MOON, SHINING BRIGHT!

A Story to Open Minds

By Standing Voice

October 9^th, 2018

Happy Made By are a collaboration of two Dutch illustrators passionate about the power of storytelling to bridge cultural divides and foster social inclusion. This year, Standing Voice has partnered with Happy Made By as a Tanzanian distributor for their recently published children’s picture book called Moon!, which centres around the life of a fictional young girl with albinism called Moon.

The book, a vibrant and positive story based around facts, is a wonderful exploration of life with albinism and a powerful tool to sensitise young audiences, fighting stigma and subverting harmful beliefs before they can take root.

In July, members of our team worked with international volunteers and representatives of the Tanzania Albinism Society to deliver a series of interactive assemblies showcasing Moon in schools across Ukerewe Island. Over 8 days, 15 schools were visited and 1,800 copies of the book were distributed.

“I was delighted to join the distribution team for Moon! We visited schools to deliver readings of the book in assemblies, generating discussion and interactive engagement with some of the youngest and brightest minds on Ukerewe Island!” (Molly Hardy, international volunteer)

Prior to assemblies, Standing Voice held a training event to educate schoolteachers across Ukerewe Island about the needs and experiences of students with albinism. Moon, became the launchpad for a wider conversation about life with albinism in Tanzania today, as we sought to arm these frontline professionals with the tools and knowledge to build a brighter future for their students.

Following the training, assemblies were conducted with as many students as possible, structured to be engaging, informative and interactive, offering a number of opportunities for students to contribute.

“The students learned so much from Moon! The book conveys a number of important messages, and students almost universally produced insightful answers when we asked challenging questions about the book. Their enthusiasm was palpable: hands shooting up during assemblies, and students sometimes answering their peers’ questions before we had a chance to answer ourselves!” (Chrispine Mabwenga, Standing Voice Tanzania Librarian)

Finally, a select number of students from each school were chosen to participate in focus group discussions as ambassadors for the book. These sessions were designed to empower students to become advocates for people with albinism and to share the key messages of Moon’s story with their peers and families.

“Creating a space for students to think and discuss the issues around albinism with informed and trusted authority figures (like teachers) will go a long way to combatting myths and prejudice. I suspect the book will become an important marker in the fight against ignorance.” (Sarah Bancroft, international volunteer)

"Having Standing Voice as the implementing partner for our book was a dream come true. Their experience, professionals on the ground and holistic approach is all we needed to make sure our book could create sustainable change. Through them, we have been able to reach the people we had in mind when creating Moon's story: the children of Tanzania. Youth can change the future of people with albinism in their country. We are looking forward to a bright future and further collaboration!" Happy Made By Team

Standing Voice is proud to partner with Happy Made By in our shared ambition to fight the existing albinism narrative with a positive and empowering story. We look forward to continuing this collaboration, and to documenting the results of this project as it continues to progress.