MEET CHOGTAA

Meet Chogtaa, she is 1year and 9months old, from the Upper West Region.

She has a condition called Waardenberg syndrome. This condition is rare and occurs 1 in every 40,000 birth.

Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic condition that can cause hearing loss and changes in coloring (pigmentation) of the hair, skin and eyes.

Some persons in Chogtaa's family think she is under a curse.

Her mum recounts some of the stories people say about her.

"I remember a herbal Dr. told me once that if u have gonorrhea while pregnant, you'll give birth to such a child. She was actually telling the people seated at her clinic. I laughed and didn't say anything.

One also asked if I was from a certain village in the Asante region because people from that village go to a certain river to ask for children and some of them give birth to such kids.

Others also think she is blind and can't see.
She attracts lots of attention for both positive and negative reasons but the negatives outweighs the positives. Some kids call her doll because of her eyes and she will shy away due to the attention.

Waardenburg sydrome is not a curse, there are thousands of people living with this condition all over the whorld. Let's take some time to read about it and help educate other mothers and families who might not be aware of its existence .