(ERGO) – Mohamed Nur Ahmed put on a school uniform for the first time a year ago when he was just 13 and had been staring enviously at other children in the southern Somali city of Kismayo going off to school while he hung around at home.
Now aged 14, he is entering his second year of a rapid learning programme that has opened his mind to new possibilities and given his family the chance to educate Mohamed and his three siblings free of charge.
“I want to study harder, I want to keep up with the other students, I will work hard! I previously used to admire students in their uniform, and I would ask myself why I was not enrolled in school? And here I am now, thank God, I am happy,” said Mohamed.
He completed classes one and two last year and is set to complete classes three and four this year. His classes run from 1.30-5pm and he studies Arabic, mathematics, and English.
Mohamed recalls how he used to spend his time playing with other kids in the neighborhood, but now he attends classes regularly and hopes to become a teacher in the future to give back the education he is receiving to other children in society. He hopes to help is father, a porter in Kismayo port, and steer their family to a better future.
More than 20,000 children aged nine to 17 from poor and marginalised family backgrounds have been enrolled in this five-year USAID-funded education programme called Bar ama Baro (“Teach or Learn” in Somali). In Jubbaland state, the programme is in its second year.
Schools in Kismayo typically charge between $10-$18 monthly fees, which is out of reach for many families. Mohamed’s father, Nur Ahmed Ali, always wanted his children to get an education and is delighted with this opportunity. His small income could not support his children’s education as well as the family’s food and other basic needs.
“My job can’t support all the needs of my family. On a good day I am able to earn $12, and I don’t get a wage every day. Due to my low income, I couldn’t take them to school, I am struggling with life and there has not been anyone to help us,” Nur said.
“I am very happy, and we welcome this project, our children get a good education, and I am proud of them. I have already seen noticeable changes in them.”
Meanwhile, 12-year-old Safa Abdullahi Mohamed sat in a classroom for the first time recently and is happy to have the opportunity to join the programme, as she was almost giving up hope of getting an education at all in her life.
“I hope to finish my education and join a university. I would like to study technology. I have loved it since I was young and it’s still my dream,” Safa said.
This year 16,000 students have been registered for the programme. They get free books for the curriculum. Most would never have got to school at all due to their family’s inability to source the fees.
More than 50 schools in Jubbaland state’s Kismayo, Bardera, and Jamame districts offer the Bar-am-Baro programme, which employs 120 teachers and is implemented by Creative Associates in partnership with the Somali government.
