Fight for White!

You might not have heard about Clarence Sebastian, but for a three year old – he’s making some waves! Clarence has albinism. Characterised by a complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes, there are many children with this disorder here in Samoa. The Clarence Sebastian Foundation has given rise to an excellent concept, acronymed ARISE (Albinos Respected in Samoa Everyday), to raise awareness and educate the community here in Samoa about children with Albinism. Their hope is that they alleviate some of the stress from the parents of Albino children, and change the negative mindset that seems to prevail about them.

Return to Hawaiiki

There have been a whole host of activities surrounding the anniversary of the 50^th year of the Treaty of Friendship between NZ and Samoa, and yesterday at the gallery of Vanya Taulealo, we attended a presentation from visiting NZ artists. The “Return to Hawaiiki” project, which is a sort of ‘homecoming’ for some of the artists with strong ties to Samoa, has seen the ‘return’ of a number of artists from NZ to Samoa.