Albino Peacemakers' Farewell

Friday, March 22, 2019

The end of our time in Arusha always takes me by surprise. It’s difficult for me to prepare for leaving until the very last minute, so even though I should have begun sorting discarding, and packing our belongings for the return to Spokane, I sat on the terrace and read instead. MaryLou was at her last day with the albino women’s sewing group, so I expected a long quiet day here at Kundayo. However, around 11:00, MaryLou called and said the women wanted me to join them for lunch around 12:30.

After readjusting my inner and outer plans, I called Ray to take me to the sewing workshop, where I found all the women in unusually festive dresses—ones they had designed at had sewn especially for themselves for other occasions. Half of them wore a kitenge pattern on a teal background, and the others wore a very unusual kitenge with a majority of red background but then swatches of a pinkish flowered pattern interrupting the main part. That second kitenge was both striking and unsettling. I’d never seen anything like it before.

Of course, this being Africa, nothing much was happening, and at 12:30 there was no lunch because we needed to wait for Terry and a big donor from France who was in town. Sometime after 1:30, Terry and Chantelle arrived and there were greetings, discussions of what the women had been doing recently. Chantelle took time to look at all the items the women had on display for her and chose what she wanted to buy for herself personally and what she would take back with her to France and try to sell there. Finally—maybe just after 2:00—lunch was served. The women had used their own funds to proved us all with a delicious lunch of grilled kuku (chicken), deep fried bananas, vegetables, and soft drinks. The kuku was especially tasty and the bananas were perhaps the best I have had. (These are not our sweet bananas but rather ones for cooking.)

Our lunch was delicious.

After lunch, the women gathered for some group photos, and I got to see a much more playful side of them. They really have bonded as a group, and MaryLou’s work with them on English has strengthened their sense of community. She has spent hours helping them learn better how to interact with their tourist customers and respond to their questions. They have also each learned how to introduce themself and tell something about why they are in this group. Not all are albinos themselves, but they all have albino children or other albino family members they care for.

The women with MaryLou.

Sauda decided to lift up Judith.

Onzirani has been the shyest of the group, so I value this photo.

After all the photos, we regathered for a more formal meeting. The women had prepared speeches to thank MaryLou for her work with them, and they gave her very special cards of  thanks as well. Then, they thanked me for having MaryLou come to them and presented us both with Masai shukas and khangas. They also gave MaryLou a beautiful set of placemats and napkins they had sewn for her. They will obviously miss MaryLou very much once she returns to Spokane, as she has not only taught them better English but also has given them a much greater sense of self-confidence. She has been a priceless gift to them.

Arafa with her son, Yadin.

Siwema always looks regal.

 Just as I was sure the long afternoon had come to and end, we got word that Sister Martha, the founder and top head of all the Albino Peacemaker projects in Tanzania, was on her way. She apparently wanted to greet MaryLou, who had never seen her before, and Chantelle, the big donor. So, we stayed put until Sister Martha arrived and then even longer while the women did new some of their English presentations.  Finally, I called Ray, and after 15 or more minutes, we excused ourselves and left. I was exhausted and could only imagine how MaryLou felt since this was the final time she would be with these women.

Left to Right:Judith, Stella, Sauda

Left to Right: Arafa, Onzirani, Siwema, Dorcas

In the evening, we went to visit with Mama, who looked great again, and she asked a lot of questions about the events of our day. Sydney, the grandson who lives here, did the translation for us and asked many of his own questions about albinism. It was obvious that he knew very little about albinism and what causes it, so we had a good lesson on genetics and the reasons albinos have certain physical problems. Since Tanzania has the highest incidence of albinism in the world, what Sydney asked about and learned should be taught in every school here. There is still a lot of ignorance about and prejudice against albinos here.