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NH Sisters Want Albino American Girl Doll

SALEM, N.H. (CBS) - Kaila and Kiana Roy play with American Girl dolls that look a lot like them. With their sister Kalli, it's different.

Said Kaila, who is 10, "She always asks why doesn't mine have hair like mine?"

Kalli has albinism: white blond hair, and extremely light-sensitive skin and eyes.

"Her vision is about 20/350. So what you see across the football field she sees at 20 feet," said the girls' mother Tricia.

Kalli's big sisters noticed albinos are often portrayed as villains in movies. They thought a doll that looks like Kalli could educate others about albinism, so they called American Girl.

WBZ-TV's Peg Rusconi reports.

Said 8-year old Kiana, "They said, 'Why don't you write us a letter. We'll think about it.'"

Kaila and Kiana didn't want theirs to be the only voices behind this, so they brought it to their school. Students learned about albinism and got the opportunity to write letters of their own.

Tricia Roy has a folder with 37 letters, and more are coming by e-mail.

If you'd like to write a letter in support of the project, e-mail: Vote4kalli@gmail.com

The girls would like the doll to have a walking cane, like the one Kalli sometimes uses, and a collection of sunglasses.

Asked when she wears her sunglasses, 4-year old Kalli replied, "Outside. And inside sometimes. Because the light hurts my eyes."

Thanks to Kalli's sisters, their community has a better understanding of Kalli's condition. Doll or no doll, that's a lot to be proud of.

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