A concerned father called us seeking advice for his newborn son Joel (not his real name). Baba Joel told us that his wife gave birth to their son who was born with albinism. Baba Joel wanted to learn and understand how to effectively take care of his little boy given his sensitive skin condition.
Our counselor praised baba Joel for his initiative and encouraged him, for despite Joel's skin being different he was still just as normal like other children, which meant he should get the same care and treatment.
He advised him on the normal feeding practices that are applied for newborns and insisted on vitamins and other immunity strengthening foods. Our counselor also directed him to visit support groups such as Under The Same Sun who deal directly with individuals with albinism.
There, we were hopefull that baba Joel would get more information on how to take care of his son as well as get moral support from other parents in the same position as him. We also tasked him with registering Joel's name with a Social Welfare Officer who would help him secure the special ointments Joel would need to use on his skin when out in the sun.
Baba Joel promised to take the advice and call us back with updates. We were optimistic that Joel would grow up healthy and aware that his skin color does not determine who he is or what he'll grow up to be.
Kwa maoni na ushauri tupigie simu namba 116, ambayo ni maalumu kwa huduma za mtoto nchini. Huduma hii haitozi malipo toka mitandao yote nchini. Vilevile unaweza kutupata kupitia ukurasa wetu wa Facebook: Sema Tanzania, Twitter: @SemaTanzania na www.sematanzania.org