Tsvangirai meets members of the Zimbabwe Albino Association
By Morgan Tsvangirai
Together with Mai Tsvangirai, I spent time with members of the Zimbabwe Albino Association (ZIMAS) in Harare (Wednesday) where we discussed various issued pertaining to the welfare of this community.
ZIMAS, led by Mr Richard Nyathi, has worked tirelessly to help us appreciate the challenges faced by people living with albinism and we should all unite to fight discrimination against the Albino community.
Some employers are reluctant to employ people with albinism for fear of causing discomfort among other workers or frightening away potential clients. There is an unusually high rate of divorced parents of children with albinism.
The stigmatisation and discrimination of people living with albinism shows that the State may not be doing enough to enforce compliance with anti-discriminatory laws.
The physical limitations of the skin being overly sensitive to light and poor eyesight mean that those born with albinism have some disability but this does not mean inability. The late Prof John Makumbe fought to ensure that albinism was recognised as a disability and his life and achievements showed that indeed, albinism does not mean inability.
I need to single out the following for special mention because they have dug deep to create equal opportunities for people living with albinism to realise their full potential wherever they are in society.
The Christian Community Partnership Trust (CCPT), Dr Guramatunhu, Dr Hayes from Sanders Opticians, Mrs Chihumbiri from Brookes Pharmacy and Canadian Embassy. These have been working with people living Albinism in providing various services and support.
The disability members of our society are generally vulnerable. Like all other children with disability, children living with albinism should be considered as vulnerable.
