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Tendai Rupapa Senior Reporter

PEOPLE must do away with superstitious beliefs and practices that endanger the lives of people with albinism, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.

People with disabilities, among other vulnerable groups, are at the heart of the work of Angel of Hope Foundation, hence Amai Mnangagwa’s decision to hold an interface with persons with albinism, including children and their parents drawn from Harare and Chitungwiza. 

She donated sunscreen lotions, sun hats, food hampers and toiletries to those with the condition as well as rabbits and feed to start rabbit rearing project.

Because people with albinism lack melanin in their skin, they are at increased risk of getting sunburn and skin cancer, hence they require sunscreen lotions.

The mother of the nation, who is the patron of Angel of Hope Foundation, said as the nation reflects on myths surrounding albinism, there was a belief that riches come with some form of magic which people can get through rituals that include persons with albinism.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa distributes sunscreen lotions to persons with albinism in Chitungwiza yesterday. — Pictures: John Manzongo

“In such communities, people seek to harvest body parts that include arms, legs or fingers of persons with albinism which are then taken to witch doctors that in turn make wealth potions for their clients.

“In Zimbabwe and the Angel of Hope Foundation, we are saying no to destructive beliefs and superstitious practices that endanger the lives of those living with albinism. I am, therefore, calling upon all of us to uphold the principle of living in harmony and unity with persons with albinism, a spirit which enables us to love, protect and support persons with albinism, including our children with albinism and their families,” she said.

The First Lady said she was happy to say that in Zimbabwe, the historical traditional family practice of slaying children with albinism at birth had since been stopped.

“But I am still saddened by the fact that some husbands still divorce their wives on the grounds that they have given birth to a child or children with albinism, yet it is not the fault of the mother that a child is born with albinism.

“In any case, to have albinism does not mean that one is not a human being. Albinism or no albinism we are all human beings. We are all the same, made in the image of God, but it is just the skin, hair or eye colour of one another that may be different,” she said.

Albinism, Amai Mnangagwa noted, occurs when a person has inherited two mutated genes one from the father and another from the mother when they join at fertilisation.

The First Lady said although albinism cannot be cured, children with albinism can live normal lives if measures were taken to improve their eyesight and enable them to avoid too much exposure to the sun.

“I, therefore, say to parents of children with albinism, do not be influenced by superstitious beliefs that may discourage you from supporting your children with albinism. Let us all make efforts to ensure that our children with albinism do not drop out of school. Let us support our children with albinism just like other children, they can develop to their full potential,” she said.

The mother of the nation implored teachers to understand disability and offer the right support to children with albinism.

Persons with albinism listen to the address by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa in Chitungwiza yesterday

“I am informed that the Department of Disability Affairs finalised the process of making the national disability policy and the President of Zimbabwe Dr Mnangagwa launched the policy on June 9 last year. That is a great milestone for our country as the disability policy provides us with a roadmap for achieving disability inclusion across all sectors,” she said.

Dr Joshua Teke Malinga, who is the Special Advisor to the President on National Disability issues, said the Constitution of Zimbabwe, being the supreme law of the country, spelt out in Section 19 that in all matters relating to children, the best interests of the children concerned were paramount.

“It is the duty of every stakeholder to ensure that all the needs of children with albinism are met. They need to be protected from all harmful practices that endanger their well-being. In terms of Section 81 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, children with albinism just like any other child must enjoy all their rights. They have the right to a name and nationality, hence the need for the prompt provision of a birth certificate to all children with albinism,” he said.

Moreover, Dr Malinga said, their right to survival and development must be safe guarded.

“It is the duty of every stakeholder to ensure children with albinism fully participate in all activities of their communities and meaningfully involve them in decision-making according to their evolving capabilities. They must be included in all institutional structures where children are involved,” he said.

Ms Zeinab Adam from Unicef said it was important to applaud the First Lady’s commitment and the commitment of the Government through the different line ministries in advancing the rights of children with disabilities.

Ms Adama said children with disabilities experienced a myriad of challenges and barriers that impacted on their ability to enjoy the rights that are guaranteed to all children under the UNCRC and the UN Human Rights Council.

“Albinism remains a misunderstood condition and children with albinism are often subjected to neglect, stigma and discrimination, usually the result of ignorance as to the causes of albinism.

“Children with albinism experience limited access to basic rights such as education due to challenges such as lack of access to eye care, the right to play and participate in social life is often limited by lack of access to sun creams which often leads to health challenges such as skin cancers,” she said.

Some of the people with albinism shared heart-rending tales of being shunned or ridiculed by their peers.

Children with albinism being screened for Covid-19 during their interface with First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa in Chitungwiza yesterday.

Tapiwanashe Mutara said at his former school, some pupils looked down upon him and this affected him greatly.

“At my former school, some pupils looked down upon me. When I joined them to play, they would run away saying derogatory statements. I am thankful for what the First Lady has done because she is not selective and loves us as we are,” he said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Mrs Lilian Nyaruwata who said the First Lady had done an unexpected thing for them and were grateful for her love.

“I am thankful to the First Lady who has done something we least expected. We have been given food hampers that we were not expecting and our mother has great love. We also got sunscreen lotions and she has started a project for our benefit. She has shown us love and she has shown us that we are people just like everyone else. May God bless her,” she said.

Nathaniel Madondo could not hide his joy after having been assisted by the First Lady.

“Today I really want to thank what the First Lady has done for us as people with albinism. Most people do not want to interact with people that have albinism. There are people who will not share even a spoon with us and we have learnt to live with that. Not everybody accepts a handshake from us, so we wait for them to stretch their hands first,” he said.

He said fellow pupils at his former school also discriminated against him, but this was not the same with the First Lady who embraced him and others with the same condition.

Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister Marian Chombo attended the event, among other guests.