Abaarso School

Mohamoud is a grade 8 student in the 2016 school year. Coming from the local orphanage, Mohamoud’s greatest achievement is earning a scholarship to attend school. His favorite classes are math and English. In his free time, Mohamoud enjoys playing basketball and reading novels. Mohamoud hopes to be an engineer in the future so that he can improve his country’s infrastructure.

Salma's siblings include three sisters and one brother. Salma is most proud of her school, where the community is like one big family. Anytime someone is having difficulty, she knows that the teachers and older students are there to support each other. She is also glad to be in school and to be learning new things. Her favorite subjects are algebra, theatre, and art. Outside of classes, Salma enjoys playing basketball or solving math problems. In the future, Salma hopes to be able to help the people who are homeless and orphans in her country, since she believes that these people do not receive enough support.

Muhyadin is a grade 8 student in the 2016 school year. He has nine sisters and seven brothers. His favorite classes are English, science, and pre-algebra. Muhyadin very much enjoys learning and so is happy to be in school and studying. In his free time, Muhyadin likes to read novels. Being concerned about the future of his country, Muhyadin has many ideas for his future. He would like to be a doctor, since there are few doctors in the country, be president to help lead his people, and open a school to educate the poor.

Muhiim is a fifteen year old from Somaliland. She has eight siblings. Her mother died when she was five, and her father is temporarily employed as an engineer. This is Muhiim’s first year at Abaarso School of Science and Technology, where she’s enrolled as a ninth grader. Without hesitation, she says that she’s grateful for the opportunity to study at Abaarso, and will strive to learn as much as she can. Her favorite subject is science. Although she isn’t certain about what the future holds, she wants to study medicine. When she’s older, she hopes to become a doctor in order to help those in need. She enjoys supporting others, and wants to do her best to improve people’s lives.

Sacdiya is a grade 9 student in the 2016 school year. She enjoys reading inspirational books, playing basketball, and having fun with her classmates. Sacdiya feels herself to have been shy and lacking confidence in the past, but feels that she has overcome her shyness while at school. Growing her confidence and improving her academic performance in school are her greatest accomplishments so far. In the future, Sacdiya hopes to be a cardiologist and to help the poor people in her country.

Bushra is from Burao, the second-largest city in Somaliland, located in the Eastern region of the country, where she lives with her father and siblings. She had to leave school in 2014 because her family was unable to pay the tuition, but was given a scholarship and returned in 2015. Despite this gap, Bushra has excelled in English, and writes and speaks at a nearly native level, despite only a few years of instruction in English.