Mfaume
Mfaume (Swahili for “King”) is an 14 year-old child with albinism and the youngest of BooksOpen’s student liason, Ali Msuya. He is a rambunctious youngster who has proven to be an intelligent and persevering student despite the hardships that he faces with albinism in Tanzania. He requires a special reading glass to help his eyes focus on textbooks and has had to endure teasing from his classmates. Tanzanians with albinism have been targeted recently for sacrifice due to the belief that they have magical powers and can generate wealth. Mfaume has been lucky to have parents that care for his well-being and who have pushed him to take his studies seriously—however, he is fully dependent on the support of BooksOpen to enroll in a school that can attend to his special needs and security. He began school in a local Rufiji village before BooksOpen offered to send him to Scholastica, where he started 1st grade in April 2009.
* UPDATE (Fall 2018): Mfaume continues to place at the top of his class. He will be moving to Form 3 (9th grade) in early-2019.
A Shy Conversation With Mfaume and Shukuru
