With 5 years of support from the Ethiopian Education Foundation (EEF) - and now a chance to continue his education with NYU, Musbah Dilsebo is has taken a giant step from the streets of Addis Ababa to the world of international diplomacy.
Musbah Dilsebo (19) has been accepted for a four-year scholarship at NYU Abu Dhabi to study Political Science. Musbah’s ambition is to become a diplomat for Ethiopia and he is on track to achieve his dream.
Musbah comes from the most economically deprived background imaginable. His family is from Southern Ethiopia in a region bereft of any development or any educational opportunities. His father (long since disappeared) and his mother are completely illiterate. His mother survives on subsistence farming, living in a single roomed hut with her 6 other children. There is no electricity or running water.
At the age of 12 Musbah was desperate to continue his education, but at this time there were no secondary schools in his region. Aged 13 he left his home and travelled alone to the capital Addis Ababa where he enrolled himself in a government school. During this time he survived by working on a building site and doing shoeshine work, in addition to attending school part-time.
Glen Forbes, Chairman of eef says: “When we met Musbah nearly 5 years ago he was living on the streets in a tiny “hut” made of plastic bags and cardboard boxes. Despite this he was still a top performing student. We were particularly impressed by how concise and knowledgeable he was in explaining difficult scientific structures. We immediately decided to accept him onto our scholarship programme. Now, after four years and graduating from High School I have absolutely no doubt he will be a perfect fit into the NYUAD community, and bring a totally different facet to life that the other students may not have experienced. He has the profile to be a real future change maker. With a quality education as can be provided by NYUAD this young person really will be able to make a difference to his country.”
“Your presence will add importantly to the excellence of NYU Abu Dhabi,” wrote Al Bloom, NYU Abu Dhabi’s vice chancellor to Musbah in his acceptance letter. “Surrounded by extraordinary students like yourself and working closely with a world-class faculty, you will flourish as a scholar and develop the full range of your exceptional talent.”
Musbah Dilsebo says: “For me this journey is way beyond anything I could have ever imagined. My dream was to be an educated person, unlike most of my family. It was this dream that kept me going when times were rough and when I didn’t know whether I would have enough money to buy food. Being selected for the scholarship by eef changed my life. They showed me that hard work is rewarded and they showed me a way out of despair. Now I am entering another phase in my life. Being chosen for this scholarship at NYUAD is incredible. My mother, my eef mentors and my sponsor Ramon de Abadal are immensely proud of me - and I am delighted beyond compare.”
Musbah joined the eef programme in Grade 9, where upon he moved into our students’ residence. Since joining the programme Musbah’s academic record has been excellent. In the Grade 10 Ethiopian National Examinations he gained a “Very Great Distinction” by the Ministry of Education.
In 2009 Musbah again achieved an excellent result in the Grade 12 Ethiopian National Examinations by scoring 375. A ranking classified as “Excellent” by the Ministry of Education. This is the highest possible ranking. In addition Musbah’s intellectual capability, curiosity, capacity and enormous potential are beyond any doubt.
Musbah Dilsebo has come from the streets of Addis Ababa. He has battled to survive physically and he has battled to become educated. He has overcome the most horrendous hardships to become a highly educated and international young person. Musbah is already an adventurer, an explorer, a pioneer. His passion for education and his dedication to the development of society has been proven again and again. He is not just intellectually a top performer but just as importantly he is a charming, delightful and caring young man.
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