Meet Matsatsi

Introduction

My name is Matsatsi Semomo from Pretoria (South Africa).  I am a bubbly lady, full of energy and a go getter.  People describe me as "if never giving up was a person, that would be me".  

Growing up as the only child with albinism, I decided to do a research out of curiosity to see where these gene comes from. I was amazed to find out that I was the first and only one in the family.  I was a blessing to my family.  I have never let albinism to define me.  

I did not go to a special school as my mom did not want me to feel different from the community members.  

Boy Mom

I am blessed with three boys, my  first is a set of twins, then I had their brother.  I consider them to be triplets because they are 18 months apart. They do not have albinism however I still dream of a baby with albinism.  

School pick ups and drop offs become very interesting as other learners would expect a brown skinned mom to my boys. I am grateful that they are not mistreated for our skin tone differences.  

My boys do not fully understand the albinism condition however they embrace my uniqueness. This is their definition of albinism: when mommy was sleeping, we painted her white, gave her red hair and green eyes so that she is unique for us.  Talk about a creative mind from a child!  I find this cute all the time. They protect me and give me a lot of care.

Challenging Moments

Mockery at school:  Growing up with albinism was very challenging especially in primary school because some of my class mates would mock me since I had to sit in the front row for me to be able to see the chalkboard. They did not understand why I wore spectacles.  As a child wearing spectacles was challenging because of all childhood activities, sometimes I would forget or drop them and they would break. That meant my parents had to pay more for a new set.

The mockery and bullying made me cry a lot, it affected my confidence and self esteem until my mom sat me down and made me understand that she will not be there all the time to fight my battles. That was the day I decided to stand firm and leave the stigma attached to albinism alone.  I found myself.   

Sunburn: I had a friend who enjoyed peeling my skin after sunburn.  She would always ask me if it's not painful as she peeled the dead skin off.

Work place: People at work do not understand my condition (the low vision), I normally get questions like why am I too close to my monitor? 

On the other side I think my current employer tries to accommodate and understands the needs of employees with disabilities. They provide assistive devices to make work easier and when you work on site they provide sunscreen.  I had the biggest monitor in the office and my colleagues would always tease me for having a TV at work.  

Driving:  When I drive in the direction facing the sun, the sun blinds my eyes and it always feels like a  flashlight has just been put on which is destructive in many instances.

Moments Of Victory 

At school I used to participate in academic activities and I always won in those activities.  This gave me positive attention from the entire school. Ooh I love attention!

I studied Bachelor's of Business Administration, despite all the challenges I faced at university, I managed to complete my degree on time with 13 distinctions. This helped me secure two permanent employment positions and it also boosted and advanced my career path.

Last Thoughts

It is a blessing to live in technology times as information is everywhere if searched properly.  

Another great thing is that our government assists our albinism community with disability grants (CLICK HERE) and sunscreen.

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 as well as click the follow button on the Sidebar