Success, often ascribed to as life in the
fast lane, revolves around multi-million
mansions, sports cars, designer garments,
private jets and sports cars. It is those
who own massive empires of capitalist
enterprises that we label and recognise
as exceptional entrepreneurs. It is solely
those who create disruptive technological
innovations that we shower with
accolades in the form of awards, honorary
degrees and predominately capital. In
the midst of these Forbes 400 lists and
all that are homogenous to it, we totally
forget to celebrate our very own heroes
and heroines; social entrepreneurs. They
pursue exercises which bring remedies
to problems that are plaguing our
communities.
A new home
At some point, while holidaying in
Mauritius, she instantly fell in love with
the place and unequivocally decided to
prolong her stay. She secured a job with an
international secondary school teaching
art. The end of her two-year stint there
was initiated by her recent marriage. She
wanted to dedicate all her time to raising
her little kids.
Life takes a different twist
At four years old, her son was diagnosed
with autism. "This was the most painful
moment for my family, chiefly because
we had limited comprehension of this
condition. However, this was a learning
curve, as we had to educate ourselves
continually.’’
Yasmin Affejee was born in Queen of the
Midlands, Nottingham, England. She
gratefully asserts that her middle-class
parents gave her a decent upbringing.
After high school in 1988, she enroled at
Sheffield University to study fine arts,
where she graduated with a BA in 1991.
She immediately got into London College
of Arts for postgraduate studies. Upon
graduating with a Masters of Arts in 1993,
she was now set to follow her lifelong
passion for travelling around the world.
By sheer coincidence, she met a mother
who also had an autistic child. They
bilaterally decided to form an association
that will be a focal point of all autism
concerns. They wanted to converge all
voices and advocate for adequate care
and support for the autistic population.
Subsequently, the organisation was
formally registered in 2009.
The Autisme Maurice, located in Rosehill,
Plaines Wilhems District, Mauritius,
has a school and a diagnostic centre as
its principal organs. The school has six
classes of 6 children each and 12 specially
trained teachers, for individual needs of
the students.