Tanzanian teen whose limbs were cut off because she is albino finds hope in the U.S.

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
After a vicious attack, a Tanzanian teenager is proving that nothing can beat her resilient spirit.
Bibiana Mashamba, 16, is an albino, and in Tanzania, witch doctors and certain cult members think people with albinism have body parts that are magical and bring wealth and prosperity. Mashamba's parents both died when she was young, and her aunt and uncle brought her and younger sister, Tindi, who is also albino, to live with them. Mashamba told KTLA that one night when she was 11, robbers came into the house and drugged her, then cut off her right leg and two fingers; she woke up as they tried to saw off her left leg. After her cousin discovered what was going on and screamed, the attack stopped. "The witch doctors who are telling them to come and chop our limbs, they are liars," Mashamba said. "How can someone get rich off my bones? I am not rich and they are my bones. This is the work of the devil."
Mashamba was in the hospital for 10 months, and says "it was so painful." She was terrified she would be hurt again, so Mashamba and her sister moved to Dar es Salaam, where the first office holder in Tanzania to have albinism, Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer, took them in. Mashamba was struggling with an outdated prosthesis that was painful and made it impossible for her to jump, dance, or run, but help soon came from the African Millennium Foundation, which brought Mashamba and her sister to Los Angeles. There, the Orthopaedic Institute for Children fitted her with a new prosthesis. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help Mashamba stay in the United States to attend boarding school, and she said one day she wants to be a doctor to help children in similar situations (her sister Tindi plans on becoming a judge). When asked by KTLA how she remains so positive, Mashamba's response was simple: "Because I am still alive." Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
6 thrilling reads chosen by Ken Follett
Feature The historical novelist suggests works by Frank Herbert, Charles Dickens and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
Dress-down democracy
Feature What we lose when we shun suits and ties
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Recipe: chicken and ricotta meatballs in broth by Julius Roberts
The Week Recommends A warming soup for autumnal evenings with orzo, crème fraîche and dill
By The Week Staff Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published