Africa has many stories to be told and today I’ll be telling you just one of them about Abushe, the Boy with the Blue Eyes, from Jinka, Southern Ethiopia, whom I met by a strange incident on my travel!

You probably have never even seen an African with blue eyes. Me neither actually, until that day I went for a walk with my local friend Abraham in the center of Jinka, Ethiopia. Abraham spoke to me the night before about a boy, he had taken care of for 3 years, making sure he went to school and had food to eat. I told Abraham it was an incredible gesture of him, since Abraham was only 20 years old, and I told him I would like to meet that boy.
I had no idea that I was going to meet Abushe.

Abushe’s wondrous blue eyes stem from a condition called Waardenburgh syndrome. Only 1/300,000 babies are born with this rare genetic condition which changes the pigmentation of the eyes. He had blue eyes like I’ve never seen before in my life! They were like two tiny planets, with the friendliest face to go with them.

Abushe is a 10 year old kid living on the streets of Jinka, who lost his father in an early age. Abushe’s mother lived far outside of the city, and couldn’t afford the bus ticket for Abushe to school, so he stayed with his grandmother, and depended on her and Abraham. All he had for clothing was the red tank top he was wearing, nothing else at all. Some people in Jinka told me he was an outcast because of his eyes. “If it is not normal, it is evil” is something a lot of cultures think, hence why poor Abushe has been cast out.

I told Abraham this: “Tell Abushe that no matter what anyone says about his eyes, or about him being abnormal, he should always remember that he is really special and his eyes are a gift.”

For the 3 days I was with Abraham and Abushe, we had a great time, and I will remember the laughs we shared, and I especially remember one episode when I had a 10 birr (Ethiopian money, like 0,30 dollars) falling out of my pocket, and Abushe took my arm and said: “Mr Gustava, you have big money falling out of your pocket,” with a smile to me. That hit my heart. Such a humble kid and so mature for such a young boy! Everyone could learn a lesson from his positive outlook on life. His grandmother viewed his rare syndrome as a “gift from God.”

Me too.

Good news is that Abraham told me a sponsor family was now trying to adopt Abushe and get him to Paris, France. I genuinely hope the best for this kid.

I’ll forever remember The Boy with the Blue Eyes!

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