In under a month, I will be flying to a remote island in the middle of Tanzania's Lake Victoria to teach a deeply marginalised community with albinism everything I can about woodcut printing.

I'm doing this as part of a brand new training initiative run by Standing Voice (standingvoice.org), an incredible international human rights charity specialising in albinism. They are a small team of amazing humans I've come to know well (Sabine is on their board of trustees) based in Hackney doing genuinely life-changing and life-saving work. Albinism is a genetic condition that affects the body's production of melanin, so people who have it are visually impaired with very pale skin - in Africa, their striking visual difference causes stigma, bullying, and even violence. Hundreds of people with albinism have been murdered across Africa due to witchcraft beliefs that their limbs have special powers to make you rich.

Standing Voice works broadly to support this population - skin cancer prevention, eye care, education, awareness-raising, but this June, they are focusing their efforts on a single community in Tanzania. Ukerewe - a remote island in the middle of Lake Victoria, four hours from the mainland, has a particularly high number of people with albinism, and these are among the poorest and most vulnerable in the whole of Tanzania. 

I will be part of a team of volunteers from around the world who will travel to Ukerewe to train local residents, a variety of disciplines and trades - art, carpentry, film, healthcare and more! This is a life-changing opportunity for people to build relationships, develop skills, and reintegrate back into their communities. I will teach the ancient art of woodblock printing to help provide a long lasting craft legacy within the community.The workshops are going take place over a week in numerous groups (up to 100 individuals) and there will be an exhibition of the works at the end of it. The participants will be introduced to the traditional tools and techniques involved in creating woodcut art, leaving them with their own compositions to take home and, should they wish sell, which could potentially help them support themselves and their families in future.