Abaarso School nurtures the academic, intellectual and character development of promising Somali students so that they can effectively and ethically advance their society. The school accepts students from throughout Somaliland and Somalia. As of 2018, five classes have graduated from Abaarso and over 100 students are continuing their education at leading institutions around the world including Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Rochester. A scholarship ensures that students from all financial backgrounds have an opportunity to attend Abaarso.
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.
School Year 2020
Guled has eight sisters and three brothers. Guled is most proud of his family and enjoys spending time with them. By improving as a student, Gueld hopes to make his family happy. At school, he enjoys our tight-knit community. His favorite subjects are English, math, and computers. He enjoys reading fiction, especially mystery books. Outside of school, Guled enjoys playing basketball and other sports. In the future, Guled hopes to be a computer programmer.
School Year 2018
Nasrin has one brother and three sisters. Nasrin is most proud of her culture and country. Her greatest accomplishment so far is being a member of our school, and she is glad to be able to be a part of a community that she can contribute positively to. What Nasrin appreciates most about her education is having the opportunity to learn more about the world and different world views. At first, our school was challenging for Nasrin. Although over time, she learned to seek help from others and dedicate time to studying, which helped her improve and do better in our school. In the future, Nasrin hopes to be an accountant.
School Year 2018
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.
School Year 2018
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.
School Year 2020
Khadar is from Hargeisa, and grew up living in the same house as many siblings and cousins. He is one of three members of this family to attend Abaarso, and has sisters in grades 9 and 7. He and his sister first heard of Abaarso because one of their neighbors is an alum. When they saw the school's graduation on Somaliland television, their mother told Khadar and his sister that they should attend Abaarso. Khadar had a very successful 7th grade year at Abaarso, excelling in all subjects but showing particular talent in math. He looks forward to using his talents to one day make it easier for people like him to attend school.
School Year 2019