By: Problyn J Alpha
With support from Canada Fund for local Initiatives (Initiatives Fonds Canadien d’ Initiatives locales), the Albinism Royal Foundation With the motto “Self-confidence” is organizing a two day engagement with stakeholders or service providers on Gender Based Violence against women and girls living with albinism held at the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society kono District office off Bona Street in koidu City. Explaining the objective of the engagement, the secretary and Advocacy officer of the Albnism Royal Foundation Ibrahim Yajah foremost expressed that the Foundation which started its operations long since it was primarily established by the executive director pastor Sarah Ngaiwa to empower and restore the abused human rights of people living with albinism in every facet of life, as for far too long they have been marginalized and relegated in-terms of decision making and development.
Mr. Yajah said owing to the ugly development that people living with albinism have suffered a lot from gender based violence the two days engagement is to map out strategies or solutions to the aforementioned social menace of gender based violence perpetrated against women and girls living with albinism.
“Although both past and present governments have tirelessly worked to fight against the menace of gender based violence, they have never included people living with albinism,” Ibrahim Yajah opined. He said the engagement is very important as it constitutes every work of life.
He told the participants of the two days engagement not to only see themselves as stakeholders but service providers charged with the moral responsibility of eradicating gender based violence against women and girls living with albinism and therefore urged all present to be accountable for the protection and promotion of the rights of people living with albinism.
Meanwhile, the co-facilitators of the engagement from Concern for the Development of Disabled women and children, Charilous SKM Koroma and Francis Buyah the board chairperson of the aforesaid organisation used Article one of the United Nations convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities ( CRPD) to define disability as those who have long term physical, mental intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others .
The two facilitators further maintained that the importance of the engagement cannot be over-emphasized as it will in no doubt address the perennial problem of exclusion and gender based violence against women and girls living with albinism.
Messers Koroma and Buyah therefore implored the participants to be frank in their deliberations as every abled person is a potential candidate for disability.
Topics to be treated during the two days engagement which is expected to end on Friday 24th November 2023 include: Empowering communities to end gender based violence, disability inclusion in reproductive health programs with special attention to the expression disability is not inability, Disability, Albinism awareness to name but a few .The national executive Director Albinism Royal Foundation pastor Sarah Ngaiwa is also part of the ongoing two days engagement.