Albinism: Understanding its Impact in the Classroom

This article originally appeared on Urunji Child Care Trust Blog.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, people with albinism are subjected to prejudice, bias, discrimination and brutal attacks. This has excessively restricted their participation in the society and pushed them to the fringes of human development. It is therefore critical that myths and prejudice against people with albinism be extinguished as early as possible during schooling days. Eradicating such prejudices will go a long way in educating the citizenry that: it is a sign of cowardice to bully, isolate, ridicule and kill persons with albinism.

Albinism is an inherited and genetic disorder which reduces the amount of melanin pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. (Biswas and Lloyd 1995). Most children with albinism are born to normal parents who have normal hair and colour. This genetic disorder can therefore affect any race and should never be seen as a curse (Thuku 2011). The National Organisation for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH), groups albinism into different categories but comes to the conclusion that, “all forms of albinism cause problems with the growth and function of the eyes." Albinism leads to the stunted growth of the retina and nerve connections between the eye and the brain. This causes serious vision problems which are difficult to correct with eye glasses.

It is therefore imperative that school teachers and educational institutions be sensitive to the wants and needs of children with albinism. Understanding the effect of albinism at school level will go a long way in addressing the challenges faced by this vulnerable group in the society. Certainly  “albinism does not limit intellectual development,” but students with this genetic disorder struggle to perform well due to vision problems. However, to bring the best out of them, it is instructive that educational institutions embrace the following basic guidelines to assist and accommodate children with albinism.

Classroom Set up.

The chalkboard is the greatest asset at a school. Its use or disuse can lead to great and catastrophic results. Chalkboard work is pivotal in the success of the student, thus teachers should use this asset with great skill. Since all forms of albinism affect vision, educators should give priority to the needs of children with albinism. Lynch and Lund (2011) agree that albinism affects vision, “due to nystagmus (involuntary eye movements) and photo phobia as well as other eye problems such as squinting and astigmatism”. With this in mind, teachers should set up the sitting arrangement in a way that advantages students with albinism. They should sit in front as they have low vision. This arrangement will not only make it easy for the teacher to maintain eye contact, but also provide instant supervision to this vulnerable group.

 Teachers should also endeavour to provide such students with hand-outs of work presented through the use of overhead projectors. The material should always be in large black on white print and must not be coloured print. Examinations should be written on paper rather than on the chalkboard as is the case in most rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some medical experts even suggest that the use of telescopes and other low vision devices should only be used by such students after getting informed consent from their guardians. Such steps by the teacher will also educate other students to appreciate the difficulties faced by people with albinism. The other students must understand that these measures are not in any way meant to give an unfair advantage to students with albinism. This early acculturation will also go a long way in rooting out age-old prejudices stacked against our own brothers and sisters.

Inclusion policy

The key to embrace the minority and vulnerable groups in society is to include them in leadership roles. Assigning leadership positions should begin at school level. This will bolster their self-esteem and give them a sense of belonging. It is important that albinism be treated as a condition that does not bar responsibility. Albinism does not affect the ability to make decisions and lead others. In the same vein, use of derogatory terms and abusive remarks should be condemned to the last vowel. If teachers accept such behaviour, other learners will follow suit and such a habit will grow into hardened yarn of insolence against people with albinism. It is therefore imperative that learners with albinism be involved in leadership roles at an early stage of their lives and the school is the best place to begin with.

Co-Curricula activities

Sporting activities are critical for a child’s physical and mental development. It stimulates brain activity and helps in refreshing the tired brain. For as the adage goes, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. However, it is important that educators play a critical role in assisting children with albinism to choose their sports wisely. Outdoor activities should only be done under favourable weather conditions. Lund and Lynch (2011) suggest that parents and school institutions should at least provide a wide brimmed hat and dark glasses to protect such learners from the sun’s glare .This is because albinism makes them react to sunlight which results in skin inflammation. To that end, teachers can consider indoor sporting activities like table tennis, swimming and chess amongst others as viable options.

Dermatology care.

One of the key traits of albinism is freckled skin with lesions. Lack of pigmentation makes the skin sensitive to the sun’s rays and increase the risk of developing skin cancer. It is thus important that education institutions do assist children with albinism with the provision of sun screen lotions and special sunglasses to shield them from ultraviolet rays. This will mean that educators and other students will appreciate the fact that people with albinism should be given assistance so as to protect them from harsh weather conditions. In extreme cases, teachers should also allow such learners to wear their hats in the classroom.

The moral lesson

Understanding the effects of albinism at an early stage is critical in demystifying prejudices against this genetic condition. People with albinism have been for years been victims of savage attacks.  A recent report by the Under the Same Sun (UTTS 2015) reveals a grim picture of torture, kidnapping and sadistic attacks against people with albinism. Harrowing tales of how they are killed for their limbs, arms and private parts for various traditional portions, drags Africa to the abyss of ignorance. A retrogressive step towards civilisation and common sense!

 Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“African Charter”) provide that, “Human beings are inviolable. Every being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person.” This right cannot be arbitrarily deprived on any ground of discrimination. Prejudice against people with albinism is an affront to the right of equality which is enshrined in Article 2 of the African Charter. This provides that no one can be discriminated on the grounds of, “colour . . . birth or other status.”  It is therefore important that albinism be treated as any other medical condition rather than a septic condition and a curse. If the foundation of understanding, love and compassion is laid during early days at school it will be easier to integrate people with Albinism into the mainstream society. Even at the workplace the attitude will greatly change as people embrace inclusion rather than exclusion.

Opinion by Shepherd Mutsvara

Sources:

Biswas, S & Lloyd, I. (1999) “Oculocutaneous Albinism”, Archives of Disease in Childhood, 80(6), 565-569

Lynch & Lund. (2011) “Education of children and young people with albinism in Malawi”, Final Report, Commonwealth Secretariat

 Image Courtesy of Community Eye Health's Flickr Page - Creative Commons Page

Did Blatter score an own goal? It's time for goal line technology.

By Shepherd Mutsvara

So the supreme leader of the global FIFA has resigned! Or is he thinking of resigning after grooming a successor? Sepp Blatter’s resignation speech, delivered in an empty newsroom, far from the madding crowd, is a stark contrast to his jubilant and triumphant speech, just days ago when he ran down his opponent to the ropes during extra time of FIFA much televised elections. This is one election in which the United Nations, European Union and strangely the FBI prayed to rig in favour of a candidate not named Blatter!

So what has made Sepp Blatter step down and call for a profound overhaul of the organisation? Is it because the vase is leaking from the top?

Soccer has become a global commodity. It has generated more income and jobs than all sports combined. It has a television audience of half the world’s population, with 265 million soccer players and more than 5million officials. This global reach has had an impact on most facets of life: from cultural to legal. When one Luis Suarez blatantly handled a goal bound shot and effectively hounded Ghana out of the 2010 World Cup, moral theories were bandied out. Some took a legal positivist approach, and argued that Suarez did nothing wrong according to the game’s rules. After all, the referee punished him with a red card and awarded the ultimate punishment for his misdemeanour: penalty! From Zinedine head butt to disgraced Zimbabwean players who fixed matches in Asia, the message is that FIFA and all its affiliates must lead by example!

Soccer has taught us to win or lose with dignity! And so it follows, FIFA as an organisation must not be run like a spaza-shop! Corporate governance must be the victory song!

Issah Hayatou,who has been at the helm of African football since 1988,blatantly yelled at a journalist last week saying that corruption is common in society. This was when the Swiss police, under the instruction of the FBI, raided the hotel where most senior Fifa delegates were housed for the elections, and arrested several leaders for corruption.Fifa has been mired in corruption scandals since the World Cup came to Africa in 2010. Slush funds have been paid to officials as bribes under the unwatchful eye of Sepp Blatter. In response Blatter has shrugged his shoulders and said he is not responsible for the bad behaviour of the few under his watch. What official nonsense from a leader of a revered organisation like Fifa!

The scandals underlying the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is unsettling to the beautiful game and its followers. Evidence points to the fact that Fifa officials have been given a golden handshake that goes beyond the elbow. Mohammed bin Hamman, the Qatari former Fifa Vice President, is known to have kept a slush fund of $5million which was wired to delegates who voted in favour of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. As we read this piece, the South African officials are arguing their case, saying that the $10million paid to Fifa official, Jack Warner, was not a bribe! Fikile Mbalula, the energetic Minster of Sport in the tip of Africa, is battling for words to describe the payment.

It’s a long winding tale of who is bribing who……!

Now the question for determination is: if all of Sepp Blatter teammates have been dragged to the courts for scoring against good corporate governance…how many goals have the Captain scored against his own team?

Only time will tell.

AFRICA DAY: DIVIDED WE STAND

By Shepherd Mutsvara.

Today, Africa, the planet’s second largest continent celebrates Africa Day. As the giant continent commemorates the wisdom of the founding fathers to promote unity, prosperity and solidarity amongst the once colonised states, an eerie cloud of uncertainty hangs over the pale horizon. The populous planet ululates discordantly in a hoarse voice plagued with civil wars, chronic poverty, viral diseases, aging leaders, failed economic policies and sadistic hate for each other.


We have all mastered the history lessons on the Berlin Conference and its resultant Scramble for African resources: raw and human! Colonisation and the Atlantic slavery branded Africans as weaklings, who could submit to imperial bullying. Cecil John Rhodes triumphantly straddled over Cape to Cairo and subdued the once mighty pyramid builders. Economies were structured to reflect the image of the bourgeoisie and in the process we lost our language. We mastered the imperialist language to the last vowel and learned his habits. What Winterbottom would do, we must do! This acculturation into white man methods made us realise how much we had lost whilst holding the bible. The white man was rudely reminded that civility is not a sign of weakness. We took to the hills and literally “died” for this continent. We hoisted our black brother to the throne and exalted in the aura of freedom and sovereignty! Fifty years on, Africa is despondent as leaders eat away the only hope of survival! The sixth brain tells us…we have hoisted the wrong man!


The permanent crisis remains economics. Whilst our leaders have mastered the subject at universities (i hear some do not have formal education), they have failed to implement the macro-economics graphs into reality. The graphs remain skewed and tell a tale of mis-management, corruption and excessive government expenditures. We have failed as a continent to entirely depend on the numerous resources that we are endowed with. Instead we have let a few plunder the natural resources of our beautiful continent.The substantial infrastructure inherited from the Colonist, has been reduced to rubble under our watch. Power blackouts have again turned the once shining metropolitan cities into rural areas. National roads have become frightening sink holes. Hospitals have become involuntary c euthanasia centres.You get sick,that is the last time we will see you! Even our own leaders seek medical assistance in the East and the West. Public infrastructure is an eye-sore! It requires a lot of courage to use a public toilet in the heart of the city. As, one drunk fellow, reckoned: sovereignty has not only given our people the freedom to move anywhere in the city, but also the freedom to relieve ourselves wherever we want, whenever!


This panoramic view of endemic systemic failure is a result of failed policies. Leaders have been given to knee jerk policies aimed at political expediency at the expense of the frighteningly patient citizenry. This coupled with senseless wars, African economies are fraught with an alarming dependency syndrome. Our leaders have embraced aggressive neo-liberal economic policies that have come with dire economic results. These policies have failed because of high levels of public ownership in economies with over-valued exchange rates. In some countries the currency is not even worth the paper it is printed on. As Nicolas van de Wall noted almost all African states have been engaged in some kind of economic reform programme with funding from the West. This echoes Marx and Engels prophetic words when they said, “barbarian and semi-barbarian countries”, have become, “dependent on the civilised ones, nations of peasants on nations of bourgeois, the East on the West.” Once again we look up to our erstwhile masters for financial aid. In any case Africa’s biggest export to Europe has become its people fleeing economic persecution.


The aging leaders continue sitting on soiled seats. They endeavour to take their countries to the grave. Is it then surprising when young leaders wish to extend their stay in the State House? Who will then tell them to follow Constitutional scripts? They don’t believe in the Constitutions they swore to protect and respect. Their strength lies in the army that will do anything to silence the citizenry to death. Is this the Africa we hoped for when the founding fathers formed the Organisation of African Unity? Can’t we organise ourselves and have central leadership that will transcend race, tribes and ethnicity? Africa Union with one currency will conquer all continents and create a mighty Africa with a vibrant democracy! Why should we always watch our resources being exploited by the North under the guise of globalisation? We need a new crop of leaders who will see beyond the mountain. It’s never too late! It begins with you the reader!


Let’s do away with hatred for each other. For the first time the black brother has decided to label his own black brother a foreigner! A case of the kettle calling the other black! Whatever names such hate is given; it takes Africa to great abyss of barbarism. Centuries of ignorance! Are we not the same brothers who shared a bean when it fell to the ground during difficult times? Didn’t the wisdom of our fore-fathers instruct us that there is strength in diversity? 


As our charismatic leaders lead Africa Day celebrations in panelled corridors of State buildings, the truth is hard to ignore: Africa…divided we stand!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shepherd Mutsvara, a Zimbabwean living in South Africa, is a professional with vast teaching experience in Southern Africa. His interests lie in Public International Law, Public Policy and Legal Research. Shepherd also holds an LL.B. from the University of South Africa and is working towards being admitted as an Attorney in South Africa. Currently he is a Research Intern at Alexis Foundation.

Closed Letter to King Goodwill Zwelithini

Your Majesty

Iam a black and peaceful Zimbabwean, living peacefully amongst the descendants of King Moshoeshe just a few kilometres away from the mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho. So many letters, both formal and informal, have been written to you this past week, and iam sure that

you have not read them….neither will you read this one for it’s already closed. I also understand that by writing to you I risk my neck and limb from your machete wielding warriors. I also risk being doused in petrol and be cremated alive. I RISK MY LIFE!

But, WeNkosi what worth is life when one walks in fear in your land? What is life, YourMajesty, when everyday you are constantly reminded by your black brothers and sisters that you are black, foreigner and a pestilence? What is life Ndabezitha, when one is even afraid to answer a phone call in a taxi, lest his black brothers and sisters will call him lice and a kwerekwere? What worth is life Your Majesty, when your black brothers and sisters savagely

brutalise a black brother with stones, machetes and douse him with petrol? WeNkosi such sadism, barbarity and brutality is not even matched in hell!

Your recent inflammatory comments on foreign nationals are unfortunate and reckless. You told the nation that, “We must deal with our own lice….immigrants must take their bags and go where they come from”. This amounts to hate speech, an affront to the Constitution of the Republic, which you should defend and protect. Your Majesty, you cannot lay claim to the right of freedom of expression when you have blatantly advocated hatred on racial and

ethnicity grounds. Incitement of violence from a father to his children is shameful to say the

least. This is human life that we are talking about and not lice! This is sacred human life with

blood thicker than water!

Ndabezitha, tell me in earnest, what is your definition of a foreigner? Is an African a foreigner

in Africa? Is your brother’s child a stranger and alien? Are your in-laws in Swaziland lice?

Was Chief Luthuli not born in Bulawayo? Do we not all share the same Bantu lingua, which

Hendrik Verwoerd used as weapon to keep our brothers and sisters isolated in hovels called

tribal trust lands? WeNkosi should I not knock on my neighbour’s door for help when my hut

catches fire? And when my hut is on fire do you extinguish it with petrol? Your Majesty, one

hand washes the other and Basotho says: matsoho a ya hlatswana .You should learn from

Morena Moshoeshoe, who re-united refugees running away from Shaka wars during the

Mfecane period! And may I remind you, times have changed tribalism and cannibalism

cannot be tolerated in this day and age!

Your Majesty, you should bow down your head in shame!

Human life matters.

Yours Sincerely

Freedom to Offend : Charlie Hebdo a tale of Guns and Pencils

By Shepherd Mutsvara

The Charlie Hebdo massacre should be condemned to the last vowel. It was an act of fanatic barbarity, sadistic and an affront to freedom of expression. As the bells of Notre-Dame toll a psalm for the souls of the journalists and police officers executed in cold blood, Islam and Christianity are again juxtaposed. Which of the two religions is tolerant to criticism and is the right to offend absolute?

Charlie Hebdo thrived on satire. Crude religious satire! Politicians also had nowhere to hide. Jean Cabut pencil had been non-denominational in its satire. There were no sacred cows! The weekly magazine had notorious reputation of publishing cartoons of nuns masturbating and Popes wearing condoms. Recently the Virgin Mary was drawn grimacing in labour, giving birth to the Son of Man!  It is the cartoons on the Prophet Mohammed either naked or in “pornographic pose” that provoked the ire of the Muslim world. To “some” Muslims this was seen as blasphemy and punishable by death! The Jihad shout “Allahu Akbar” followed by the words “Mohammed has been avenged” during the Charlie Hebdo senseless massacre should unsettle the Islam world .But was this justified?

 Primary among human rights are the rights to life, equality and freedom of expression. It is trite that rights are not absolute. In any democratic jurisdiction fundamental human rights are only limited in terms of law of general application. Under Islamic law, freedom of speech finds wide support in several sources of the Qur’an. Qur’an 55:1-4 states: “God […] created Man (and) taught him eloquent speech”).  With regard to    freedom of thought and belief, the Quran emphasise that:

“There shall be no coercion in matters of faith” (2:256)”And had your Lord so willed, all those who live on earth would have attained to faith - all of them, do you then think that you could compel people to believe?” (10:99) (my emphasis)

Most importantly The Qur’an reminds believers: “… not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression” (Quran 5:3). This then entails that Islam as a religion is tolerant to criticism and does not allow its believers to take criticism as a valid ground to kill in retaliation.

The Kouachi brothers, alleged perpetrators, certainly have no leg to stand on. The murder of nine journalists, two police officers and a maintenance man by the Kouachi brothers cannot be justified in the name of the Prophet Mohammed. Even the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Bill Donohue, despite his criticism of Charlie Hebdo “disgusting record”, is of the opinion that the massacre of the journalist must be unequivocally condemned. The Kouachi brothers cannot hide behind the veil of the Prophet Mohammed. Their act of violence and anti-Semitism is not the teaching of Islam. They give Islam a bad name!

It is everyone’s prayer that as 80 000 French police chase the two brothers, Said and Cherrif Kouachi, there shall be no more bloodshed.

Yes God is Great, and only HE shall sit in judgement over us! For the bible in Matthew 12:31-32 says that “…. whosoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. The latter is God’s job description and not masked gunmen!

Rest in Peace Jean Cabut. We are all #Charlie.