“The inception of Black Albinism traces back to my adolescent years when a young girl, mesmerized by my way lighter skin tone, made a condescending remark, prompting a physical retaliation from me. An insightful adult, who was in the vicinity of the incident, posed a simple question to me in the aftermath, 'Now that you’ve  physically retaliated, what change has it made? That, I would say, was the genesis of Black Albinism, I wanted to create change. Throughout my school years, I never forgot the incident; the aspiration for transformation perpetually lingered in my mind. 

 My encounter with numerous people with albinism during a camp in Meru solidified my commitment, forming lasting friendships with individuals like Jack Mutuiri, Mark Titus, Clinton Ontita, Sarah Nkichabe and Angie Kite. Fast foward to my campus years when a lecturer was on and on about establishing businesses. I had a flip of a switch moment during the lecture which led me consulting the lecturer on how to go about the inception process of a business. The first step, he said, is to find a team. My first ever team was inclusive of my then campus classmates who included Timothy Papa, Allan Kiprop,, Alan Were, Peninah, Cynthia Achieng’ and Anne Nthoki. With this team, we created a film titled “Rejected Treasure” which addresses the societal segregation of persons with albinism.

 My initial plan leaned more towards the performing arts sector hence brilliant ideas such as “All Albinism Festival Taff”. However, over the years, we have morphed into the albinism advocacy space which serves a more profound purpose. A significant milestone from the infant years of black albinism would be the historical football tournament between Black Albinism Football Club and Short Stature Football Club from which we received recognition from the then Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko. This gesture officially launched Black Albinism as an entity. The seed that was change has blossomed into a now five year old seedling dubbed Black Albinism. I am proud of how far we’ve come and enthusiastic about the future, a future so luminous that its brilliance is overwhelming.” - Alan Herbert, Executive Director and Founder, Black Albinism.