Sonja- our Tamil/English rose

I am delighted that Sonja is still able to study at Mettupalayam School. She arrived in January with her family who are staying in the Mettupalayam area. She is an albino girl, whose parents and sister are very typical Tamils. According to our doctor, Paramasivam, albinism is more comon in India than here, and brings with it a host of problems. The most obvious is that, without skin pigmentation, Sonja must stay out of the sun, so studying at school can be quite difficult. We are arranging to send out sunblock, which is impossible to find in our rural area, and also some sunhats.
It is very surreal for us to see Sonja with her family and to hear her speaking Tamil. She looks just like a beautiful English rose!