Nasriin is 14 years old, and beginning her first year at Abaarso School of Science and Technology in Somaliland. She is from Abaarso village, and owes her ability to attend Abaarso to the student tutors from the school who taught her for several years. As a result, she wants to be a teacher, so she can help people. She hopes to go to the United States to continue her education after Abaarso, so that she can do this. She likes to run because it's good exercise, and she enjoys spending her free time with her friends.

"Silvia comes from a small community on the Inca Trail leading to Machu Picchu. Her community is in a beautiful natural area, but unfortunately suffers from challenges like alcoholism, domestic violence and poverty. There is also no option to access secondary education in near her home, so in order to attend secondary school she was chosen to participate in the Sacred Valley Project in the town of Ollantaytambo. Sacred Valley Project provides housing and leadership programming to girls like Silvia. Silvia dreams of one day owning her own restaurant and opening a shelter for abandoned children from in and around her community. To accomplish these dreams she applied and was accepted to Mosqoy. She just began her studies in Hotel and Business Administration and continues to build her leadership skills. We are excited to see Silvia develop into a leader for positive change in her community. “Si te caes, levántate y seguir viendo tu futuro.” “If you fall down, get up and continue to look towards the future.”

Carolyne is the third born child in a family of six. Two of her sisters have been sick since childhood they have never been enrolled in school due to their health conditions. Carolyne's father is a casual laborer while the mother stays at home to take care of the sick children. The medical treatment of the children has depleted all the family resources and they have to depend on the mercy of well-wishers. Carolyne has faced many challenges. Many times she slept hungry without food but was always looking forward to being in school as there was a free lunch served (thanks to the school feeding program supported by a charity organization). Carolyne was determined and worked hard and excelled. Carolyne wants to be a doctor in future to treat people whom suffering (just like her two sisters) and improve the health of the people in Kenya.

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.

Leornad's father passed away and he does not know where his mother is. He stays with his unemployed grandmother. He does not have a grandfather. He has one brother and one sister.

George's mum sells vegetables by the roadside to earn a living. He has two brothers and three sisters. His family is poor and would not have been able to cater for his high school fees. In primary school, he never had shoes and would go on one meal per day. He however struggled through thick and thin and received an excellent score on his primary school exams. He intends to become computer literate through utilizing the lab at wema. He also intends to acquire real life skills and above all score a grade A in his final examination.

Davis lives with his 8 siblings and unemployed parents. He enjoys math and science and wants to become doctor someday.

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 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.

Cabdiasiis comes from a family of four sisters and four brothers. His favorite subjects are English, science, math, and computers. Outside of class, Cabdiasiis enjoys playing soccer and reading books. What Cabdiasiis likes most about school are the teachers who come from different parts of the world to educate him and his peers. Enjoying school so much, Cabdiasiis likes to share what he has learned with his friends and to help them study. In the future, Cabdiasiis hopes to become president of his country so that he can help the poor.

Vincent is a disciplined and intelligent boy. His dream to become an electrical engineer started early in life when he learnt the skills of radio repair from a neighbor. He developed great interest in repairing radios that had been thrown away. Out of his curiosity, he repaired his first broken radio for his uncle and it worked! Later he repaired yet another broken radio for his grandfather and it worked too! Vincent's good performance in school did not come on a silver platter. He was able to sacrifice his sleep by sleeping late and waking up very early to study. He also consulted his teachers much on subjects he felt he needed help. He believes that hard work pays. Vincent is the only son to his single mother. He currently lives with his grandparents. His grandfather has suffered stroke and has not been able to help provide for Vincent.

Aida was born in Nampula province. She is a very quiet girl, friendly, intelligent and likes to play with her friends of the same age in the neighborhood she lives. When the girl was 2 years old, her parents separated for social reasons. The father died in 2011, victim of disease. Even separated, the father helped to support his daughter while living with her mother in Nampula. After her father's death, the family moved to Beira and began to face many difficulties; even the mother having gotten a job as a cleaner, her earnings are not enough to pay the school expenses. As Aida is a very good student and hardworking, she deserves help for her dreams to become true.

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.

Bashir Hassan Aden is a 15 year old from Abaarso, a small village located in Somaliland. This year, he’s entering the eighth grade at Abaarso School of Science and Technology. Bashir has four brothers and a sister. His mother works as a cleaner, and his father sells food. In his free time, he enjoys playing football. Although he did not speak much English when he arrived at the school, he did not feel overwhelmed. Instead, he was determined to become a better student. His favorite subject is science, and in the future, he wants to be a scientist. He hopes to continue his education, and to eventually help his family better their livelihood.