For a better life in Côte d'Ivoire
What is Albinism and how is the situation in Côte d'Ivoire?
Albinism is a relatively rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited condition characterized by a lack of pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes. Almost everyone with albinism is visually impaired. Persons with albinism in Côte d’Ivoire encounter several social challenges as discrimination against them is normalized. Locals refer to persons with albinism using derogatory names, and sometimes spit at, and flee from them in public places. It is also difficult for persons with albinism to find employment opportunities in the government or private sectors. Due to this high rate of social stigma, persons with albinism also face rejection from their immediate families, and potential in-laws. Unfortunately, even cases of abduction, killing and rape are reported.
In short: Often times they struggle to live a peaceful life.
Where do we come in?
Albinos do not have a lot of pigment for protection, their skin burns immediately in the sun, therefore sunscreen is an essential need. At Bigger Picture Clothing we do not believe in purely donating a single time. We believe in creating a system that stimulates sustainable development. Therefore, we have partnered with the Dutch foundation “Albinisme in Afrika”, who we support in setting up a local sunscreen production facility in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. With a part of your purchase price, we make sure that the local production facility in Abidjan is able to have a significant impact. We do this by providing knowledge, recipes and education on how to produce sunscreen. On top of that, we provide the most essential ingredient ‘vaseline’ and we send financial donations, so that they can locally acquire jars, to put the sunscreen in. Lastly, we make sure that the members of the albino-community that produce the sunscreen (such as Marie-Noelle on the picture), are paid and get money for travel- and lunch expenses. Eventually, all the sunscreen jars are handed out for free throughout Ivory Coast to all the members of the albino-community. In this way we can locally improve living circumstances in a sustainable way.
Last year results of the project (2020)
- 730 albinos in Côte d'Ivoire were provided with sunscreen
- 266.450 daily portions of sunscreen were produced and handed out
- The albino community in Ivory Coast grew in 2020 to a total amount of over 1100 people
- 8.052 days of sunscreen are provided by our Côte d'Ivoire collection.
