A director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Matilda Alomatu Osei-Agyeman, celebrated her 50th birthday with a visit to the Autism Awareness Care Centre this week.
During her interaction, Osei-Agyeman, a former Miss Ghana and ECOWAS, told the founder of the institution, Mrs. Serwah Quainor, that the visit to the charitable institution was occasioned by her own increasing understanding of people with the condition based on her close relationship with a family member who has the condition.
The Centre, located at Haatso is set to welcome pupils, in January 2021, in line with Government COVID Protocols.
Most of the children will be joining from underprivileged families who lack the resources to enable their wards benefit from the training required for the Autistic children.
Osei-Agyeman, on behalf of her children, Amma and Kwame, made a donation to cater for the upkeep of two children for six months. She also pledged to seek assistance from willing individuals towards the construction of Astro turf grass at the entrance of the Centre.
Osei-Agyeman emphasised that “autism teaches us humility and acceptance of our individual differences”, adding that autistic people have important roles to play in society, thus urged society to turn attention on them to assist.”
She also called for support for care institutions who have committed their time and resources to create awareness for the benefit of all.
Osei-Agyeman also admitted that most people are guilty of unwelcome attitudes towards autistic people be it from “our body language, comments and blatant maltreatment of such individuals but with better understanding of the condition, we would all be loving our neighbours as ourselves.”
Osei-Agyeman paid tribute to her formidable mother, Mrs. Cecilia Alomatu, who encouraged her to be selfless. She also recognized Mrs. Barbara Baeta, founder and owner of flair catering services for instilling in her charitable attitude.
AACT is a local support and education centre for children with autism that was founded in 1998 by Mrs. Serwah Quaynor, a mother of a child with autism.
Since creating the Centre, Mrs. Quaynor has worked tirelessly to help parents of children with autism in Ghana to understand better the disability and to feel that there is a safe place to go for support and help.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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