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.”

Yasir comes from a family of four sisters and two brothers. Yasir is a talented soccer player and math student. Outside of class, Yasir enjoys playing soccer and helping around campus with community service projects. What Yasir likes most about school are the teachers and how well they teach. Being a talented math student, Yasir hopes to be an engineer in the future.

Mohamoud is a grade 9 student in the 2016 school year. He has five sisters and three brothers. What he enjoys most about his school is that everyone respects each other. Mohamoud values respect and is glad that he is at a school where respect is an important part of the community. Learning to speak English has been Mohamoud’s proudest accomplishment so far. In the future, Mohamoud hopes to be a chemist and to be able to help develop his country.

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.

Najma lives with her three sisters, five brothers, grandmother, grandfather, and mother. Her favorite subject in school is English. Najma enjoys learning new things and is glad to be learning English at school. To continue learning new things, Najma enjoys reading books about science in her free time. Other than reading, Najma also enjoys going over her class notes with her peers and helping each other to understand their class material. With Najma’s passion for learning and education, she hopes to be a teacher in the future.

Suhaib lives with his mother and four brothers. Suhaib is proud to be a member of our school community and learning new things he would not have learned elsewhere. His favorite classes are Algebra and Chemistry. With his interest in math and chemistry, Suhaib hopes to be a chemical engineer in the future. Outside of class, Suhaib enjoys reading non-fiction books, especially about history, and playing soccer. Suhaib feels it is important to be there for his family and to make them proud.

Hamse has three sisters and two brothers.Hamse is glad to have earned a scholarship to attend Abaarso School and for this reason, Hamse is very dedicated to his studies. He enjoys learning and spends his time studying or playing soccer outside of class. His favorite classes are his math courses. With an interest in math, Hamse hopes to be an engineer in the future.

Bilan has six sisters and three brothers. Bilan is proud to be going to the Abaarso School and receiving a quality education. Although learning English is challenging for Bilan, English is one of her favorites classes. She also enjoys social studies, and in her free time likes to read novels and history books. By reading more and practicing English, Bilan hopes to improve her English. Beyond reading, Bilan also enjoys helping around our community whenever there are projects that she can work on. In the future, Bilan hopes to be a doctor.