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.

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.

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.”

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.�

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.

Nagma's family includes her mother, father, fifteen sisters, and sixteen brothers. Coming from such a big family, Nagma is most proud of her family. She enjoys spending time with them talking at home and making them proud. At school, her favorite subject is math. Outside of class, Nagma enjoys playing basketball. In the future, she hopes to be a fashion designer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Aamiin grew up in the Hargeisa Orphanage Center, in the capital city of Somaliland. For several years before coming to Abaarso he attended Abaarso's tutoring program in the orphanage, where he was taught by older Abaarso students. He excelled in this program, and was admitted into Abaarso's first class of 7th graders in 2013, along with three other students from the orphanage. Given his background, the fact that he is at Abaarso makes him a real success story.

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.

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.

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.