INCREASE GUMBO
MIRROR REPORTER

CHIREDZI – Living with albinism is not easy, Triangle FC, one of the top soccer team’s long serving medic Ashual Chikandiwa has said. Born at Triangle in Chiredzi, Chikandiwa who has served the club for 26 years said his journey in football has not been easy due to his condition.
Some people stigmatized him because they think people with albinism can be used as juju and he was therefore employed at Triangle FC for that purpose. He also said at secondary school he had to drop Maths as a subject because the teacher could not understand of his poor eyesight which is a natural condition for people with albinism.
“It has not been an easy journey due to my condition especially when the Club was in the Premier League. Some soccer lovers thought I was used for juju by my team and I suffered social exclusion and stigmatisation,” said Chikandiwa.
Chikandiwa joined Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ) in 1998 as the company’s nurse aid and became
the Club medic in 2007.
He however, is happy to say that he managed to overlook all that and
soldiered on. Born in 1978, Chikandiwa is married to a beautiful wife Faith and the two are blessed with three kids.
“Growing up as a person with albinism is not easy. Some teachers did not understand my condition. People with albinism tend to have poor eyesight so my Maths teacher would not understand it and he would be rude to me and I ended up dropping the subject,” said Chikandiwa.
He however said things are changing now and some people now understand his disability. Chikandiwa is also a holder of certificate in sports medicine from Mars.
He encouraged People with Disability (PWD)s not to look down upon themselves whatever situation they might be facing.
“Disability does not mean inability. Let’s not look down upon ourselves, we have the capacity to participate in activity in life,” said Chikandiwa