In 2015 Youth for Positive Change (YOPOC) received a grant from Alert Funds for Youth from the Netherlands to implement a project that promoted and protected the right to personal protection and liberty of persons living with albinism in the area of Traditional Authorities Chikowi and Mwambo in Zomba,a district in southern Malawi in Southern Africa.
Zomba is one of the districts with many people with albinism. Though there were no physical attacks of people with albinism in the two areas, people with albinism were subjected to fear of being abducted. This grossly affected their socioeconomic activities. Children with albinism stopped going to school, women with albinism stopped doing businesses and work. Therefore, YOPOC established two Watchdog committees in the two areas. With the two watchdog committees, YOPOC raised awareness of the need to promote and protect the rights of people living with albinism in the two areas. Officers from Eastern Region Police Headquarters supported YOPOC implement the project. The Malawi Police also provide motor vehicles which were used during the project implementation. The watchdog committees are still in place working YOPOC and the Malawi Police Service to continue the work they were established for. “The training that YOPOC conducted enlightened us in the community on the rights of people living with albinism. Before the training we could not know that their are laws that can be used to stop the abductions and killings.”
The executive director of YOPOC has vowed continued support to people living with albinism.”YOPOC will continue partnering with local and international organization to ensure that people living with albinism in the two areas in particular and Malawi in general enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of people Disabilities (CRPD)”.
