Albinism is something which is still abhorred in various sects of the African continent as a result of several superstitious myths that continue to be passed on from generation to generation.
I myself have not been spared from those superstitious myths. Growing up conversations which had to do with Albinism was often associated with curses, witchcraft and immorality. I never got to understand why people would say such things about another human being until I started learning about the notion of cultural beliefs and social norms.
Ever since, I have tried my level best to educate and inform people about Albinism and let them understand the fact that a human being is not defined by gender, sex, race, social status, academia or wealth.
Nevertheless, before I penned this article my editor advised me to elaborate on how someone gets to be born with Albinism.
How is one born with Albinism?
To be honest, there is no answer to that because if I were to delve into this direction I would propagate something which I am constantly fighting, which is stigma. It is the same as asking how one gets to be gay, lesbian, trans or how one gets to be black, brown or white it just happens and it does not make you less of a human.
A knee on the people with Albinism
Coming back to the continent, people with Albinism continue to be sidelined, persecuted and killed for ritual purposes. The continent actually has its knee on people with Albinism even though it is not given much traction by media platforms but that is the case and those with Albinism have just learned to be passive about it but not that it is not happening.
Well to get some insight pertaining to the report and how it is to live with Albinism in Africa I spoke to Mary Regina Ndlovu-Kabosha, a human rights activist, actress, producer and motivational speaker from South Africa.
“Due to the fact that I have Albinism, I was raped 15 times, I was locked up in a mental institution, and I attempted 11 suicides. I was locked up in the toilet when I was in primary school due to the colour of my skin. I hated myself with passion. I had to teach myself how to read and write through audio. I had to secretly become one of the worst villains in the entire school because I wanted to hurt other people. I became a liar and a thief, my job was to give back what life gave to me which was pain, hatred, revenge, bitterness anything repugnant that was going to hurt you and make you feel pain,” said Regina.
You can just imagine how I was feeling after she poured out all of this daunting and hideous thing that transpired to her even when she was still a child just an innocent child and the world had already rejected her just because she has less skin pigmentation nothing else but just that.
As she continued, my heart and mind were already heavy and full of different emotions, nevertheless, I composed myself and let her carry on.
“Skin cancer is one of the biggest challenges we have and the biggest challenge of being a woman with Albinism is that you are always outside, outside in the sun doing chores, looking for work, taking care of kids and so forth and two seconds in the sun can leave you all burnt out. Moreover, they are very few schools that cater to people with Albinism out of 100 schools you might just find three. There is a lot of education that is needed to raise Albinism awareness. Being born with Albinism is not a curse like what other people alluded to, it just means I was born with pale skin it’s just an issue of skin pigmentation some have the right amount, some less and some more but it does not mean I am less of a human so all of these myths that associate Albinism with debauchery and witchcraft are just utter hogwash that’s why there is need for people to be equipped with the right kind of information,” she added on.
In addition, she further highlighted the unambiguous stigma I cited earlier that people with Albinism continue to incur even in this so-called woke generation we perceive to be in, “Anyone can give birth to a baby with Albinism a lot needs to be done as you look at the media in cartoons, books, the protagonists are black and white people no sign of those with Albinism which just shows you how rampant the issue of stigma on those with Albinism is. Our stories are not validated and colour does not determine humanity. It’s just not right to treat someone like a lesser human being just because of how they look it’s not right to let us all change that narrative.”
Before we parted ways I wondered how she had managed to overcome all of these challenges putting them to bed and carrying on with her life as well as raising awareness in the process but even before I asked her the question she took it upon herself to profess how she did it and how she now lives her life to the fullest.
“When I came across the audio Bible my life changed and then when I started listening to that audio Bible I started to rediscover myself and here I am producer of My Voice Albinism The New Era, talk show host, motivational speaker, evangelist, actress the list goes on,” said Regina.
All I could say was look at you with tears in my eyes. That is just how bizarre it is for those living with Albinism a total fiasco!
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
