Give your hand to autism – A rundown of success!
A dream come through – the new bus has arrived!
Following the Andrey & Julia Dashin’s Foundation press conference, held earlier in May 2014, the Foundation has granted a cheque donation to the Cyprus.
Autism Association for the purchase of a new mini-bus for their Limassol and Paphos centers’ needs. This fall season the ship from Japan has finally arrived with the new mini-bus on board and the Cyprus Autism Association have received their long awaited gift!
The Limassol Intervention center has opened its doors in September together with the rest of the schools of Cyprus, following the summer break, to take care after 9 adults and 33 young children with autism. The center has a daily educational development programme with specialized staff to accommodate the needs of every child or adult at the center. Every morning and afternoon the center personnel collect their pupils from their homes to bring them to the center to start their new day together. One a week, the center takes the pupils for a social day out around the city or up to the rural areas to facilitate social education. It is evident that the needs are growing with the growing number of pupils and this is why it was so important to acquire a second, bigger, newer and safer mini-bus for the center.
Paphos Intervention Center favoured
Now, with the new 8 seater Nissan NV200, the Association was able to send away their smaller mini-bus from the Limassol center to the Paphos Intervention.
Center, which had none before. In Paphos, the Association hosts classes and daily activities for 4 adults and 4 young children currently, but now with the possibility to arrange transfers for pupils they are hoping to attract more parents. “Raising more awareness about autism but also making the centers more accessible to parents with autistic children will help improve our work – which is to provide special education and care for persons suffering from autism”, affirmed Tasoula Georgiadou, President of the Cyprus Autism Association. Today the Paphos center can arrange for pupils’ transfers and take out the children and adults for a social activity day and to transfer them in a restaurant or a coffee shop or to an excursion inside and outside of the town once a week, which has not been possible before. For more information about the Paphos Intervention Center you may contact the center Director, Mrs Marina Fylactou at [email protected] or via phone at 26-221346.
4th Festival of Hope – a great success
Raising awareness about a cause of genuine need has always been paramount for the Andrey & Julia Dashin’s Foundation, which is happy to help friends of the
foundation and NGOs in Cyprus to promote their cause. Last weekend, Sunday 12th of October, the Limassol Intervention Center have organized their 4th Festival of Hope on the Limassol Molos sea front to fundraise for the center’s needs and raise more awareness about autism in Cyprus. The festival, which started from 10:00am and run through till late in the evening, has turned out to be a huge success – not only due to the sunny seaside promenade, where the weather has made all its efforts to make their day truly amazing , but also thanks to the Festival guests and all those who came to join in the fun in support for persons with autism.
The day was filled with a rich and exciting program for children and adults of all ages, complemented with various workshops, a magic show, performances by Greek and Cypriot famous actors, a parade by the Limassol Majorettes, bouncy castles, games, face-painting, music, dance, ice-cream, snacks and drinks! The place filled with laughter and Hope reminded of a large family coming to celebrate something precious – a family value, which that day was: reaching out to give their hand to Autism!
For more information about the centers and autism in Cyprus please refer to the Association website: www.autismsociety.org.cy