Ahead of the World Autism Day, April 2, 2016, the winners of the 2014 Tigo Digital Change-makers competition, Alice Amoako and Solomon Avemegah, have announced the launch of their new innovation, an Autism Aid App. It is the first of its kind in Ghana, and will create awareness, support communication among persons living with autism and assist parents and caregivers.
The free app can be downloaded from the Google Play store. It has three main features; a Picture Exchange Communication System that helps children living with autism to improve on their communication skills, an awareness platform which provides information on autism and an SMS Helpline that connects parents and caregivers to doctors and other health professionals with several years of experience in caring for children with autism.
Speaking about the app, the elated Alice Amoako and Solomon Avemegah, reiterated that it is a dream come true project. “This project started as an idea. We had a lot of enthusiasm and hope that one day we will be able to make an impactful contribution to caring for persons living with autism. With expert guidance and funding from Tigo Ghana, this idea has now become a reality. We are grateful to the entire Tigo team for supporting our dream”.
The Director for Corporate Affairs at Tigo, Gifty Bingley, said Tigo remains committed to leading the digital lifestyle among Ghanaians. “With partnership from International NGO, Reach for Change, our Digital Change-makers competition supports young entrepreneurs to champion digital excellence”.
The App will be demonstrated live for parents, care givers and volunteers to understand how it works. There will also be a free health screening for persons with autism.
The launch of the App forms part of the celebrations of the World Autism Day which begins with a walk at 8am on April 2, 2016. It starts from the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park through the principal streets of Sankara to Osu, the Koala lane and back to the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park.
Key sponsor for the event is Tigo Ghana, with support from the Royal Bank, Vitamilk, Martha Ankomah Foundation, Accra Ridge Church, Special Ice mineral water, Ebern security, and the Ghana Telecom University College.
After several years of volunteering at the Autism Society of Ghana, Alice and Solomon, then students of the Ghana Telecom University thought about an Autism App and entered the 2014 Tigo Digital Change-makers competition. They became the eventual winners and received the prize money of GHS 60,000. They were mentored by the Director for Technology and Innovation at the Grameen Foundation, David Hutchful.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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