By Francis Ofori
Accra, May 9, GNA – Young Phil Bernito, 16-year-old autistic Cyclist as part of efforts of creating awareness on Autism has donated 1000 books and pens to the Aburi Girls Senior High School and the Orthopedic Training Centre in Nsawam.
The donation was done during the fourth edition of the Autism Awareness Creation through cycling event which saw over 50 professional cyclists engage in a 45km ride from Accra to Nsawam to climax the occasion.
The annual event is done to support children with autism to be independent and to realise their full potentials through sports and other activities, spear-headed by the Liztino Center for Children with Special Needs, with support from GOIL, GT Bank and Ayalolo.
At the Aburi Girls Senior High School, the team donated some branded exercise books and pens to aid them in their studies before stopping at Nsawam to also donate some of these items to the Orthopedic Training Center during a grand durbar.
Speaking at the event was Mrs. Angel Acquah Bertino, CEO of Liztino Center and mother of Young Phil who expressed her excitement having seen the support from other professional cyclists and corporate entities to see the growth of the event.
She noted that despite the challenges faced in recent times, the team was committed to use cycling as a platform to raise awareness on autism and ensure that societies accepted children with special needs.
Mrs. Bernito urged persons with autism to push hard and change the perception people had about them, referring to his son who had changed the narrative both in Ghana and at the world stage.
“I want to thank GT Bank for supporting the donation as over 1000 books and pens were distributed to support the center as well as students at Aburi Girls,” she said.
Mr. Eleazer Kissi Asante, Public Relations Officer for the OTC and Madam Betty Nyakpenu, School Councillor at Aburi Girls all expressed their gratitude to the team for the king gesture.
Mr. Godfred Adjabeng, Head, Brands and Creatives at GT Bank said “We associate with autism and had been engaged in activities to raise awareness so we are happy to be part of this worthy course and look forward to partnering for bigger events subsequently.”
GNA