AUTISM AWARENESS CAMPAIGN HIGHLY COMMENDED FOR PRESTIGIOUS BEACON PRIZE 2004

Ivan and Charika Corea of the Autism Awareness Campaign UK have been highly commended after being nominated for the prestigious Beacon Prize 2004 for their philanthropic achievements. The Beacon Awards ( given by the Beacon Fellowship Charitable Trust) were recently announced in London.

Beacon is a charitable initiative to raise the the profile of philanthropy in the UK, awarding the Beacon Prize to individuals whose giving, be it their time, their money, or their expertise, inspires others to do more.

Ivan and Charika Corea were nominated their contribution to raising awareness of autism spectrum disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome. Their efforts have been personally backed by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. They initiated the largest ever movement for autism in the UK and launched 2002 as Autism Awareness Year supported by 800 UK organisations. The Judges applauded their work and they have received the Beacon Highly Commended Award Certificate for Leadership, second only to Sir Bob Geldof who was the winner in the Leadership category.

‘We were thrilled with the quality of the nominations received this year, reflecting the full depth and extent of charitable activity in the UK,’ commented Emily Stonor, Chief Executive of Beacon. ‘Being highly commended is thus remarkable. Ivan and Charika Corea’s nomination was judged alongside those for prize winners such as Sir Bob Geldof and Jamie Oliver.’

‘We are delighted to recognise Ivan and Charika Corea’s contribution to charity and we hope that their success story will be an inspiration to others,’ said the Chief Executive of Beacon.

Ivan Corea said: ‘We are delighted to receive this Beacon Award Highly Commended Certificate.We still need the twin paths of inclusion in mainstream schools and special schools; we need further education and higher education opportunities for people with autism; special qualifications recognised by employers for young people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome; labour market opportunities for all people with autism and a debate on autism and the elderly. There is still a great deal of suffering for parents, carers and autists and the  Government must move autism up the political agenda in this new term and give parents, carers and autists real choice and real opportunity to enable them to rise above the barriers placed before them.’

Her Majesty's Government must state how they plan to improve public services for parents, carers and autists.

The Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka has also appealed to the Britain’s disability organisations to reach out to the people of Sri Lanka. The disabled have also been badly affected, some have perished. There are many more disabled as a result of the horrific injuries sustained and they will need wheel chairs, crutches, medicine.

The Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka are working with the respected Rotary Club Colombo Regency who have now been asked to re-build some of the schools washed out by the tsunami. The tsunami devastated 176 Sri Lankan schools in the coastal areas. Over 30,000 people died in the tsunami and over a million were made homeless.