Adam du Plooy (RSA-D383) is a 30 year old South African living and working in Dubai. He will be running in the 2010 edition of the 25th MDS and his goal is to raise awareness and funds for the Ernie Els for Autism foundation and Dubai Autism Center.

The first time, he saw a child with autism I knew that I would like to help the affected children and families. Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by extreme behavioural challenges. The cause and cure remain unknown. He would like to raise the profile of Autism awareness here in Dubai and the Gulf and make people aware of things like:

·      Autism affects 1 in every 94 births across the globe

·      Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the world

·      67 Children are diagnosed with autism every day

·      A new case of autism is diagnosed every 20 minutes

·      More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with Aids, Diabetes and Cancer combined

·      Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism

·      There is no medical cure for autism.

He want to use the MDS in his quest to raise awareness for the disorder. Ernie Els immediately got on board when he found out that he wanted to run for Ben to raise autism awareness. He have set up a charity fundraising webpage for the Els for Autism and he is working with the Dubai Autism on a fundraising plan for the center.

For more information on his blog click here

For more information about the fundraising page click here

The official web site ERNIEELS