s), aggression, insomnia, to mention a few. At the time, there was very little help for me and him, so I started a rigorous awareness campaign which culminated in the commencement of the Autism Awareness Care and Training centre.

The Autism Awareness Care and Training centre, which started in 1998 at Kokomlemle, currently has about 40 children in its care ranging from pre-schoolers to young adults.

AID Ghana comprises a group of young professionals from various backgrounds who are committed to contributing their resources to help underprivileged and marginalized people.

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By: Kwame Botchway/Ghana

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