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Malven Mugadzikwa Features Correspondent
For long, the condition of albinos in the country and the world at large has been challenging due to the social milieu they find themselves in.
There are economic challenges too, as albinos require special skin and eye care products as well as protective clothing.
Dr Hilda Bara, a local public health practitioner, explains that albinism includes a group of inherited disorders that are characterised by little or no production of the pigment melanin.
The type and amount of melanin one’s body produces determines one’s skin colour, hair and eyes.
People living with albinism need special attention due to their skin conditions.
“They need special creams called sunscreen lotions. These lotions help to insulate their skin from sun rays.
“This is because their skin lacks melanin which is a natural substance that gives colour to hair, skin, and the iris of the eye.”
Unfortunately, most people cannot afford and have tended to wallow, and waste away in want.
They are segregated against on the job market, like Brenda Mudzimu (28) recently learnt after being turned down for a supermarket job she had thought she had bagged.
People living with albinism are also victims of various abuses.
Most woman and girls are abused due to the myth that sexual intercourse with a woman or a girl with albinism can cure HIV/AIDS.
Women living with albinism are vulnerable to gender violence and most of them are mocked by their men or their in-laws.
Some women even dump their children in toilets if they find out that they have given birth to an albino due to traditional beliefs and perceptions that surround albinism.
There is also breaking up of marriages especially when one partner is an albino and the other one is not. This is usually as a result of pressure from in-laws since in the Zimbabwean society being an albino is regarded as a curse from the ancestors and regarded as taboo marrying a person with such a condition.
In Zimbabwe, the Albino Charity Organisation of Zimbabwe (Alcoz), founded by Loveness Mainato, is meant to lobby for the recognition of people living with albinism and this includes lobbying for free medication, free duty on sunscreen lotions and so on.
To support people living with albinism, ALCOZ has also engaged in various projects that are meant for the upkeep of the livelihoods of those living with albinism.
However most of them did not last long due to financial constraints.
These projects have included, in the past, poultry, horticulture and potato production but the projects have not borne much fruits due to resource constraints.
Now, Alcoz is shifting its focus to literally singing away blues associated with people with the condition.
The organisation looks up to a musical band to generate funds.
Explains Mrs Mainato: “We formed the band in 2011 in which we selected those talented in singing to produce our own albums and we released our first album the same year which we named “Ziva wekuudza”.
“With this, as an organisation, we are building confidence in those living with albinism to believe that their voices can also be heard by the public.”
The group has not been off to the best starts.
It does not have a promoter.
Ms Mainato appealed for funding for the musical venture, which she feels has a lot to offer as well as contribute positively to the livelihoods of albinos and society in general.
In other ventures, Alcoz has also engaged in arts and theatre in schools that are meant to educate people about albinism through exposing how they are treated in various sectors of the society.
Meanwhile, Governments have been challenged to take care of people living with albinism.
The United Nations report submitted as part of the Human Rights Council resolution 23 /13 of the 13th June 2013 suggested that “States should adopt specific measures to protect and preserve the rights to life and security of persons with albinism, as well as their right not to be subject to torture and ill-treatment, and ensure their access to adequate health care, employment, education and justice.”
Online Reporter