Albino daughter is my strength, says proud mum

By Fridah Mlemwa

After marrying her long-time heartthrob, Moses Wekesa, Jackline was excited at the prospect of having their first child.

She looked forward to becoming a mother, and made elaborate plans to welcome the newborn.

When the big day eventually came, she was quite taken aback when nurses at the hospital appeared

Jackline Wekesa with her daughters Brenda and Betty. [PHOTOS: JENNIFER WACHIE/STANDARD]

reluctant to hand her the baby.

And when they finally did, she was as surprised as the nurses. The baby had albinism, a condition in which one is born without skin pigmentation.

"They had me really frightened," she recalled last week, speaking at the family’s home in Muthaiga Estate, Nairobi. Apparently, the nurses feared her reaction, as people with albinism are often stigmatised and rejected.

Many mothers react with shock.

Even with her several years of experience as a nurse, Jackline admits that she, too, did not know how to deal with the situation. She also did not know how her husband would handle the news.

"I did not know what to do with a pink baby when, basically, my husband and I are black," said Jackline.

As she lay in hospital waiting for her husband to visit her, many thoughts raced through her mind.

However, she said her husband supported her though it all. They named the baby Brenda Nadututu.

DISTANT RELATIVE

Looking back at those first days, she wonders what her worry was all about. As days passed by, she came to learn more about the condition, what causes it and how to take care of her baby. One of her husband’s distant relatives had the condition, which is hereditary.

Today, Brenda is a beautiful 21-year-old woman.

"Whenever I look at her, she gives me a lot of strength," said Jackline.

But growing up in a country where so many people are ignorant about the condition, life was not easy for Brenda. Her mother recalls that she would face catcalls, jeers and shouts of mzungu (white person) whenever she went out with the baby.

Some people whispered that she had cheated on her husband. But she learnt to live with the mockery, and to ignore it.

"At first I got mad and screamed at people," she said. "But I came to realise that my baby was special, so I stopped getting overworked over it."

Jackline agreed to speak out so that other parents who may have rejected their children can show them love. The world, she said, need not be a cruel place for people born with albinism.

Indeed, such children have faced untold human rights abuses. Recently, there were reports that albino children were being sold for their body parts, which were allegedly being used by witchdoctors in Tanzania.

Scores of families with such children fled to Kenya. Jackline says what hurt her most was to see her child being avoided by other kids. One day, neighbours warned their children against playing with Brenda.

"That hurt me so much. I wept for days," she said. "I went down on my knees and prayed to God to give me another baby girl to play with her."

Cauldron of love

Today, Brenda relates well with her three siblings, and is very close to her 11-year-old sister, Betty Nasimuyu.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about albinism, said Jackline. "A parent should get a doctor’s advice because some people will mislead you. The most important thing a parent should do is help the child to accept himself or herself," she told The Standard.