All of God’s children are beautiful, all are equally blessed. But that does not mean that there are not those who stand out from the crowd.
A young Ethiopian child gains a lot of attention and captures the imagination of the world, all because of the color of his eyes. Young Abushe, from Jinka in southern Ethiopia, was born with a syndrome known as Wardenburg Syndrome – a rare genetic disease characterized by deafness of varying degrees, mild structural defects resulting from the nerve ridge, and various pigmentation problems (changes in skin, eyes or hair).
In fact the syndrome is so rare that it affects only 1 in 40,000 people.
According to sources, Abushe’s parents made sure the child was blind when they first saw his eyes. But because of a bad financial situation, they could not diagnose him or take him for treatment.
Later his mother and father realized that what Abushe had was a gift from God.
bushe is 8, he lives in south Ethiopia, i met him in front of a bank. His blue eyes were just incredible. I came back the day after to try to know more about this kid. His mother works in a farm , 30 km from there, his father is dead. He used to live in his grand mother house, but last week, a fire erupted in the poor wooden house, so he lost all his school books and his blanquet. As the grand mother house is too far from the school, he lives in a very small room in a metal house without window, full of dirt, and sleeps there on with a friend. At 8 years old. As his books have burnt, he cannot go to school anymore. His blue eyes allowed him to meet foreigners who took care of him on this day, but so many kids with black eyes are also living this incredible life…
French photographer Eric Lafforgue met Abushe in 2016, when the boy was living with his grandparents in a hut made of bamboo and wood. Unfortunately a fire broke out and their house was destroyed and Abushe was left with a scar on his forehead.
But he managed to save one thing from the flames: a red soccer ball that became his whole world. Abushe’s dream is to become a professional footballer; And he does not let anything stop him.
Unfortunately Abushe became victim of bullying by other children who don’t understand why his eyes look like this. The child is referred to by nicknames as ‘plastic eyes’ and ‘monster’, when others physically harm him.
And yet, he certainly made headlines in the world, and not forgotten. Photographer Eric Lafforgue shared a photo of Abushe from February 2019 and wrote: “No one would have noticed Abushe, but if you look into his eyes, their amazing color will stop you in place”.
The photo received more than 6,000 likes on Instagram, with commenters reporting that Abushe is a beautiful child.
We think Abushe’s eyes are a real gift! Look how beautiful they are.