Three children of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have financed the construction of an ultra-modern autism centre in Accra.
Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, Valerie Obaze and Edwina Akufo-Addo financed the project through their foundation, My Sister’s Keeper Foundation, Ghana.
The ultra-modern building has been donated to the Autism Awareness Care and Training Centre (AACT) in Accra.
In 2017, Akufo-Addo’s daughters teamed up with Glam Africa Magazine to raise GHc250,000 to put the spotlight on autism and to support scores of children with the neurodevelopmental disorder.
The fundraising event was graced by both President Akufo-Addo and First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
“It was imperative for Ghanaians to be educated about ASD (Autism Developmental Disorder) to stop the stigmatization that is usually associated with autism,” Gyankroma Akufo-Addo said, as quoted by Peacefmonline.
“It is sad that in Ghana, people attribute autism to witchcraft or juju and in the process, ostracize the affected persons instead of providing an enabling environment for them to be able to gain crucial therapy which would give them the independence to assimilate into ‘conventional’ society.”
The AACT, run by Mrs Serwah Quainoo, partnered My Sister’s Keeper Foundation to help improve facilities at the centre in order to make the lives of the sick children more comfortable.
The foundation, run by Akufo-Addo’s three daughters, has since delivered on its promise to contract an ultra-modern building to house the autistic children.
The new building is a three-classroom facility with a sensory room and an administration centre.
Located at Haatso, the building has been designed to accommodate future expansions.
Chairman of the Board of the AACT, Serwa Quaynor, expressed gratitude to My Sisters Foundation for their act of benevolence towards their autistic children.
Source: pulse.com.gh