Albinism focus in Randfontein
More information has to be given to the public about albinism.
The Albinism Society of South Africa (Assa) and Social Development for the West Rand held an albinism awareness campaign at the West Rand District Municipality on Friday, 12 October.
Among the issues that were addressed during the campaign, were the frequent killings of people with albinism and their day-to-day struggles brought about by the condition.
Nomsa Maseko, manager of Assa, said it is very important for people to know that people with albinism are entitled to the same human rights as every human being.
“They have a social life, and a right to life. Therefore, we cannot look at albinism from a distance, people with albinism are normal people and are capable of doing things like anyone else,” Maseko said.
She said safety and being accepted with their condition are just some of their biggest challenges.
“People with albinism are being looked at for their condition, and they are often not viewed as humans.
“People still keep calling them names, and they are often targeted for their body parts,” Maseko said.
She said Assa intends to be voice these challenges on behalf of the community.
“We need to educate people about what albinism is. It’s not a virus and it’s not contagious, it is a condition that a person is born with.
“There are two different types of albinism and people must acquire knowledge about them. If we can make an effort to find out what HIV/ Aids is, I think we can do the same with albinism,” Maseko said.
Precious Nxumalo, Social Work Supervisor for the West Rand Department of Social Development, which partnered with Assa in the campaign, also condemned the killings of those with albinism. She said these killings are perpetuated by myths and superstition.
“The idea of the campaign was to inform the community that we are living with people with albinism and we need to stop discriminating against them. We also want people to be informed about exactly what albinism is,” Nxumalo added.
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