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Charity Ruzvidzo
“I recall visiting my girlfriend at her aunt’s place and the maid was literally told to throw away the cup I had drunk water from. I was shattered yes, but l did not let that stop me.”

Every time Aldridge Munyoro recalls his primary school days, he is haunted by statements one of his teachers repeatedly yelled at him: “You are an albino, a waste of my time. You will never amount to anything!”

But at 28, Munyoro, out of determination and perseverance, is a successful man, and recounts a long journey filled with stigma, discrimination and rejection.

“One of the side effects of albinism is poor eyesight. This prompted me to seek permission from my teacher to sit in the front row. My teacher lashed out and called me worthless. From that day on, other students began to treat me differently,” he said.

Munyoro said this had a psychological effect on him as other students developed a negative attitude towards him.

He said he felt insignificant among other children and the situation was worsened by his parent’s decision to send him to a school for the disabled.

“My parents sent me to Danhiko in Msasa for my secondary education. They assumed I would blend in since it’s a school for the disabled. To me, this was confirmation that I am disabled hence I could not attend a mainstream school,” he said.

Albinism is a genetic condition resulting in little or no pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes.

However, Munyoro shrugged off the stigma and discrimination associated with his condition after he passed Ordinary Level.

“Passing my O-level was very pivotal to me. It made me realise my abilities. I noticed that l could amount to something and my primary school teacher was wrong. I developed a positive attitude from then on,” said Munyoro.

It was at this stage that Munyoro had his first girlfriend who is free of albinism.

Though he struggled with being accepted by relatives of his girlfriend who mocked him, Munyoro said he never felt discouraged as he continued trying his luck with girls.

“I recall visiting my girlfriend at her aunt’s place and the maid was literally told to throw away the cup I had drunk water from. I was shattered yes, but l did not let that stop me,” said Munyoro.

He is currently in a healthy relationship with the relatives of his girlfriend.

Munyoro furthered his education at Mount Pleasant High School where he did his Advanced level.

At Mount Pleasant High School he started appreciating that he was not any different from other students. He participated in extracurricular activities like the rest of the pupils, increasing his confidence.

He also went to the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he studied social work.

Munyoro is currently the project coordinator at the Zimbabwe Albinos’ Association (ZIMAS), an organisation that aims to raise public awareness on the rights of people living with albinism.

Living with albinism is not easy.

In Malawi, Tanzania and other parts of eastern and southern Africa albinos are persecuted, hunted down and mutilated for their body parts.

Reports abound of albino hunters brutally hacking off the hair, arms, legs, skin, eyes, and genitals of their victims — abandoning them dead or alive — because the body parts are used in witchdoctors’ spells and potions.

In Zimbabwe, there are no reports of their persecution to levels seen in East Africa but access to education, health and opportunities are often a huge challenge.

Most children with albinism do not attend school as their parents prefer keeping them at home.

People living with albinism are also at a high risk of contracting cancer. Many in Zimbabwe and                              across Africa have no access to psycho-emotional support.

Poor access to sunscreen creams, spectacles and cancer treatment has also added to their woes. Globally, albinism affects approximately one in 20 000 people, causing extremely pale hair, skin and eyes, eyesight problems and sensitivity to light.

“I joined ZIMAS to inspire and motivate other people living with albinism who have lost hope. There is need for counselling and support to those living with albinism. Those are some of my roles as a social worker,” said Munyoro.

Attitudes towards people living with albinism need to change as discrimination against them is still rampant.

“The day-to-day story about albinism is discrimination and stigmatisation. Yes, discrimination is there. However people living with albinism must be confident in their own skin. This way one is able to do whatever they set their mind to,” Munyoro said.

Munyoro’s spirit remains unbowed.

He is a semi-finalist for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, a flagship programme of outgoing US President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

The programme empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking.

Munyoro said he was inspired by other successful people living albinism such as Salif Keita, a renowned Afro-pop singer from Mali, who has sung songs that have touched the continent despite his skin condition.

Keita was ostracised by his community and his family cast him out at birth because of his condition. However, this did not stop him from finding his place in society.

Keita founded Salif Keita Global Foundation which raises awareness and funds for the welfare of people living with albinism.

Albinism has been treated as a curse in some parts of Africa where people with albinism have been linked to a lot of superstitions.

For instance in Malawi, people with albinism have been killed as the society believes their body parts can be used to cure diseases.

Munyoro and Keita are role models and show that they can succeed despite the odds.

Keita’s achievements are a sharp contrast to the misleading myths that people living with albinism are cursed.

Albinism is not a cause for sympathy rather a condition which in no way hinders success.

For Munyoro living with hope is key.

“We should not allow our skin condition to prevent us from achieving our life goals,” he said. “We should aim high and compete like everyone else. The sky is the limit,” he said.

— Zimpapers Syndication.