161. SkillCorps | Autism Awareness in Rwanda, with Silver Bells

Discover what’s possible when awareness spreads.  These next two episodes will highlight takeaways from our SkillCorps® volunteer trip to Rwanda last October!  For the last 20 years, the Global Autism Project has been providing sustainable clinical, administrative, and leadership training to autism centers around the world seeking guidance. Our SkillCorps® volunteer program is an opportunity for self-advocates, family members, and professionals to travel to our international partner sites and collaborate with local stakeholders on outreach initiatives specific to their communities.  This carefully curated 10-day journey includes developing culturally-relevant and sustainable training with our partner staff, listening to local Autistic Self-Advocates and family members to learn about their lived experiences, sharing meals with community members to brainstorm ideas and solutions, and executing a high-impact project to build on existing work being done in the country.  Last October, I led our SkillCorps® team to visit our partners at Silver Bells in Kigali, Rwanda. Silver Bells offers comprehensive services for families, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and vocational training.  In today’s episode, you’ll hear the Founder of Silver Bells, two of the clinical department heads, and several community members who attended the three outreach events we hosted in Kigali.  Next week, you’ll hear some of our SkillCorps® volunteers talk about their personal experiences and takeaways.  As you probably know if you follow our work closely, we’re also sending teams out in the field this March, and we’re currently taking applications for travel in October 2024!  Join us today at skillcorps.globalautismproject.org and use the coupon code “AUTISMPODCAST” to waive the application fee.  ----more---- We appreciate your time. If you enjoy this podcast and you’d like to support our mission, please take just a few seconds to share it with one person who you think will find value in it too. Follow us on Instagram: @autismpodcast Join our community on Mighty Networks: Global Autism Community Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Global Autism Project We would love to hear your feedback about the show. Please fill out this short survey to let us know your thoughts: Listener Survey