Abaarso Network: June 2020
Abaarso Students Graduate From Top Universities
For billions across the globe, 2020 has been a year filled with challenges and hardship. Difficult as it feels today, at Abaarso Network we’re as hopeful as ever that positive seeds planted today will spring a brighter future to come.
The world faces many challenges, but that shouldn’t make us hopeless. The immortal words of Margaret Mead are as true today as ever, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Somaliland is one of those places where hope is real. No it is not perfect, but the country has made quantum leaps in the past decade, and the Abaarso Network is empowering more Somaliland youth today than ever before.
We are brimming with pride for our 15 alumni who just graduated from top universities, once considered completely out of reach for a Somaliland student. And on Saturday, June 8th, Abaarso Network was honored to have Muse Bihi Abdi: President of Somaliland, Bashir Goth: Representative of Somaliland to the United States, Ahmed Mohamed Diriye: Minister of Education and Science, Ahmed Muse Murud: Director General for the Ministry of Education and Higher Studies, Yasin Haji Mohamoud: Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Edna Adan Ismail: Founder, Edna Adan Hospital And University surprise our students with a virtual celebration honoring their incredible achievements!
It is easy to focus on the big named Ivy League universities, and Abdisamad, Hamse, Abdirahim, and Nadira deserve a great deal of credit for showing that Somalilanders can compete with the very best. What is harder to see is the weight they carried throughout, not wanting to disappoint themselves, their family, and their country.
The headlines also fail to capture how Jamaal dealt with isolation from his peers, attending college in the middle of Kentucky. However he did it, Jamaal graduated with not just flying colors, but also with a job at a Fortune 500 company. Maria came out of Lafayette with the Aaron O. Hoff Service Prize for her work with refugees. Warsan completed her teaching degree and will now be taking a critical role in our Kaabe School rollout of quality education throughout Somaliland. Someday soon we hope she’ll lead a Kaabe School in her hometown of Erigavo, hundreds of kilometers east of Somaliland’s capital of Hargeisa. She came to Abaarso without knowing a single word of English.
Sahra graduated with top honors in Economics. Samira and Ibrahim have been accepted to master degree programs. Abdikarim graduated from what is arguably the most prestigious small college in the US, and will be returning to teach at Abaarso School. Abokor earned degrees in Economics and Math. Yusuf earned a degree in Health Studies and has a position working at his college. Abdirahman has had several coveted internships and is applying for jobs in Biochemistry. Suleikha graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.
When we see what this small group of dedicated individuals have accomplished, we can’t help but feel hope for this world. Our graduates are proving that Somalis can and will compete with the best college students in the world, and representing Somaliland in a way that not only honors their country, but also their families and communities.
Edna Adan reminded the graduates on Saturday that it is only through their personal hard work and dedication that academic success has been possible, highlighting the true partnership that exists between Abaarso Network’s committed faculty, and the equally dedicated investment of our students. Sahra left her fellow graduates with a sentiment that resonates throughout the organization, and one which we can all look to as a guiding light, “Built a team and community to affect changes, because great things happen when great people come together.”
Congratulations to the Graduates of 2020!
Nadira Abdilahi: Yale University
Abdisamad Adan: Harvard University
Maria Ahmed: Lafayette College
Samira Ahmed: Wheaton College
Jamaal Aw Yoonis: Berea College
Sahra Aw Cisse: Brandeis University
Suleikha Hashi: Georgetown University (Qatar)
Abdikarim Hussein– Swarthmore College
Abokor Ismael–TCU
Hamse Mahdi– Harvard University
Abdirahim Mohamed– Brown University
Ibrahim Mohamed– Connecticut College
Warsan Mohamed– Luther College
Yusuf Mohamed– Westminster College
Abdirahman Yusuf– Grinnell College
Abaarso Network’s Virtual Roundtable
Close to 50 individuals joined our virtual roundtable on May 19th to learn how the Abaarso Network is pivoting to deliver a robust curriculum amid mandatory school closures in Somaliland. Given our history of dealing with adversity, the Abaarso Network is accustomed to making quick adaptations to challenges of all sorts. Nonetheless, we stand in admiration of the way our school leaders and faculty have risen to this challenge. Presenting on the call were Trudy Hall: Headmaster of Abaarso School, Ava Ramberg: Executive Director of Barwaaqo University, and Harry Lee: Executive Director of Kaabe Schools.
We are grateful to everyone who took the time to join us for this discussion and are hoping to host future roundtables virtually in the coming months. With our students and faculty spread across three campuses many miles apart in Somaliland, and our donor community spanning the entire world, we cherish the ability to see one another virtually and hope you will join us for a future discussion.
If you have any topics on your mind that you would like us to consider in a future roundtable, please don’t hesitate to let us know by emailing Juliet Buder at jbuder@abaarsonetwork.org
Alumna Spotlight: Sihaam Mumin
Sihaam Mumin graduated from the University of Rochester in 2018 with a major in Public Health and minor in Psychology. Sihaam’s path to and through college, leading to her current role supporting women at the Hargeisa Cultural Center, has centered on women’s empowerment. Sihaam has been identified as a leader through The Resolution Project’s Social Venture Challenge Fellowship program to directly address the inequalities women in Somaliland face, particularly in the health sector.
While in college, Sihaam worked as a research intern for the University of Rochester Medical Center, and as a volunteer for the nonprofit, Saving Mothers, which conducts research and offers logistical support for their newly launched Women’s Reproductive Health program in Uganda. These experiences armed her with a skill set she is currently leveraging to address health disparities for women.
Sihaam’s focus and advocacy could not be directed to a community more in need. Early child marriage in Somaliland traps women in a cycle of extreme need and dependency, and most – as many as 98 percent – undergo genital mutilation. Since her return to Somaliland, Sihaam has worked on a public health grassroots initiative to promote female reproductive health education, particularly focusing on menstrual health, feminine hygiene management, and female genital mutilation. The initiative provides women with access to health education and health services desperately needed in their community. Its process, which is anonymous, allows women and girls to tell their stories in a way that feels safe.
Currently, Sihaam runs weekly workshops at Hargeisa Cultural Center to empower high school and university girls/women through health education, leadership, and mentorship. The workshops are six months long and designed to create a platform that provides girls with the opportunity to understand and meet health challenges they face and to influence local decisions to reflect their needs in health and education. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, Sihaam has also been raising public awareness on ways in which Somalis can mitigate the virus’s impact in collaboration with Dr. Edna Adan, a prominent medical professional in Somaliland and founder of Edna Adan University.
Sihaam’s efforts to change the perspectives and tangible healthcare offerings for women in Somaliland embodies the goal of Abaarso Network: to enable transformative change through educating and empowering the population in order to achieve ethical and effective development. We are following her progress closely, and know that her fellow alumni and our current students are looking to her commitment and passion as an exemplar that we hope will be replicated by future graduates in the coming years.