On the 20th April 2024, GUBA Foundation in collaboration with Brightstars Autistic Club and U-turnships CIC held the ‘Autism I am not a Stigma’ community outreach event at Thurrock, Grays. This is part of our project aimed to raise awareness about autism especially within the black ethnic minority communities and collectively destigmatize autism and celebrate the diversity and talent within the community. 

During the event, the audience had the exclusive opportunity to hear from founding members of Bright Stars Autistic Club, Vida Black and Suezanne Awotwi & Georgina Bonsu of Uturnships CIC who shared their invaluable insights and experiences surrounding their work within the autistic community. 

One of our guest speakers, Irene Boham, QN who is also a mother to an autistic child delivered a powerful session on ‘Acceptance, Adapting & Advocating for autistic children’ which resonated deeply with our audience, evident during our Q&A session. A timely and needed intervention which shows the importance of organizing events like these. 

Mo James’, of Patt Sendiass, also led a session on EHCPs and their significance within black families which shed light on crucial aspects of navigating autism within diverse communities.

On the entertainment side, Bright stars Autistic Club came along with a vibrant African Drumming session which our audience thoroughly enjoyed and most importantly demonstrated a celebration of unity and inclusivity. A rhythmic celebration of autism!

Amidst the networking that was ongoing, Uturnships CIC Will ‘James’ led a music workshop which connected the audience and left our audience on a high finishing note of a successful event.

We were excited to collaborate with BrightStars and Uturnships CIC and look forward to more collaborations of this sort, in efforts to join hands in fostering a world where autism is embraced with understanding and support. This is possible if all hands are on board!

#AutismAwareness #CommunityOutreach #EndTheStigma #InclusionMatters