A proud woman living with albinism, aiming to inspire and uplift the albinism community through modelling and film, does so with no sponsorship or funding; just pure hard work and faith in her mission to fight the stigma that is still attached on people with albinism.

Anneline Mathiba is the founder of Proud Albinism, a modelling and entertainment platform for people living with albinism. They also have confidence building programmes, and mass education classes to teach about their condition. Based in Johannesburg CBD at the Social Webster’s Studios, it has gained massive support since its inception and continues to grow.

Anneline’s Proud Albinism initiative is self-funded and solely depends on her pocket to keep afloat. The amazing work she does has prompted a great reception which ultimately inspired her to do a fashion show. A first of it’s kind, seeing that it is strictly for models with albinism, it turned out to be a huge success.

“People were supportive until I got inspired to do a fashion show for albinism models. The models were a bit sceptical and I lost some friends in the process. My mother was also worried that models would not participate because of the lack of funding, but God willingly, everything came into place.”

If you’re into live production, you might want to educate yourself about albinism, by watching a stage play called ‘Mama I Want The Black That You Are.’ Anneline is part of the cast and her character plays an Angel who is the conscious mind of the main character Matlakala. The main character is raped by her stepfather as he believes in the misconception that girls with albinism are the cure for Aids….. a very deep yet educating piece.

A force to be reckoned with and lover of the fashion-film industry, Anneline also wrote and produced a fashion film called ‘A Daughter Of Destiny,’ which has been selected for a film festival in Durban. It focuses on women empowerment, especially women who are living with albinism. “I’m very proud of that, I never thought I had it in me to put a fashion film to life. It’s an idea I’ve had for years and didn’t have the courage nor knowledge to bring it together,” she says.

Anneline and her cast members for her play are constantly busy with rehearsals. They are currently preparing to perform in Bloemfontein at the Andre Hughet Theatre towards the end of November.

“ProudAlbinism is me, it’s who I am as a person with albinism. Embracing my unique beauty, there’s nothing more beautiful than being proud of who you are. I could never imagine myself as a fully pigmented person. It would be a nightmare (giggles). So living with albinism is a blessing,” she proclaims.

Anneline also stated that she would love to see more women living with albinism pushing themselves further. Not planning on slowing down anytime soon, she wishes to create a series which focuses on the lives of 3 women with albinism. Her aim is to portray their lives as normal, as they make a living in the hustle-and-bustle of Jo’burg.

She hopes that her film will not be seen as a cliché. However, it is much needed especially since we live in a society that still stigmatizes people who are living with albinism.

Her contact number is: +27 74 463 5328 and you can follow her on Facebook: Anneline Ntsoaki Mathiba.

~ jess@ngcoboempire.co.za