# For The Autistic By The Autistic By [Bored Network & Company](https://paragraph.com/@boredmediagroup) · 2024-02-20 --- Today marks a very special day within the yacht club as one of our own continues to shine in the most impactful way. David Boateng is the founder of, Enabling the Disabled foundation, and he has made it his calling to work hard to support the youth who live with autism. We talked with David to learn a little bit more about this amazing cause. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f29183e39791c1aa3c8d13047585fbf80cf17ad8026f36e22851cc9540939a16.jpg) **Can you please give us a little introduction to yourself and where this all began?** _My name is David Boateng, founder of Enabling the Disabled foundation. This mission began when my university mates and I travelled 6 hours to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, to donate black/chalk boards, paint and build a new playground for the State Basic Preparatory School. I was buying fruits close to the playground when a little boy approached me with his hands stretched out, signaling he wanted some of the fruits. Immediately I also noticed his tongue out with saliva oozing from his mouth. I looked around and realized that all his mates were playing together in small groups, and he was the only one left alone, probably because he didn’t “look” like the rest of them. Touched by what I had seen I proceeded to ask for his teacher, whom explained his condition to me; which only made me more eager to meet his family. Ever since I got connected with his family, I have been so moved by their story that I have been supporting them with the little that I can._ **Can you share some examples of how your initiatives have directly impacted the lives of autistic children in Africa?** _The organizing of entrepreneurship workshops, such as bakery workshops as seen here_ [_https://x.com/ctballer\_/status/1694129119582097482?s=20_](https://x.com/ctballer_/status/1694129119582097482?s=20) _and general incentive-based workshops has seen countless families put food on their plate. Giving the mothers capital enables them to start a business which in turn restores their hope. We also went out and shot short docuseries about the conditions these families face, and this has shed light on the realities facing many special needs families in Africa. We have housed many special needs children who would otherwise be on the street in container homes, we currently have 20 children on educational scholarships, and have built a borehole, a clean drinking water source in respect of a village with no clean water in respect to the high segment of their population being autistic._ **What were the biggest challenges you faced in implementing these programs, and how did you overcome them?** _Trust trust trust. Trusting locals can prove very difficult when majority of the people you aim to serve are looking for ways to siphon funds from you. Also, majority of the people we aim to serve live in very remote areas which requires a lot of traveling. The explanation of web3 and NFTs especially the jpegs can be troubling as high illiteracy levels in some societies prevent understanding of the concept._ ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e8ebcb0c41a9a9b951d119dad8b15e86417f336fcd9a27440479a5139692e212.jpg) **How do you measure the success of your programs in reducing the harm to autistic children?** _Harm is mostly caused to autistic children as a result of financial hardship on the families. When we organize entrepreneurship incubators and empower these mothers to start business, that burden is lifted thus the more fulfilled mothers, the greater chance of harm to special needs children being reduced. Also, putting the children on educational scholarship alleviates that pressure off the mothers, making life easier and giving them hope, which comes full circle in keeping the children alive._ **What role does community education play in your strategy, and how do you approach it?** Education is the biggest part of our strategy. This is because of the stigma which persists in underprivileged communities of autism being a curse from the gods as a result of lack of information . This makes the innocent children subject to all types of violent acts. As a result, educating the masses on the media (radio and television) is key in destigmatizing autism in our communities. Also, going into underprivileged communities to undertake educational campaigns is our key strategy, as these campaigns will educate mothers and this tends to have a ripple effect as these mothers teach other mothers in their communities skills in taking care of their special needs children. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/6cbc459d17019ba64027786fad8712ffd218dd652dda681a405a89b071d63181.jpg) **Can you describe a particularly memorable success story from your efforts?** Several, the shooting of a docu-series on families of special needs children x, empowering mothers of which one opened a restaurant, being invited to speak at the royal NFT gala, building container homes for special needs children who are orphans, and building a borehole for an entire community based on the fact that they have a high population of special needs children. **How do local healthcare systems contribute to the success of your initiatives?** _We’ve partnered with local hospitals to further talks on the building and refurbishing of their autism wards. Also, we have made great connections in web3 with specialists in special needs who are willing to offer education to our local medical officials in the field. We have a network of local specialists who direct us to the needs of special needs communities, which directs us to where to concentrate our efforts in_. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/0043ab2be35ec5241e43d1fee9f720d98b667f641214e8a211d356168483bba0.jpg) **Are there any collaborative projects or partnerships between the Bored Ape Yacht Club and your initiatives in Africa?** _Not officially, but I have received great support from the apes, and also have an official collaboration with Novel Labs, founding company of Mutant Cartel whereby we have built a borehole for an underprivileged community in Ghana._ **Can you share how the network or resources of the Bored Ape Yacht Club have aided your cause?** _BAYC has connected me to people like IllaDaProducer and Lior who have been pillars for this cause. They used their high positions in the club to elevate this cause by amplifying the message in their channels. Through this amplification, we’ve secured an official partnership with Novel labs, and also, have spread the message throughout the BAYC community and received a lot of support and backing for good works in Africa._ ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b4be0ae18cdc7157356a28a314b78fdad8d0b752d37978de5de1ecd29ae1df12.jpg) **Has the Bored Ape Yacht Club community shown interest or involvement in your projects? If so, in what ways?** _Being a part of BAYC is the only reason this project is thriving. This is because our community is filled with very big hearts who are always willing to lend a helping hand to support this cause and give it the attention it needs. So many people I could mention, but very big appreciation to people like Lior and Illa, who have been monumental to the success of this project._ **How can individuals or organizations who are interested contribute to or support your efforts?** _Minting our upcoming collection “Byautistic”._ _Sending donations as eth._ _Spreading awareness in the channels they have access to._ _Giving us to opportunity to speak on their spaces to spread awarenness._ _RTing/Quoting our mint tweet to help spread awareness._ _Coming onboard with professionals for medical outreaches throughout Africa. Volunteering._ ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/42476b2afad5cf37e0f27a2c57575ecb68a5173c0b9d9fce4a4455ba4f7a506a.jpg) We LOVE what David and his team are doing in Africa to help the youth. Make sure you take a look at the mint that is now LIVE and reach out to Davd directly [HERE](https://twitter.com/ctballer_) , to see the many other ways you can help. Let us help support David, who is working tirelessly to support those in need. Take a look at the mint that is now LIVE! [https://fair.xyz/c/ftabta](https://fair.xyz/c/ftabta) Stay Bored. --- *Originally published on [Bored Network & Company](https://paragraph.com/@boredmediagroup/for-the-autistic-by-the-autistic)*