Friday, April 26, 2024

Education System


Special Schools

I went to boarding school for the rest of my schooling days.  This was because my grandmother wanted me to be protected from the community as she and my mother were always being ridiculed for having to prove that I am not white.  

The schools were classified as special schools because they accommodated people with different disabilities.  I went to two schools that catered for blind people.  Because of our low vision, people with albinism are classed under one of the blind categories.

Primary And Secondary School

At these schools, we normally had a small number of pupils so that we get the teachers attention.  Our text books were in large print. In primary we would stand in front of a chalk board for our lessons and in secondary school we had TV monitors in front of us to project as the teacher went through our lessons.

Higher Education 

Most universities have a Disability Centre where they assist people with disabilities with different required assistance.  I submitted my doctors (optometrist) comprehensive eye report.  The learning material was in a large font (paper copies).  For examinations I would be allocated a separate venue with an invigilator so that they could assist if I could not see at points and extra time was allocated to the examination time as the set normal two hours was never sufficient.

Technology Times

This section is from my niece Mapule, she also has albinism and yes we are abundantly blessed with albinism in my family.  This is what she had to say about education in current technology times as she is still in university.

From Mapule:

"Due to the rise of technology and the fact that people became more educated, my school was able accommodate my albinism and short sight condition.  My school co-operated with my optometrist to ensure that I was provided with sufficient tools for my eyesight.  In my primary years of schooling my school provided me with magnifying tools to make it easier to read words and see diagrams.  When I went to high school technology progressed, I was able to write my tests and exams with an electronic reader.  

In my opinion because of the enhanced digital technology, the education system has improved drastically.  I feel like more children with albinism will be able to access the adequate tools they need to further their  education." 

Gratitude Note 

Thank you so much for taking your time to read. I cannot wait to share further exciting experiences with you.  Please kindly share this post with as many people as you can as it will help me reach out to the world.

Please feel free to contact me HERE






Friday, April 19, 2024

The Albinism Eye

Short sight

"Hello Thandi, I was waving at you at reception but you did not respond". Phew you talk so much but you can/t see.  These are some of the remarks I get although I take it upon myself to explain my eyesight challenges.  There is a reason that the font on my phone and laptop is large and at some points I will ask for assistance when the print is very small.  

Medical Terms

I had a brief discussion with my optometrist whom I have been with since 2004 because our eyes needs a doctor who really understands us and that we hardly get proper help in the mass market optometry space because of our low vision.  The following medical terms are explained:

Light Sensitivity: the lack of pigment in the retina and iris mostly makes people with albinism sensitive to bright light and glare.  This explains why I always put on my polarized sun glasses when I am in a sunny area.

Reduced visual acuity: this talks to the clearness of what one sees.  Most people with albinism wear prescription glasses or contact lenses to try and correct the vision.  I prefer a large font on both my cellphone and laptop to make things more visible.

Nystagmus: there is a lot of eye movement, side by side or up and down which makes it a bit difficult to focus on visual details.  Because I am older now my eye activity has slowed down.

Gratitude Note 

Thank you so much for taking your time to read. I cannot wait to share further exciting experiences with you.  Please kindly share this post with as many people as you can as it will help me reach out to the world.

Please feel free to leave a comment, contact me as well as click the follow button on the Sidebar.


Friday, April 12, 2024

Demistifying albinism myths - Part 2


Walking To Infinity

It is believed that people with albinism do not die, they take a jacket and keep on walking forever to infinity. I think this myth may have existed because in the olden days when a death of a person with albinism occurred, the burial was never spoken about. 

I lost a close friend I regarded as a brother in 2020, we grew up together from primary school and we tried to do a lot of awareness on albinism together. On the day of his burial people went to view his body to verify his death which was heart wrecking for me. At the grave site we had to ensure that they put up concrete and a plant in a tombstone because opportunistic people could dig up his body to harvest his body parts for all wrong uses.

Healing Blood

It is also believed that people can drink the blood of people with albinism to cure many diseases like HIV. This one still shocks me because everybody knows that they should go seek proper medical attention when they are not feeling well.

My Future Wish

These myths are heartbreaking as most of them are centered around the super natural powers an albinism body possess. People with albinism in any race are equally human with the same needs as everybody. My wish is for the discrimination and the wrong beliefs to fade away.

Gratitude Note 

Thank you so much for taking your time to read. I cannot wait to share further exciting experiences with you.  Please kindly share this post with as many people as you can as it will help me reach out to the world.

Please feel free to contact me HERE


Friday, April 5, 2024

Demistifying albinism myths - Part 1


Curses Of Raising A White Child

My mom told me that the people in the community used to say that she was in a relationship with a white man and that our family is cursed or punished by ancestors which explains why she has a white child. Most of the times she found herself defending that point because people did not understand that albinism comes from lack of melanin in our skin, eyes and hair.

Body Parts With Super Powers 

There has been a few recorded killings of people with albinism in South Africa.  This is mostly in the hands of people close to them (some family or partners) because it is believed that our body parts make charms, are potent and can be used in muti (African medicine) for people to be rich and successful. Once a person with albinism is killed, the body parts are sold to a sangoma (witchdoctor) with the belief that they can be used for super powers.  

It is unfortunate that our country's justice system does not follow up on these killing cases.  Other African countries have homes/place of safety for people with albinism to ensure that they are protected against the brutal killings.

In 2018 a lady was killed by her boyfriend and a group of his friends in KwaZulu Natal Province (South Africa). This created a lot of fear and paranoia in me since I am a social person and I love going out. It got to a point that I would literally watch the car that follows me on the road and if I felt that I was followed for too long I would change my route just to be safe.  I ultimately reduced my late afternoon and evening outings.  

Please stay tuned for the other myths HERE to follow in the next blogpost.

Gratitude Note 

Thank you so much for taking your time to read. I cannot wait to share further exciting experiences with you.  Please kindly share this post with as many people as you can as it will help me reach out to the world.

Please feel free to contact me HERE


A Second Chance To Life - Part 3

  After Effects  I couldn't fall asleep because as I closed my eyes every night the scene kept on replaying itself. I would literally he...