Comments (1)
WORCESTER — As part of the Worcester Academy‘s “Open Gates” program, the school has formed a sister school relationship with Abaarso Tech, Somaliland, Africa.
The new program pairs:
“10th Grade Worcester Academy students with 10th Grade Abaarso Tech students in a sort of 21st century pen pal program. They are not only learning about different cultures, but are also making friends, he said. Additionally, classes in Worcester and Somaliland will be connecting with one another using Skype online live video conferencing, which allows the classes to see and speak with one another in real time. Students have already begun maintaining a blog about their ongoing experience. The blog can be accessed by visiting waabaarsotech.ning.com.”(WA)
Worcester faculty participate by serving as resources and mentors to Abaarso Tech faculty many of whom are new to teaching.
Abaarso Tech field trip
Founded by Worcester Academy alumnus Jonathan Starr (’94), Abrasso Tech seeks to apply a “business model to improving conditions in Somaliland by offering world-class education, assisting rural populations, and backing community improvements.”(WA)
Opening with and inaugural freshman class of 50 this year, Abaarso Tech plans to add 50 students each year until full with 200 students.
Worcester Academy’s “Open Gates” works to integrate real-world experiences into the academy’s curriculum. Worcester currently has sister-school relationships with Abaarso Tech, the Haderslev Katedralskole in Denmark, and The Royal Grammar School in Worcester, England.
More information:
Giving Hope in the Horn of Africa
By Brian Fisher
Source: Admissions Quest | 18 Feb 2011
Blog: waabaarsotech.ning.com/
You can visit their blog and findout more on their 21st century pen pal program. The online blog is very interactive–fun way to introduce and connect the students from the two continents.
One of the Abaarso Tech students, Suleikha Mohamed blogs:
Dear students of Worcester Academy,
My name is Suleikha Mohamed Hashi and I am 14 years old, I was born in Hargeisa, Somaliland on the 13 of July 1996. I love playing sports especially football (soccer), volley-ball and basketball. I also like swimming, although we don’t have swimming pools but we go to a place called Berbera which has a beach. Berbera is very hot but it is nice and you can go scuba diving there.
I have 5 brothers and 2 sisters and a lot of nephews and nieces and I come from a good family that supports me and also lets me choose what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a human rights lawyer and help people, because here in Somaliland there is a lot of injustice going on and I want to help change that. I want to study aboard to become a lawyer and come back to my country so I could work here and give back to my community.
Suleikha Hashi
Somaliland is an amazing place and it has very beautiful mountains and a lot of great little places to see. Somaliland is a growing country and it may not look so nice if you guys came and saw it but if you stay little bit longer you would see that it is actually growing. There were times that it was very hard to find a fizzy drink but now you can find it easily. I am looking forward to getting to know you guys.
Best Regards,
Suleikha Mohamed Hashi
