Turkish school in Uganda challenges discrimination against albinos


Date posted: February 17, 2015

SELMA TATLI / ISTANBUL

A Turkish school established in Uganda has challenged discrimination against albinos in the country by giving an albino student a full scholarship.

Albinos suffer from albinism, a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes; they are considered inauspicious in Uganda and are sometimes subject to torture, such as burning and dismemberment of certain body parts.

Turkish Light Academy, established in the city of Wakiso in Uganda, admitted 12-year-old Darlington Kalulu, who was about to drop out of school due to discrimination. Many albinos in Uganda, discouraged by negative treatment, quit school.

Darlington has said his self-confidence was restored after he was admitted to Turkish Light Academy.

His mother, Alda Sanyu, also expressed her pleasure, saying she accepted the offer from the school administration without a second thought. The principal of the school, Ahmet Ömeroğlu, has said as soon as the school learned about Darlington, they decided to grant him scholarship.

Source of the Nile Union of Persons with Albinism (SNUPA) President Peter Ogik has stated that this scholarship will set an example for others and serve as a light of hope for albinos in the country.

NTV, one of the leading stations in Uganda, ran a story on Darlington’s case under the headline “The success story of an albino.”

Source: Today's Zaman , February 17, 2015


Related News

Kimse Yok Mu volunteer doctors back from Central African Republic

The two members of Association of the Kadirli Medical Professionals (a district of the province Osmaniye in Turkey), general surgeon Cem Oruc and anesthesiologist Ali Ihsan Atac are back from the Central African Republic. The medical team, welcomed on their arrival by the deputy-minister of health, performed 40 operations and some one thousand examinations in […]

Kurdistan Regional Gov’t: Gulen-inspired schools will not be closed

There are 20 schools serving to 12,719 students in Northern Iraq Kurdish Region. Kurdistan Regional Government announced that the 20 schools affiliated with the Gulen movement will not be shut down. There were rumors in the media, in the aftermath of the coup attempt on July 15, about the closure of the Gulen inspired schools.

Media and education challenge in Afghanistan

The resurgence of violence, a stubbornly lingering narcotic-financing chain and growing economic difficulties in Afghanistan have put a damper on optimism for the future of the country, yet I believe hope is still strong among the resilient Afghan people and certainly there is no shortage of success stories that will keep them going.

Back to school in Turkey after post-coup teacher purge

As more than 18 million children began the new term after the summer break, Huseyin Ozev, president of the Istanbul teachers’ union, told AFP there were fears the academic year would begin with “chaos” because of huge staff shortages.

Turkey: A climate of fear; losers in the aftermath of the coup attempt

Turkey at large will lose as Erdoğan chooses the retaliatory path and purges relentlessly, splitting the country into supporters and adversaries. A climate of fear and indignation will envelop not only the many institutions that were hit hard, but Turkey in general, and the Middle East will suffer even further than it is already suffering.

Enforced Disappearance: Cases of Hizmet Movement members and International Law

Moldavian Intelligence Service (SIS) in coordination with Turkish intelligence service (MIT) unlawfully and forcefully detained and kidnaped six educator Turkish nationals in Moldova on September 6, 2018. The detainees have been teachers in private schools opened in 1993 a sign of goodwill friendship between Turkey and Moldova.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish festival brings students from 27 countries to Ethiopia

Turkish schools help to enhance trade relations with Africa

3,623 Aggravated Life Sentences Sought In Turkey For Scholar Fethullah Gülen

As I researched the Gulen schools in Germany, I experienced beyond what I had expected

Turkey pays a price for purging counterterror professionals

Erdoğan, Gülen among 10 Turkish figures in Foreign Policy 500 List

8-year-old cancer patient departs to Germany for treatment without parents due to ongoing travel ban

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News