On January 29, 2010, Charles Lauth, an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher from Vestal Middle School in upstate New York contacted Asante Mariamu.  He wrote, “After reading an article and watching a YouTube video about the atrocities that are being committed against albinos in Tanzania, one of my students came up with an idea to help them with another problem that he thought was important too: the sun. His idea was to have a school-wide drive to collect bottles of sunscreen for the poor people in Tanzania who have albinism.” 

Mr. Lauth and his students went on to raise more than $1,000 and collect 200 pounds of sunscreen and sun-protective gear. This achievement is remarkable and very meaningful as ESL students often are shy about extending themselves personally and linguistically in a new culture, making it hard for them to get involved in many school activities. With Mr. Lauth’s help they overcame these barriers. His students, all English language learners, wrote to their United States Senators, created a marketing campaign to raise awareness, solicited donations in their community, and they delivered public service announcements to advertise the SunDrive.

Mr. Lauth explained, “All of my kids, even the shyest, realized that something had to be done to help the Tanzanian albinos. They have been working diligently on this project and I am super proud of their commitment.”

Susan DuBois, executive director of Asante Mariamu, extended her thanks to Mr. Lauth, his students, and the community of concerned people at Vestal Middle School.  Her letter to them said in part, “The money that you raised and the protective gear that you collected will be delivered to Tanzania this summer.  We will help to build a house for Mariamu and her son, and teach people with albinism how to protect themselves from the sun.  We are profoundly grateful for your concern and your help, and I hope you know that you have made a real difference in our lives – as well as those living with albinism in Africa.” 

Thank you Charles Lauth and all your students who worked so hard to help the people with albinism in Tanzania.