Khadar Abdilahi Mohamed is a 15 year old from Hargeisa, Somaliland. He was raised in the Hargeisa Orphanage. He’s entering the seventh grade at Abaarso School of Science and Technology. While at the orphanage, Khadar was an assistant for Abaarso’s orphanage tutoring program. As an assistant, he was patient and kind to the younger students. He’s the first to help others when they’re in need. When he’s older, he wants to be an engineer. His nickname is “Shifo”, which means “health” in Somali.

Nzioka is the lastborn child in a family of six. His parents are aged and only depend on subsistence farming to bring up their family. Although Nzioka faced a myriad of challenges in school, including being send home for school levies, he emerged the best student in his school. He aspires to be a doctor in future in order to help the less fortunate students in the society who suffer from various ailments so that they can study comfortably. Nzioka believes that working hard and believing in God makes everything possible.

Abdilahi is in his first year at Abaarso. He grew up in a house with two brothers and six sisters. His favorite subject at Abaarso is science, because he can see how it will help his future. He hopes to be a doctor, because he says that there are too many sick people in his country. Outside of class he plays basketball for fun, and spends his free time reading and doing homework.

Khadar has four sisters and three brothers. Khadar is very glad to have earned a scholarship to come to our school. He feels lucky to be able to attend school and have the opportunity to earn an education. For this reason, Khadar enjoys studying and doing well in his classes. His favorite subjects are math, science, and English. He enjoys reading history books and playing football outside of class. In the future, Khadar hopes to be able to travel and see more of his country. Going to the Abaarso School, Khadar has learned a lot about their community’s diversity and more about his country. It is this new knowledge that has inspired him to want to travel throughout his home country to see and learn more about it.

Alexander is the lastborn child in a family of four. All his elder siblings have all dropped out of school in primary level due to lack of school fees. His mother is single and unemployed. She has been ailing and can rarely manage to do manual work to cater for her children. Despite all odds alexander managed to perform very well in his primary level education. He is determined to achieve his goal of becoming a doctor in future. As a doctor, he believes that he will help the poor in the society access medical services. Alexander believes that education is the key to success.

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.

Warda lives with her mother, two grandmothers, grandfather, five sisters, and three brothers. Warda is excited to be at our school and to be receiving a quality education. Though she finds the rigors of our school difficult, she is determined to succeed. By studying her notes, seeing her teachers and peers for help, Warda is sure that she can succeed and be the best student possible. Although learning English as a second language is difficult for Warda, English is her favorite class. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels to help improve her English, or playing soccer or basketball for fun. In the future, Warda hopes to be doctor to help the poor in her country.

Bredah is an outgoing girl who is determined to excel in life despite all odds. She is the third born child in a family of six. Her parents are poor and only does casual jobs to cater for their big family. In school Bredah would get ridiculed by fellow students since her uniform was torn and her parents could not afford to buy her a new one. Despite missing many school days due to school levies, Bredah worked tirelessly to emerge among the best students in her school. Her dream is to become a nurse in future to help many patients who suffer in hospitals due to lack of good care. Bredah believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.