After our first year of engagement in Webuye, Kenya we are happy that for the first time our community members, comprising more than 170 people with albinism and their families and also elderly, could come together in the Making More Health GAASPP Center to celebrate Christmas.

Great achievements and inclusion

The work that has been done this year is enormous: the construction of the MMH center itself, a lot of hygiene training sessions and Soap Production and distribution, the start of small micro entrepreneurial activities, the inauguration of the MMH school … the community members and our local NGO partner have helped a lot to make all this happen.

But the biggest achievement is to see that people who had lived for decades hidden in some parts of the town and surroundings because of being ‘albinos’, always scared about getting victims of violence, are now seen with respect in the town. and help each other to grow. And all that under the challenging crises Covid-19 caused …

Time for celebration

“Yesterday’s event was very much appreciated, by our people with Albinism and the elderly, first time ever our people with Albinism have enjoyed Christmas together with other people,” says Chris our local partner from GAASP.

“This is something people should also learn and realise that we are the same as others and we party,” said one of the community members.

“We slaughtered a goat, many chicken, and bought meat for our people and also did some shopping for all our people with Albinism and the elderly so that each of them could take home a package,” explained a speaker.

It was a party that matters

175 people with Albinism turned up and 120 Elderly. The security people, nurses and clinicians who came for some training sessions on albinism in the past weeks also joined and expressed their joy by attending to them.

“Also an Eye specialist came and did medical examinations and checked our needy elderly. There is a big need for glasses. All our needy people with Albinism require glasses, only 2 have glasses,” explains Chris.

After the celebration everyone got a good package with maize,wheat flour, salt,cooking oil, sugar and liquid soap. Because it’s highly needed. Many of our community members have no income, no formal job. The informal jobs have gone, due to the Covid crises.

How the future will look? Well we don’t know. But with the big progress of this year we hope that there are some good starting points to grow. To grow and share even more knowledge, to train more informal health workers, to help them to develop their own micro enterprises and to see less people with albinism hidden somewhere, full of shame and threatened by others. There is a lot of hope around. And willingness to change.

That’s what makes all so special, isn’t it?