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.

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.

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.

Fedelis is the last-born child in a family of three. He first sat for his primary education exam in 2018 and passed very well. His father could not afford to take him to secondary school and therefore he decided to repeat grade eight with the hope of getting a scholarship to pursue his goal. Fedelis attributes his success to his discipline and cooperation with teachers. He remains focused to achieve his goal of becoming an engineer in future to help his community. He believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

Mohamedeid is a grade 8 student in the 2016 school year. His favorite classes are English, math, science, and social studies. Coming from the local orphanage, Mohamedeid is proud to have earned an education and be at the school he is now. In understanding the value of education, he enjoys volunteering his time to tutor children from the local village. He enjoys teaching and hopes to be a teacher in the future, and later the president of his country.

Joseph is the second born child in a family of five. His elder brother dropped out of school due to lack of school fees. Since the passing on of his father, Joseph and his siblings have been staying with their mother who has taken over the responsibility of providing for her children. Though determined to make sure that her sons get the best, her health condition has affected her and can rarely manage to do manual work. After the death of their father, the extended family drove them out of their ancestral land. The family is currently living in a rented house in Wamunyu. Joseph is determined to change their family in future. He believes that hard work pays and in future he dreams of becoming a doctor, first to treat his mother and then other people in the society.�

Daniel is a very determined boy. While in primary school Daniel did not have a reading lamp. He had to utilize much of his daytime by forgoing break and recess time to catch up on his studies. He was able to overcome and emerge the best in the class. Daniel believes that education is the only key to his success. He is the first-born child in a family of three. His father is a wood carver whose small earnings have been depleted by hospital bills of ailing members of his extended family.

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 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.

Wambua is a very hard-working boy. In his school he emerged to be one of the top students. During his primary education Wambua remained focused despite the many challenges he went through. He is grateful to his teacher who exempted him from paying school levies and remained in school. His mother is single and only does casual jobs to cater for the family. Wambua is determined to become a doctor in future. He believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

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.

Emmanuel is a young boy whose mother is a survivor of obstetric fistula. This condition made it difficult for her to work, and she and her sons were abandoned by the father. He has his grandparents in his life, but he and his brother and mother are houseless and have periods of surviving on only one meal a day. Emmanuel very much wants to learn. When he is not in school he loves playing with his brother.

Quiet and curious, Paulina enjoys exploring her interests in geography and english class with a steadfast determination. As the oldest in her family, Paulina serves as a stellar example to her younger siblings. She can often be found studying with her friends, and she hopes to become a member of parliament and help build more durable homes in her community after graduation.

Cadeth lives with his father, his father’s two wives and their many children. Cadeth is the oldest of his immediate siblings, and the first in his family to attend secondary school. Cadeth’s parents are farmers and support their families with their small subsistence farm and a few animals. Cadeth’s father also takes small jobs for extra money, such as driving a taxi motorbike.