Had it not been for her, I would’ve never had to be resilient. I thank God for that lady named Mme Mamaseko, she just passed away last month – may her soul rest in peace. READ MORE: "I’m not a vitiligo sufferer" – Winnie HarlowĪlthough I was only in Grade 7 at the time, I can truly say this was perhaps when my life changed forever. So she said, “Your condition is not worse than anyone, stop feeling bad about yourself.” “Everyone short child wishes they were tall, the stout ones wish they were slender and even those with dark complexions wish they were fairer,” the lady said to me.
One day when a few were done buying, the lady reminded me of how all the children, just like me, had something they were ashamed of or desired to change. So I would regularly help the lady who sold food at our school during breaks to avoid playing with the other children. Not being able to wear what I wanted, due to areas of sensitivity on my skin, made me fear interaction with other children. Growing up I faced a lot of rejection and lacked self-confidence because I was often teased and labelled, so I became a very reserved child. What started as a small blotch of discolouration on the right side of my lip, soon spread to my chin, parts of my chest, areas on my back and at a later stage to my entire right hand. I have been living with this skin condition since I was three months old. READ MORE: Here's the cute new black doll with vitiligo being launched in South Africa This is only one of many experiences I have encountered in my 34 years of living with vitiligo. If you have a health concern or suspect you have an undiagnosed sign or symptom, please consult a physician or health care practitioner.“One day I was walking in town a random lady walked up to me and rudely asked who had burned me on my face, although I tried explaining to the woman that I had a skin condition known as vitiligo she was persistent.Īs she continued to bombard me with burn advice and various ways on how to ‘cover up’ the scarring, like make-up, she had this constant look of disgust on her face – even going as far as to call me ugly before she walked away. Proper medical care is critical to good health.
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