Online Reporter
Anotida Chonzi and Anesu January
The Rotary Club of Chitungwiza has donated skin lotions to persons with albinism to help safeguard their skin during the forthcoming summer season.
Speaking at the handover ceremony at Citimed Chitungwiza Hospital, one of the club’s founder members, Mr Innocent Chiganze, said that helping the albino community has always been one of their signature projects.
“Today we are witnessing yet another one of our signature projects. We have realised that this particular group is unique in that they are segregated,” he said.
“There is stigma around them. Therefore, we thought we could have interventions. Provision of lotions is one of the easiest ones.”
The club’s commitment to helping the people of Chitungwiza goes beyond the albino community.
They have also been involved in various projects, including sending children to India for open-heart surgeries, distributing books to needy schools and providing nutritional guidance.
“We have brought in more than maybe 200 tonnes of books into Zimbabwe and distributed them widely,” he said.
“We have formed cluster libraries here in Chitungwiza and have distributed books to needy schools so that there is something for the children to read.”
The Rotary Club of Chitungwiza, he said, has also been working with medical professionals to provide specialised care to various communities.
“We have had programmes in Manicaland, Mutare at Sakubva District Hospital, as well as at Nyanga District Hospital,” he said.
The club’s secretary and founding chairperson, Mrs Rose Peters, said that the club has also helped with eyesight screening because persons living with albinism usually have challenges with their eyesight.
“Not only do we try and help them to safeguard their skin by giving them the sunscreen lotion, we have also tried to help them with sunglasses,” she said.
“We have engaged dermatologists to help them with (information on) cancers because they get affected by the sun,” she said.
One of the recipients, Nokuthula Tandindara, thanked the club for remembering them.
“This lotion will be very useful to us especially in summer because it will protect our skin from the sun,” she said.
