Albino Scots hypnotist backs SCIAF campaign to help Africans with condition
A Lanarkshire hypnotist described as 'Scotland's answer to Derren Brown' is using his experience of Albinism to help those affected by the condition in some of the poorest parts of the world.
In the run up to his new headline show at the Edinburgh Fringe, mind reader Fraser Penman is taking time out to back SCIAF's summer campaign to support people with disabilities.
In Scotland, one in 17,000 have Albinism, but in Malawi, where SCIAF works, it's one in 130.
They may have been born more than 8,000 miles apart but Fraser and Baison Makolopa have more in common than you would think.
Both hid from their genetic condition, albinism, and felt isolated from their communities. And both turned their lives - and fortunes - around to live life to the full.
Fraser, 30, grew up in East Kilbride and still lives in the South Lanarkshire town. He was bullied at school when he was just eight-years-old 'because he was different', culminating in a violent gang attack when he was a teenager.
Half a world away in southern Malawi, Baison Makolopa, 36, Baison has faced unimaginable challenges, even facing attempts on his life.
He's one of almost 140,000 people in Malawi living with albinism – a condition that affects his vision and puts his skin at risk in the hot African sun.
The brutal stigma around his condition almost cost Baison his life when attackers got into his home during the night. Fortunately, he escaped just in time before the intruders found him.
Baison said: 'When I was attacked, I remember it was night-time, and I was sleeping. I heard people pushing open the door – there were people in my house!
'My house has two doors and so, by the time the attackers had got in, I was able to sneak out the other door. I was so scared and had many sleepless nights afterwards.'
In Malawi, people with albinism can face extreme discrimination, isolation, and violence – and often extreme poverty.
Harmful superstitions, like the belief that body parts from people with albinism bring luck, fuel violent attacks, leaving them vulnerable and afraid.
Baison has found support in an unlikely place in Scotland. The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), through their local partner in Malawi, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), has provided skills training and grants to people like Baison, to help them develop their own business.
This then enables people with albinism to earn a living and lift themselves out of poverty.
They're also helping change attitudes in communities, working with people like Baison, the police, teachers, and leaders to fight stigma, prevent violence, and bring perpetrators to justice.
Baison turned his life around after he first came into contact with SCIAF's partner, adding: 'They challenged us to believe in ourselves and encouraged us to start a business, so I started selling rice. Slowly, the business began to grow. Then I opened this shop.'
Fraser says he's proud to support SCIAF's work with people with disabilities, including Albinism.
He added: 'I love that SCIAF gives people the opportunity to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams by providing them with a pathway to unleash their imagination.
'I want to make a difference drawing on the struggles I had when I was younger.
'I am so proud to be associated with this campaign. SCIAF aligns with my mission in life which is to help anyone, no matter if they have a disability or not, to become the best version of themselves.'
Donating to SCIAF's Dignity for All Appeal couldn't be simpler. It only takes a couple of minutes to donate at www.sciaf.org.uk/donate. To give £5 you can text SCIAF to 70480 or to give £20 you can text SCIAF to 70450.
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