Bibiana Mashamba is a normal 16 year old girl from a city near Mwanza, Tanzania. Mashamba loves to dance, run and jump- things every teenager loves doing, but all that has taken a backseat as she struggles to walk after the gruesome attack.
She recalled the most terrifying day of her life. Six years ago, a group of robbers came into her room during the night and mercilessly attacked her. The robbers wanted something much more precious than jewels or electronics. They wanted the bones of the teen born with albinism. Unfortunately, the robbers got what they wanted from Mashamba.
She was sleeping with her cousin and sister in the room when the robbers got in. She didn't feel anything unusual but somehow managed to wake up. She saw the robbers and screamed. The older members of her family then rushed and brought her to the hospital where she stayed for 10 agonizing months. Mashamba and her sister, both born with albinism lived with their aunt and uncle before the attack. However, after being discharged from the hospital, they decided that it was not safe to live with the sisters anymore, leaving them homeless.
The United Nations says attacks against albinism are on the rise. The attacks are extremely violent, and in most common cases, children are being targeted. Body parts of albinos are highly sought in some African countries, where some mistakenly believe they bring wealth and good luck. As a result, most children with this condition live in fear not knowing when these robbers will come for them.
After hearing the girls' story Tanzanian politician Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer decided to take them in. Even though Mashamba had a safe place to live in, her life was far from what she had imagined. The prosthesis she was given was old. Dancing, running and jumping were impossible.
But this teenager's story has a happy ending. According to CNN, the African Millennium Foundation run by Malena Ruth offered to pay for the sisters to come to the United States so Mashamba would get the best care she can possibly have. Ruth has become the girls' guardian during Mashamba's physical therapy with the new prosthesis from the Orthopaedic Institute for Children in Los Angeles.
With her improved prosthesis and physical therapy, Mashamba can enjoy some of the things she longed for after the horrific incident. Mashamba is determined to use what happened to her to shape her future. "I want to be a doctor so I can heal other children's bones," a smiling Bibiana said.
