Introducing Esubalew Ethan Johnston

Who is Ethan Esubalew (pronounced soo-BAH-loo)? To be sure, he's unmistakably a die-hard LA Lakers fan. He's not bad on the basketball court himself, either. College student? Yes, that fits the bill too. He's studying communications at the University of Colorado Boulder.

When you meet Ethan, the first thing you will most likely notice will be his smile. He has the ability to light up a room with it. It also becomes apparent that he is blind. What is not apparent, however, is how he became blind.

When he was about six years old, some vagabonds tricked his mother into letting them take her son, telling her they would take him to the city to be educated. What lay in store for this young boy would have horrified his unknowing mother if she only knew. Perhaps you might have seen the Academy Award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. Ethan is a living example of the atrocities that so many young children in developing countries face at the hands of villainous child traffickers. They intentionally blinded him, forcing him to beg in the unknown streets of the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Abeba, a long ways from the shelter of his mother. What's worse, they refused to even feed him, taking any money he earned for themselves.

This painful fact from Ethan's past is not, however, obvious to the first time acquaintance. His native happy demeanor betrays the abuse he suffered as a young child. In fact, the most remarkable aspect of his story is his absolute refusal to let anger against those evil men dwell in his heart. He approaches each day with a spirit of gratitude for the opportunities he has, and looks for ways to share the bounties of his life with others.

By a sliver of luck, Ethan was adopted into America, where he learned to become completely independent, despite the challenges he faces as a blind man. Join him on this journey as Ethan endeavors to turn his personal tragedy into hope for others by establishing a school for the blind in his home country, Ethiopia.