Saved from the albino hunters

Saved from the albino hunters

12-year-old Mwigulu Matonage Magesa from Tanzania poses for a portrait in the Staten Island borough of New York, September 21, 2015. Shy, soft-spoken Mwigulu, missing an arm from a brutal attack in Tanzania where albinos are targeted for their body parts, wants to be president some day and knows exactly what he will do when he takes office. "If someone does such a thing like chopping a body part of a person with albinism or killing a person with albinism, he is sentenced to death the same day," the 12-year-old boy said in Swahili through an interpreter. "By hanging them," he added in a stronger voice. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

12-year-old Mwigulu Matonage Magesa from Tanzania walks into his bedroom. For now, Mwigulu's days are filled with more cheery thoughts as he and three other Tanzanian children spent the summer in New York being fitted with prosthetic limbs and learning the simple childhood joys of splashing in a pool and playing backyard soccer. But in the next few days Mwigulu, along with Pendo Sengerema Noni, 15, Emmanuel Festo Rutema, 13, and 5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo will return to Tanzania, where people with albinism live in danger. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

15-year-old Pendo Sengerema Noni from Tanzania poses for a portrait in New York's Staten Island, September 21, 2015. The children have been cared for by Elissa Montanti, founder of the Global Medical Relief Fund which aids children injured in disaster or conflict. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania looks out of the window in Staten Island. United Nations officials estimate about 75 albinos have been killed in the east African nation since 2000 and have voiced fears of rising attacks ahead of this year's election, as politicians seek good luck charms from witch doctors. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania dances along as a video plays on a computer in Staten Island. The children have been shielded as much as possible from harsh truths, spared news of other attacks and the disadvantages and discrimination that lie ahead, Montanti said. Baraka, for one, does not know his father is accused of involvement in his attack six months ago and is under arrest in Tanzania. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania talks with Elissa Montanti of the Global Medical Relief Fund in his bedroom. The Fund has helped nearly 200 severely injured children and, while she has bid sad farewells to them all, the little ones from Tanzania have really touched her, Montanti said. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania poses for a portrait in Staten Island. The government has banned witch doctors to stop the body parts trade but when these children go home, they face a future that can be bleak. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo (R) from Tanzania holds hands with Elissa Montanti. "War is one thing, stepping on a land mine is one thing," Montanti said. "But this is so deliberate. It is one human to another, causing such incredible pain that I can't comprehend it." REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Mwigulu Matonage Magesa (L), Pendo Sengerema Noni (C) and Emmanuel Festo Rutema (R) sit on a sofa. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania poses for a portrait. Albinism is a congenital disorder affecting about one in 20,000 people worldwide who lack pigment in their skin, hair and eyes. It is more common in sub-Saharan Africa and affects about one Tanzanian in 1,400. United Nations officials estimate about 75 albinos have been killed in the east African nation since 2000 and have voiced fears of rising attacks ahead of this year's election, as politicians seek good luck charms from witch doctors. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

15-year-old Pendo Sengerema Noni from Tanzania puts on her prosthetic arm in her bedroom. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

13-year-old Emmanuel Festo Rutema from Tanzania poses for a portrait. Emmanuel can recount his ordeal in hesitant English but has a severe speech impediment. His attackers chopped off one arm and the fingers of the other and tried to pull out his tongue and teeth. He stutters as he describes the attack by strangers wielding machetes and a hammer as he played outside. He spent five months recovering in a local hospital. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

13-year-old Emmanuel Festo Rutema from Tanzania eats an orange as he does homework in Staten Island. Like many with albinism, Emmanuel has poor vision. He holds books and papers inches from his face as he reads and helps Baraka practice writing his name in block letters. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

12-year-old Mwigulu Matonage Magesa from Tanzania looks at a book as he does homework. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

12-year-old Mwigulu Matonage Magesa from Tanzania eats an apple as he does homework. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania poses for a portrait with a plush heart that he says makes him feel safe at night and that he sleeps with. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Mwigulu Matonage Magesa (L) and Emmanuel Festo Rutema (R) put on their prosthetic arms as Baraka Cosmas Lusambo (C) looks on in their bedroom. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Children from Tanzania play cards in the living room in Staten Island. Albino body parts are highly valued in witchcraft and can fetch a high price. Superstition leads many to believe albino children are ghosts who bring bad luck. Some believe the limbs are more potent if the victims scream during amputation, according to a 2013 United Nations report. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Children from Tanzania play soccer in the backyard. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo from Tanzania looks out the window. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Saved from the albino hunters