Albinos in Africa

 I wanted to write about a great man named Noldo Antonio OJembe.  We met him the very first Sunday we were in Mozambique.  We had gone to church in the branch where he is the Elder's Quroum president (men's priesthood group).  He stood out as did his brothers, but we never thought much about him.  But this week he has been with us as a translator for our humanitarian missionaries and I have gotten to know him quite well.  As you can tell from the pictures below, Noldo is albino.  We have seen many, many cases of albinism throughout Africa.  He is a great success story, so I will share some of the details of his life.  He has two sisters and three brothers who are living.  Another brother is dead.  Of these siblings, all but one are also albinos.  Neither of his parents have albinism nor do they find it in their family tree.  When he was around twenty years old, he and his friends met the missionaries on the street.  As they learned about the commandments like the law of chastity and the word of wisdom, his friends lost interest, but he persevered.
     He joined the church and served a mission here in Mozambique.  I asked him about prejudice in his life.  He said there was always name calling in his youth.  But as he accepted the gospel, he became a person who is not easily offended.  He left school after grade ten because of eye problems.  Most albinos have eye issues, they have continuous rapid eye movements and have trouble seeing distances.  The sun is very dangerous to them, so into the mission he had to start wearing dark glasses and a hat to protect himself from the sun.  He has felt job discrimination as well.  He speaks English and Portuguese, but has been turned down for some translating jobs for which he was well trained, because of his skin.  He has such amazing self confidence and a calm sweet presence about him. People know albinism is a condition, not a communicable disease, but are still afraid and hurtful.
     His father died in 1995, leaving his mother to raise her children alone.  She never abandoned them as others might.  She always taught them about education and thinking for the future.  That is rare in Mozambique.  His father was murdered, he says, poisoned by people who wanted his government job.  His mother has set an amazing example for him.  She has supported the family through her fish selling business.
     He is planning to get married in another year to a girl named Mannasa.  She is a convert to the church from a Muslim family.  Because he is albino, not because of his church membership, they want nothing to do with him and are fighting the marriage.  He has many supporters among the leaders of the church and is waiting for her to turn 21 next year.  He has purchased some land to start building a house.  He is contracted by the Wollenzeins, our humanitarian couple, for a year to be their translator.  When I asked him what was the one thing that was hardest for him in his life, he said,  "being rejected".  He now has such a strong support system of people who love and care for him, that he will succeed were others might fail.  He is really my hero this week!