UTSS Charities International
Registered Name: UTSS Charities International
Business No: 851599860RR0001
This organization is designated by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a registered charity. They comply with the CRA's requirements and has been issued a charitable registration number.
Under The Same Sun helps people with albinism overcome often deadly discrimination through education and advocacy.
This inherited condition is characterized by a lack of the pigment melanin, resulting in pale skin, light hair, pale eyes and impaired vision. Both parents must carry the gene in order to pass it on, but they may not have albinism themselves. Although in Europe and North America approximately 1 in 20,000 people has albinism, the rates are higher in Africa, with about 1 in 1,400 occurrences in Tanzania.
In Tanzania, people with albinism are called zeru zeru, meaning “ghosts.” It is assumed by some that these “ghosts” bleed a different colour, or even that they are immortal. These dangerous beliefs incite the brutal attacks against people with albinism. A baby born with albinism may be considered a curse and be killed.