After the successful event last year which brought about a diverse group of individuals and organisations together to run for a valuable cause, Colour My World (CMW) will have their second annual Autism Awareness Charity Run/Walk on the 13^th of October 2012.

CMW is a charity organisation initiated by like-minded individuals dedicated to utilize their experience in working with children with special needs, as a small effort to bring about awareness and to help these vulnerable children in Sri Lanka.

“Our primary goal is to bring about awareness on Autism amongst the larger population of Sri Lanka and to introduce accepted powerful and effective methods of helping children and adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD),” said CMW President Fahmy Rahman. He further stated, “Autism advocate in CMW, Desiree Jayakody has started a parent support group called ‘Dolphins’. The group is a place where parents, with children diagnosed with ASD, can meet to share their journey with their children, to exchange notes, to share information on any treatments etc.”

It has been estimated that more than 40,000 children and adults suffer from autism in Sri Lanka and the numbers are dramatically increasing each year. Recent figures show that 1 in every 83 children in Sri Lanka will be diagnosed with autism. However, unfortunately this disorder is still unheard of by a vast majority of the Sri Lankan population, resulting still in a lack of facilities and/or proper treatment provided for these children.

“The charity event would be the same as last year consisting of a three mile route commencing and returning back to Independence Square followed by refreshments and information stalls on autism,” explained the organisation’s VP Giselle Dass.

Colour My World was founded in 2011 by President Fahmy Rahman and the two Vice Presidents Giselle Dass and Rameez Javeed. The organisation strives to build a society which ensures inclusiveness and participation of children with special needs and abilities.