Denied a Job for Having Albinism, Mafeteng Woman Built Her Own

RETHABILE MOHONO

“We don’t hire people with albinism because they struggle and they do not have ability to do other things well.”

That was the response Lineo Pitso received when she enquired about a job at a chain store.

That week, a friend had told her the shop was hiring and accepting CVs. Pitso asked her support mother, who was going into town, to check with the manager. The answer, she says, left her shattered.

“That hurt me so much, I felt like I had no place in life,” Pitso recalls.

But she did not give up. Today, Pitso, who was born in Ts’akholo, Ha Rakherere and is now based in Mafeteng town, is a mother to a baby boy and a hardworking businesswoman who has never looked back since.

For Pitso, business is not just income. It is independence.

She sews clothes with a neatness and quality her customers now know her for. Alongside her tailoring, she runs a small everyday-essentials hub — Mpesa and Ecocash services, perfumes, accessories and other things that answer daily needs.

“I told myself that I would work on improving my tailoring skills and create my own job where I would be a leader,” she says. “I believe much in business because it helped me a lot.”

A difficult start

Her journey here was never straight.

She began her primary education at Bolikela A.M.E, where she completed Standard 1 to 2, before moving to Rakhoboko Primary School. It was there that her albinism first made school feel like a battleground.

Life became very difficult, she says. She even failed a grade. “It took me two full years that were not easy at all, but after that I adapted and I became one of the top learners in my class.”

She passed Standard 7 with first class and went on to one of the nearby high schools — another new beginning, with new people, and new tests of character.

“I made a decision that I would not allow anyone to bully me or make fun of me because of my albinism. I became very strong and confident — people even knew me for that. I may not have been the loudest but I learned to stand up for myself against bullying.”

Confidence carried her, but it could not solve everything she faced in the classroom. She could not see the whole chalkboard, only parts of it. She would borrow notes from classmates, sometimes leaving blank spaces where her eyes could not follow.

“The teachers were very kind to me but they couldn’t fully meet my needs.”

One memory still lingers. Her physics teacher once asked in front of the class, “Can you see on the other side of the chalkboard?” When she said no, the class laughed. They knew her as a bright student and thought she was joking.

“Deep down it hurts me because I knew I couldn’t see but they thought I was joking. Some would say, ‘Why can’t you see while you have four eyes?’ making fun of me.”

*Finding her focus*

After high school, she went to Bernada Home Economics to study Consumer Science. There, things finally clicked. The chalkboard was smaller and she could actually see everything on it. She excelled.

Through it all, home remained her anchor.

“Even though the challenges were so many I managed to overcome them because of the love I got from my family. I was raised by people who had so much love and their support was something I cannot even measure, so that boosted my confidence because I knew that even if I felt hurt by being bullied I knew there was always a place where I would get love and warmth and that was home.”

In the village where she grew up, her childhood had been gentle. “My childhood was actually very nice, I didn’t even notice my skin was different from others because people there were very supportive and full of love.”

Primary school was a stark contrast. “The boys there couldn’t walk near me. If they saw me coming close they would jump as if they have seen something scary. There was one boy who would look at me with an evil and hatred eye whenever I looked at him.”

A message for September

As the world has declared September as albinism awareness month, Pitso says the month does two things: it helps people understand albinism, and it gives people with albinism strength.

Her appeal is simple and direct.

“I sincerely ask people to realise that people with albinism are very intelligent and they could do their best only if they are given job opportunities.”

And to parents raising children with albinism, she offers this:

“Love and support them, always remind them they are beautiful and capable. And normalise telling them the truth that yes they are albinos and nothing will change that hence they are beautiful in their own way.”