Pledge to make a difference, together.
Under The Same Sun (UTSS) is passionately committed to ending the often deadly discrimination against people with albinism. UTSS promotes, via advocacy and education, the wellbeing of persons with albinism who in many parts of the world are misunderstood, marginalized, and even attacked and killed because of their genetic condition. UTSS is founded on the belief that all persons are created in God’s image and as such are worthy of love, respect and, above all, dignity.
While UTSS acts globally, much of our focus has been on the crisis faced by people with albinism in Tanzania. From there, UTSS is reaching across Africa and the world, to stimulate a movement that roots out discrimination and plants the seeds of empowerment for people living with albinism. In Tanzania, and many parts of Africa, having albinism is a sentence to a harsh life and early death. Albinism is a genetic condition, more prevalent in Africa, which results in a person looking white due to a lack of pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes. People with albinism usually have low vision, and are highly vulnerable to sun exposure resulting in high rates of skin cancer.
Societal ignorance about the condition, as well as long-standing beliefs associated with witchcraft, lead to the dehumanization of people with albinism. It is widely believed that the body parts of people with albinism, used by witch doctors in magical charms and potions, bring wealth, health and good luck. This leads to brutal attacks resulting in maiming, death and the black market trafficking of albino body parts.
Since 2006, more than 300 attacks have been recorded in 25 countries, and likely many more have gone unrecorded.
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