Sierra Leonean musician Drizilik and two other Sierra Leoneans are participating in the ongoing Budapest Bamako which resumes today Friday 26th January 2024.

According to the report, Drizilik and the two other Sierra Leomeans IB Cole, and Mohamed Waritay (Med-Iye) were the first to cross the starting point of the Budapest rally.

Drizilik, IB Cole, and Mohamed Waritay (Med-Iye) are said to be riding for autism awareness and are riding car 61 as they are embarking on a 9000km journey from the heart of Europe to Bureh Beach in Sierra Leone, covering two continents and 10 countries.

Puzzle Pieces is the name of IB Cole’s autism support charity, which he co-founded with his wife Nalla. Their son Mahmoud was diagnosed with autism at the age of three.

Unfortunately, there are very few support services available for families with children with autism in Sierra Leone. Due to stigma, families rarely come forward to share their child’s disability, and sadly, many children with autism go undiagnosed.

IB’s vision is to create a specialized autism resource center to support families and educate teachers and the community on how to support people with autism.

The first leg of their journey is a 900km drive from Budapest to Milan.