Congratulations to Peter Ash, founder and CEO of Under the Same Sun (UTSS), on the release of his auto-biography that weaves together firsthand accounts of Tanzanian children with albinism with his own story. Members of the Mothering and Albinism network (Photo: Left to Right Kendra Rieger, IK Ero, Barb Astle, Peter Ash, Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, Ingrid Watts, Meghann Buyco, and Duncan Dixon) were honoured to attend the book launch held on April 27th in New Westminster, British Columbia.
Read more about the book project here.
ENDORSEMENT by Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, PhD, RN, Dean and Professor of Nursing, Trinity Western University and Principal Investigator, Mothering and Albinism Network (www.motheringandalbinism.com) funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Out of the Ashes will educate you, motivate you, and stay with you. Written whole-heartedly, Peter Ash tells of the intricacies of the global albinism story interwoven with his lived experience with albinism. His Christian faith infuses his response to the horrific human rights violations against people with albinism in Tanzania and beyond. The organization that Peter founded, Under the Same Sun (UTSS), has had an outsized impact at the highest levels of the United Nations Human Rights Council and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, while providing lifesaving and life-changing education for those most vulnerable. My involvement with Peter Ash started with an email invitation from Ikponwosa Ero to support UTSS’s vision and the new UN mandate with research on human rights and albinism. Over the past 10 years, our team has conducted systematic reviews and research studies in Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana. This involvement has given us a front-row seat to the remarkable, worldwide albinism movement whose origins are described in Peter’s powerful memoir. Research on human rights and albinism, particularly that which foregrounds spiritualized violence and discrimination, was nearly non-existent prior to 2015. It has since burgeoned, detailing the violence, the resilience, and good practices that have been shown to ensure human rights and promote human flourishing of families and communities impacted by albinism. Without the inspiration, vision, advocacy and faithfulness of Peter Ash (and others featured in the book), this transformation would not have come about. I recommend this book to post-secondary educators, researchers, and students, as well as service providers, advocates and activists who are among the many committed to a more just world. Christians especially will be encouraged by this honest portrayal of the messiness and graciousness of faith in Jesus. Thank you, Peter!
Mothering & Albinism 