Autism Community of Africa 
 
 Because We Care

ACA
Events & Activities

Events & Activities


July 17 2010
ACA Football Extravaganza!!!!


Thank you all for coming and making the celebration a memorable event!!!!!    
Thank you to the Smithsonian African Art Museum, to the Senegalese Football team, to James E. Duckworth School for the beautiful location, to Racine Heritage Foundation for its constant support, to the Ivorian team, to all the vendors, volunteers and everyone who came out.                                                                        
We also want to thank the ones  who couldn't make it but sent in their support!!!!! 
Thank you Mrs. Koffi (Tata Koffi) for always showing us that you care!!!!  

Click here for pictures of the event and see you next year!!!!!

Below is a paragraph taken from the Continental Africa news letter by Evelyn Joe.

 

                              On JULY 17, at the James Duckworth school in Beltsville, Maryland.

 

Hosted by the Autism Community of Africa, a fortified collaboration of civic minded African organizations, committed activists, organizational leaders, a cadre of progressive African gentlemen championing soccer teams, and the zest of youths reflected a cross-section of the African community that rose for the kickoff games of Le Cinquantenaire - the 50th Anniversary of 17 African Nations. With palate tantalizing BBQ and parade of African countries, kick off is just the beginning -  ushering in the Count Down to the African Heritage Month in September and Touch Down of Le Cinquantenaire Ball. The wife of the Ivory Coast Ambassador opened the afternoon. 





April 17 2010
Mrs. Kobenan and Mrs. Dawn Cooper Barnes, wife of Liberian Ambassador, will be at the Health Care and Social Service exhibition by the Continental African Community Inc. from 6pm to 9pm.The location of the event is :

Executive Office Building
101 Monroe Street,
 Rockville, MD 20850  

 

 

 

 

April 11 2010

ACA is partnering with LAMI clinic and Mobile Med to raise awareness on autism through a “Health Day” with the community “Marie Reine du Monde” at St Camillus Church in Silver Spring. Everyone is invited!

St Camillus Church:  1600 Saint Camillus drive Silver Spring, MD 20903

 Please remember to celebrate the day by participating in an activity in your community. The links below will help you find activities in your cities:
http://www.lightitupblue.org
 http://www.autism-society.org

April 2  2010
ACA is celebrating in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire with a conference on Autism, distribution of brochures and flyers, TV appearances, donation of medications, foods, and gifts to the Yopougon center for children with disability, with media coverage.

April 1 2010
The founder, Mrs. Kobenan, was invited to Ridgefield Park High School in New Jersey to speak about autism in Africa.

April 1 2010
Mrs. Kobenan was invited to the Autism Speaks' Opening Bell ceremony in New York.

March 31 2010
Mrs. Kobenan was a guess at the Autism Speaks' cocktail celebration of the World Autism Awareness Day. Click here for pictures of the event.  

 

 

 

 

Welcome the homeopathic cure, LLC.
ACA would like to welcome, from the Homeopathic Cure LLC. Neepa Sevak, D.H.M.S. DIHom. HMA.   As a partner, Ms. Sevak will be part of the team of specialists who will help with the treatment of the children in Africa. Ms. Sevak has been treating children with mental disability including autism naturally and effectively for years. Ms. Kobenan, founder of ACA has had her own experience with Ms. Sevak. Since each child with autism is different, her own son Vinny was not responding well to other treatments. She then decided to give Homeopathy a try and it works wonders for Vinny. The conventional treatment is always a way to go but having Ms. Sevak on board with ACA is a great alternative and low cost option to help with the children in Africa. ACA is always open to others specialists who want to come along with us on this journey that we are partaking in Africa. But for now, let’s us welcome Ms. Sevak! To learn more about Ms. Neepa Sevak, go to  
http://www.homeopathic-cure.com/ 
 

 Children Summer Camp 
With the amount that we raised so far we were able to use $1,000.00 to help pay for the cost of sending 95 kids from the center for children with  mental disability  in Abidjan, West Africa, to summer camp, where they learned outside of the school setting, basic skills and social life. This much needed “vacation” has had a great impact on their sense of belonging and their overall well-being because it shows them that they “deserve” this vacation just like other kids and that they are appreciated. Thank you to all our donors who help make this small but incredibly powerful action possible. The fight goes on…  

Football Extravaganza
The Football extravaganza!
Was a success in attendance! Thanks to all of you who came to help make this moment a remarkable one.  Thank you to our players! It takes special souls to understand a cause, get involve and give back to the community and you guys are not only special but just wonderful!

The public had the opportunity to learn about autism in Africa, ACA’s projects and ways to help. We invite everyone to e –mail us or call us at 301-875-5956 with ideas or suggestions on improving this event. We always welcome your donations. ACA wants to thank those of you who made donations on Saturday; ACA will forever be grateful for it. See you next year for the second edition!

Football Extravaganza

  Under the patronage of Mrs. Adjaratou Coffi, spouse of the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire in the USA , ACA   is hosting a big soccer match between the countries of Cote d’Ivoire and Gabon Saturday, July 11 2009 from 4:pm to 8:pm at Bullis Local park, 8501 Houston street , Silver Spring, MD 20910. This Soccer match will be preceded by a friendly game among men and women of the Ivoirian community.
$10.00 challenge! Documentary

Proceeds from the $10.00 Challenge will benefit the "Yopougon Center for Children with Mental Disability", a center servicing underprivileged families in Côte d'ivoire. The Yopougon Center is unable to provide adequate services and care to the children in need due to  poverty and lack of resources.

With a capacity of 30, the Center is hosting over 90 children with almost non-existent funds & material, and hundreds of children are waiting to be admitted. Volunteers give their time to care for these children and are confronted daily with many challenges including the lack of:

-  Food  
- Adequate Medication and treatment
- Qualified personnel (special Ed)
- Adequate transportation for the children (most of the families live far from the center. Parents or
young siblings have to walk many kilometers to the center to drop  children.)

With the $10 challenge, we hope to raise at least $15.000.00 and take the first step toward helping the center. We'd like to make a difference in the lives of the children with mental disabilities of the Yopougon Center by purchasing a used Van for their transportation and provide food and adequate treatment.

Our ultimate goal is to build a bigger center which will include all needed resources along with trained personnel to help more children.


Any additional donation in funding or material (including a van) will be appreciated.

ACA along with the children, parents and volunteers of the yopougon center thank you for your contribution and generosity.


Send donations and materials to:

Autism Community of Africa

 8775 Cloud Leap Ct Ste P#18 Columbia, MD 21045

You can also
e-mail us at
info@autismcommunityofafrica.org
Or make a donation on line at
www.autismcommunityofafrica.org

 

 

 

*April 2 World Autism Awareness Day

 


April 2 2009
ACA was represented by Mrs. Kobenan at the United Nations events to celebrate the Day.

*StarsShine for Autism 
March 12 2009

ACA was represented by Mrs. Kobenan in London at the Stars Shine for Autism gala, attended by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, on March 12, 2009.  The gala featured an exclusive performance by Alfie Boe with the London Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Warren-Green. Mrs. Kobenan used the opportunity to speak about Autism in Africa and the much needed help there.

*“Friends & Family” Reception & Fund Raising!!!!
Saturday December 6 2008
ACA hosted it's first fund raising on December 6th 2008.


*AUTISM SPEAKS MARATHON
July 4 2008 
ACA participated in the Autism Speaks Run on July 4th, see pictures in our Photo Album.  

*MRS. KOBENAN'S TRIP TO COTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST)
August 2008
Mrs. Brigitte Kobenan, Mrs. Congeniality World and Founder of ACA, visited "La page Blanche" a small center for children with disabilities in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The center is a small house that is able to host only 30 special-needs children, when hundreds are waiting, and In addition, families in neighboring countries like, Benin and Burkina-Faso are turning to Abidjan for help with their special-needs children. Therefore, There is a crucial need for a bigger center with better trained staff members to care for these children. Furthermore, the monthly tuition fee per child in the center is about $200.00, an impossible amount for the average families low-income to afford. This is a challenge that ACA believe can be solved with your generous donations. 
    
Our Ultimate Goal: A Boarding School/Center in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
  
One of our long term goals is the building of a boarding school/center for individuals with developmental disabilities and related disorders including autism in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The center-based school and vocational area will have structured programs focusing on specific needs of the students, with a wide array of social play situations and activities of daily living.