Nuura's family includes her grandmother, two grandfathers, two sisters, and four brothers. Nuura has grown up without her parents. Her experience has developed a sense of compassion for others from difficult backgrounds. With this sense of compassion, Nuura’s hope for the future is to provide services for orphans and the poor in her country. Through this work, her dream is that Somalis will be able to live together united. At the present moment, Nuura’s favorite classes are Social Studies and Science. Outside of class, she enjoys being with her friends and making each other laugh. Her favorite books are A Long Walk to Water, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Count Down, and The Blue Ghost.

Fadumo lives with her mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, and six brothers. Fadumo is most proud of her family and wants to make them happy by doing well in school. She enjoys spending time with her family when not in school. At school, Fadumo’s favorite class is geometry. With her interest in geometry and math, Fadumo hopes to be an engineer in the future. Outside of class, Fadumo enjoys spending times with her friends who are all very supportive of each other. Her favorite books are The Book Thief, Things Fall Apart, and Malala.

Farhan comes from a nomadic family, which includes his mother, two grandmothers, two grandfathers, five sisters, and nine brothers. Being from a nomadic family, Farhan is especially excited to have earned a scholarship to study at our school and have the opportunity to improve his and his family’s future. Farhan’s biggest accomplishment is learning English and continuing to improve his language abilities. When he first arrived at school, he had trouble understanding English, but he now feels comfortable learning in English. Now that he is comfortable with English, he enjoys helping his peers who are having trouble learn English so that they can do better in school. In the future, Farhan hopes to be a School Headmaster so that he can help other students learn.

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.

Ferdous has three sisters and four brothers. Ferdous is most proud of attending our school and learning English. Over the years, Ferdous has improved her English abilities, as well as her math skills. With her improved English skills, she has read The Outsiders and The Alchemist, which are her favorite books. Her favorite classes are Geometry and History. In the future, Ferdous hopes to be able to help those in her country who cannot afford to go to school attend so that they can receive an education, which Ferdous believes to be important for the development of her country.

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.

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.

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.