In our short interaction with persons with albinism in East Africa, we have noted the following:

•   There are very many students with albinism who cannot afford school fees. They drop out of school or are unable to continue with their education-most of them are high school drop outs.

•   Most PWA come from a poor background thus cannot afford basic essentials in life. As a result most of them live in deplorable conditions in the slums.

•   Low self esteem among the youth with albinism that prevents them from exploring their full potential.

•   The majority of PWA are either unemployed or are engaged in the informal sector like farming or the “Jua Kali sector”  where they are exposed to the sun that affects their skin very adversely. Such exposure often leads to skin cancer.

•   Lots of ignorance in the community and lack of knowledge about albinism and how to mitigate its negative impact even among PWA themselves.

•   Parents of most people with albinism are single mother because they have been abandoned by their spouse for getting a child with albinism.

•   We have received pleas for assistance from several PWA suffering from skin cancer, many of them children, but due to inadequate funds we have only been able to help a few.

•   Inferiority complex among PWA where they tend to think they can only do certain limited jobs and courses at school or college level.

• §  Most PWA are either orphans, in single parent (mother) households, children’s homes  or stay with their grandparents thus they do not receive the proper parental care and attention that children ought to receive.