Life with Jiggers: Amelia Lusaga
This charming teenager is Amelia Lusaga. We met her and the mother during an outreach #GPSUBusogaCampaign in 2021. Her mother narrated to us a very detailed story about what life has been like with her albino daughter. Ranging from discrimination from educational and medical personnel, to misunderstanding from other children and mothers of other albinos.
Albinism is not a disability; it simply means they have no melanin, the black pigment in Africans skin. It is a form of protection so because they do not have it, they need extra protection from direct sunlight both for their bodies and eyes. She also emphasized that the organization raises more awareness in society about albinism, to address the challenge of discrimination from teachers, doctors and other people.
We praise her for being a resourceful mother because she has single handedly given her daughter the best of life she can, including teaching her how to read and write. Amelia says she wants to be a doctor, and we believe we can assist her in achieving her dream, that being our long-term solution for her. Due to discrimination from teachers, with some of them asking her to leave the classroom because she is a distraction to her fellow students, the mother has resorted to home schooling her. She does not have quality education and we are helping her to get it.