Julius is the last-born child in a family of seven. He completed his primary level education in 2017 and could not proceed to secondary school since his parents could not afford school fees. ÊHis parents are casual laborers and due to their old age, the burden of taking care of the large family has overwhelmed them. Julius is determined to achieve his dreams. He loves math and is looking forward to be an accountant in the future. He believes that education is the only key for a prosperous 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.

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.

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.

Nthenya is the firstborn child in a family of four. Her parents rely on odd jobs to cater for the family needs. ÊDespite many challenges, Nthenya emerged victorious in her exams. She aspires to be a doctor in future to treat the less privileged in the society especially children. She believes that one rises by uplifting others.

Mueni is an outgoing girl who completed her primary education in 2017 and since her parents were unable to pay for her school fees she decided to repeat grade eight. Despite staying home for most of the time in the year due to small school levies, her dream to become a surgeon has kept her focused. Her parents are poor and only do casual jobs to cater for the family basic needs. Their house collapsed last year due to rains and they are now living in a makeshift house. ÊMueni believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

Edna is second born child in a family of three. She stays with her grandmother who has taken up the responsibility of caring for her. Her mother is single and jobless. Edna’s elder sister dropped out of school in form two due to lack of school fees. Edna’s journey to success in primary school was not without challenges. She woke up at the crack of dawn each morning and walked about 2 kilometers to school. Sometimes she went to school without any breakfast. Other times she arrived to school late and had to take a punishment but that did not make her to give up. She remained determined and worked hard to attain good grades. Edna emerged the best student by scoring 396 marks out of 500 at her school. She believes that determination knows no barrier.

Ibtisam's siblings include six sisters and three brothers. Ibtisam is most proud of her family and hopes to make them happy by doing well in school. She feels most accomplished about being in school. Her favorite class is Geometry. In her free time, Ibtisam enjoys drawing and hiking. With her interest in drawing, Ibtisam hopes to be a fashion designer in the future.

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.

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.

Fernando was born in Sofala province. He is a very humble boy, does not have many friends and spends more time at home when he is not at school. His favorite hobby is listening to music at home. In 2012, the parents separated due to social problems. In 2013 his father died. He used to be a carpenter. After his father's death, Fernando’s mother abandoned him. His grandmother took care of him and then he moved to live with his aunty. The aunt has 2 children and does not make any activity that generates income to sustain the family. Her husband does little jobs in the construction field to help the family survive. When the uncle does not get a job, they may spend a day without a meal.

Yvonne is the second born child in a family of five. She is a very bright student and wants to be a lawyer in future. Her dream of becoming a lawyer has been propelled by the need to help the less privileged in the society especially girls and mothers get justice. Her parents are unemployed and only depend on casual jobs to provide for the family. Yvonne believes that success never comes on a silver platter.

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.

Sagal has four sisters and four brothers. Sagal is most proud to be a student at our school since it is like no other school in her country. What she enjoys most about the school is that the work is challenging, but the community and teachers are very supportive of students succeeding. Her favorite subjects are English, computers, and history. Sagal loves to read and mostly enjoys reading history books. When not reading or studying, Sagal enjoys playing basketball. In the future, Sagal hopes to be a computer programmer.