Today's Globe and Mail newspaper featured a front page story by Geoffrey York about Peter Ash and the work he is doing to raise awareness of the slaughter of people with albinism in Tanzania.
Peter, a BC businessman who has albinism, founded a charity called Under the Same Sun. He has worked tirelessly to get this grim story in the news and to press the Tanzanian authorities to do something about these horrific crimes. I remember him telling me that when he went to Tanzania to visit victims and meet politicians, people would call out to him the dreaded words "Dili dili" -- a direct threat that he might be killed for his body parts to make witchcraft "get rich" potions. He and his brother must travel with bodyguards when they go to Tanzania.
Peter Ash and Under the Same Sun have supported Seva Canada's work with children in Tanzania by funding three shipments of children's eyeglass frames to Moshi. In fact, the next shipment is due to be sent by KLM Cargo and Worldwide Animal Travel this Thursday.
As the Globe article stated, people with albinism usually have poor vision. Where Seva works in eastern Africa, there are many children with albinism in the blind schools as well as adult patients with albinism who come to the eye clinics. Recently, Dutch photographer David de Wit took these images of children with albinism at the the blind schools.