Sekuru Banda wipes away tears of people with albinism
By Byron Mutingwende
People with albinism face a plethora of challenges but through his benevolence, Sekuru Banda has embarked on an initiative that will wipe away their tears.
A beneficiary with albinism narrated some of the challenges he and many others with a similar condition with his faces every day and said the work being done by popular traditional healer Sekuru Banda will go a long way in improving their lives.
In thanking Sekuru Banda, the man narrated an ordeal he went through in the high-density suburb of Mbare in trying to highlight the discrimination that people with albinism face in every day of their lives.
“Mbare is a very interesting place to me. It is a place where youu find all manner of social evils: those who trade in love (sex workers); those who do pocket banking (theft); teenage pregnancies; drugs; HIV think-tanks; Zimdancehall stars and producers. Everything is at half price in Mbare but something that strikes me is the joy on peoples faces in the midst of this social chaos,” the beneficiary said.
“This past weekend as I was dressed up ready to go out and have fun a guy passed me and said, “Hey Albino boy!” It pissed me off. I wanted to beat him up but I said to myself, “No. I wont stoop to your level. I’m going to have fun today. The devil get behind me. I walked away and my outing turned out nice.”
The man said there are sad moments in life but one needs to be happy because God will always provide kind people like Sekuru Banda.
“Most of the times one should choose to be happy. That’s the trick. Look at it this way. With all the chaos in Mbare, many good Zimdancehall songs we sing and love have come out of it. These include the popular song Kanjiva. Take a moment pause and reflect and stop waiting for the moment you have money or you find Mr. Right. Reclaim your joy today. To us God has sent his messenger Sekuru Banda with an initiative that helps people with albinism,” he added.
Sekuru Banda bought some sunscreen lotions, sun-hats, soap, and groceries that are hard to come by these days from South Africa.
“We bought these goods at a whopping cost of R11 million from South Africa so as to help every person with albinism. It is summer in the Southern African region, Zimbabwe included.
“People with albinism need hats to protect them from the sun because their skin and eyes react to direct sunlight. These people also have skin problems so the sunscreen lotions will protect them,” Sekuru Banda said.
He realised that just like everyone else, people with albinism have other basic needs that include food and shelter. To cushion them against the prevailing economic hardships, Sekuru Banda bought food groceries that include maize meal, cooking oil, rice, sugar and salt, just to mention a few. He also bought them clothes and shoes.
Sekuru Banda revealed plans to distribute the items to clinics and hospitals in both urban and rural areas as well as to organisations that cater for people with albinism countrywide.