For Marcos Barroso, watching his daughters participate is a moment he doesn’t take for granted. “Today, we’re here to celebrate all the kids with albinism and impairment that can’t see visuals,” Barroso said. “They do Easter hunting every year, and they let the parents come and join them with all the activities they have going on.” His three daughters, Yaxeli, Yaretzy and Yamelie, are among the participants. All three live with albinism, a genetic condition that affects pigmentation in the skin and eyes and can cause significant vision challenges. “They don’t have any pigment on their skin or in their eye,” Barroso said. “It’s really hard for them to be outside in exposure to the sun.”

For years, Barroso said he didn’t realize events like this existed. “I didn’t think there was stuff like this for them,” he said. “If there were, they were out of state or outside our city limits.” Now, instead of missing out, his daughters are fully part of the experience. Collecting eggs, participating in activities, and sharing the moment with other children facing similar challenges. “It means a lot to me, and I bet for every parent,” Barroso said. “Sometimes they feel like they’re outsiders because they can’t do what other kids can do, like on playgrounds or at school.”

Creating that sense of inclusion was the goal of the event, organizers said. “Some of these kiddos are the only student in their school system with a visual impairment,” said Lannette Burlingame, a program manager with East Texas Lighthouse. “So it’s really a nice opportunity to get everyone together and play alongside peers who are walking in the same shoes.”

From audible, beeping eggs to hands-on activities, organizers say every detail is designed with accessibility in mind. “We want to give them the opportunities their peers have and not let a visual impairment stop them from doing these normal things that all kids want to do,” Burlingame said.

For Barroso’s daughters, those opportunities are already making a difference. “They’ve learned a lot,” he said. “Working with magnifying glasses, computers, seeing colors, she (his daughter) knows her colors more, she knows her ABCs.” But beyond what they’re learning, Barroso said, it’s how they feel that matters most “I feel great and happy,” he said. “I feel good that I could be here with them outside of work.”

Moments like these, families say, aren’t defined by limitations but by what’s possible. For information on resources or activities available for children with vision impairment, you can visit the East Texas Lighthouse website.