Alison Burrowes is a well respected figure within the archdiocese and currently serves as North West hub development officer for the Catholic Education Service. A former headteacher of Thornleigh Salesian College
in Bolton, she brings a wealth of experience in Catholic leadership, professional development and service. Alison is deeply committed to nurturing and sustaining leadership within Catholic education at every stage of vocation.

That commitment was brought into sharp focus when, following an introduction to Dr John Patterson, former headteacher of St Vincent’s School for the Blind, Alison was invited to lead a Catholic Social Action project, providing specialist prescription glasses for children with albinism in Tanzania. An experience
she reflects on below.

“Tanzania has one of the world’s highest rates of albinism, with roughly one in 1,429 births, and people with albinism have faced extreme persecution and violence for years. Albinism is a genetic condition which results in a lack of the pigment melanin in the skin, hair and eyes. It results in a permanent problem with vision and children with albinism across Tanzania are isolated and unable to access mainstream education.

 

I have visited Tanzania many times, initially as the headteacher of a Catholic secondary school when I would take sixth form students for a month during the summer holidays to volunteer in schools and clinics. Then after setting up an NGO, Partners in Education – International (PiE-E), providing training for
school leaders.

Having worked with the Tanzanian Department of Education since 2014, our charity was best placed to identify the pupils with albinism in schools in the Morogoro region who would benefit from this initial pilot project.

After visiting in October 2025 and working with a Tanzanian optometrist I returned in March 2026 with 68 pairs of specialist glasses and will be forever grateful to Keith Burns, an optician in Formby, who prepared them. I travelled to some of the poorest, rural communities to personally deliver them to each
individual child. The impact was immediate and will be life changing as they can now join the mainstream classroom for their learning.

During the visit I became acutely aware of the numbers of children with albinism across the Morogoro region whose life would also be changed if they received a pair of glasses which would enable them to access education and have a brighter future.

The cost of each specialist pair of glasses is £200 (on average). If you can support this on-going project, we would be delighted and grateful to receive any donation you could make. Please make payable any donations to the Charity Partners in Education – International, account number 22256768,
sort code 30-97-19, Lloyds Commercial Bank.”