Africa financial powerhouse, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc – in partnership with the Cycology Club, Patricks Speech and Languages Centre, The Centre for Children Development, parents of children living with autism and other non-governmental organisations – is organising a walk and cycling campaign around the Lagos metropolis on Saturday, April 2, to mark the 2016 World Autism Awareness Day.
The walk will kick off by 7am from Town Planning Way Bus-stop, Ilupeju while the Cycling for Autism initiative will take off at 6am from The Syrian Club, Ribadu Road, Ikoyi. The campaign will cover major routes in the Lagos metropolis such as the 3rd mainland bridge, Ikorodu Road and the Lekki Expressway.
Other stakeholders in the awareness campaign include The Learning Place, the College of Medicine, Idi Araba. The participants include children living with autism, their parents, families, friends and GTBank staff members.
The walk and cycling campaign will officially kick-start the 6th edition of GTBank’s Annual Autism Programme, which is designed to provide support for children with developmental disabilities, most especially the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), by creating awareness of the disorder and invariably acceptance.
ASD affects one in every 150 children around the world and is a lifelong developmental disability characterised by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people.
This year’s programme will include the launch of the bank’s newly designed online Community as well as free consultation service for children in Ogun and Lagos states.
The consultation programme in Abeokuta will hold in April, while consultation clinics in Lagos and the annual awareness conference will hold in June.
The Parent Support Group will also continue to meet on the second Wednesday of every month at the Autism Unit of the College of Medicine, Idi Araba, Lagos.
Commenting on the programme, Managing Director of GTBank, Segun Agbaje, said: “With this year’s programmes we hope to go beyond awareness and make our greatest impact yet by inspiring members of the general public to support people living with autism and join the fight against the stigma that they face.”
He further stated: “Our belief that children, irrespective of developmental disorders, can rise to the highest levels of their potential continues to inspire us to provide support for parents, teachers and care givers of children living with Autism Spectrum Disorder through our annual autism program.”
