Lilian is the last-born child in a family of six. Her father was involved in a motorbike accident and has been unable to support the family. Most of the elder siblings dropped out of school and are unemployed. Lilian is so determined to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. Her good performance in her exams did not come on a silver platter. She had to wake up early in the morning to go to school to utilize electricity at school. At other times, she studied under the moonlight, as there was no source of light at home. She believes that without struggle there is no progress.

Suhayb lives with his five sisters, brother and mother. Suhayb is proud to be attending our school and to be learning English. His greatest accomplishment is learning English. When he first joined our school, he was not able to speak English. Suhayb most enjoys learning. In school, his favorite classes are Algebra, English, and Theatre. Outside of class he enjoys reading mystery or science fiction books, or going over his notes from classes. When not learning something new, Suhayb enjoys playing soccer or being with friends. In the future, Suhayb hopes to be a petroleum engineer.

Suhaib has seven sisters and three brothers. Suhaib’s biggest accomplishment is coming to our school and learning how to speak English. Now that he is learning English, Suhaib enjoys reading English novels. His favorite classes are math and English. When not reading and studying, Suhaib also enjoys playing soccer. In the future, Suhaib hopes to become a doctor so that he can help people in his 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.

Shadrack is the last-born child in a family of six. Most of his siblings dropped out of school. His parents are old and unable to do manual work. Shadrack was born weak and this delayed him from joining school. Though with a small body stature he is older than his peers. His dream is to become an electrical engineer to be able to help people in his village access electricity.�

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.

Ahmed Daud Osman is a 15 year old from Hargeisa, Somaliland. He was raised in the Hargeisa Orphanage, and enrolled at Abaarso School of Science and Technology two years ago. He is now entering the ninth grade and is excited to begin a new year. Ahmed’s favorite subjects are math and science. In the future, he wants to be a professor. “Somaliland has many universities, but the education is not good. I want to teach the adults,” he says. Ahmed is not only compassionate, but also deeply introspective. When asked what is the most important lesson he’s learned at Abaarso, he took a moment to reply. “I learned how to be patient when you meet challenges.”

João was born in Sofala province. He is a playful and smiling boy with many interests. He likes to play with friends in the same neighborhood. His father died in 2012, victim of illness. In life, he was selling products at the local market. After some time, his mother remarried, but the current husband pays no attention to his stepchildren. He is making little jobs as a driver here and there and he only provides food for the whole family with his low income, while the mother plants rice to help her husband with the household expenses. As there is no money to support the school expenses for the stepchildren, João hardly can fulfill his dream of becoming a teacher.