Reer Las-Anod: Wake UP!

Capital City of Sool Sanaag and Cayn

It’s not often that we see generosity of the mind and spirit amongst those from the SSC region. I have recently come across one of those rare generous souls; His name is Abdinasir Ali (Dheere) Hassan. Abdinasir was not even born and raised in the Sool region, rather, he is from Kenya and yet he did not hesitate to donate large sums of money and resources to Nugaal University.

Out of respect to his ancestors’ birthplace, Abdinasir has not ignored the plight of those less fortunate in Sool. He has stressed the importance of education through his donations to the university. He sponsored twenty students at Nugaal University. He also plans to build a school for students from kindergarten to high school. This is not the first time their family has donated to the community. Abdinasir’s brother Abdirasaq who passed away (allah ha unaxariistee) has built a school called Maxad and Abdinasir’s family still funds it.

Dur-durka: Lasanod Grand Canyon

As people who have benefited from and once lived in Sool, its important that we learn from his example and try our best to help those still there; our families, friends, and neighbors who need us now. Sool compared to other regions is actually considered to be lacking  development in education, health, and businesses. It is important that those of us with the means, return to our community and try to advance the society in any way that we can. Now this does not mean each person must build hospitals and schools by themselves but by uniting together we can make a real difference.

Kalabaydh Elementary School: (Nov. 2013)

The first step is investing in the future we can do this by focusing on the children. By skipping your usual $3.00 Starbucks coffee, you can sponsor a child in your hometown and positively effect their life. Once again I would like to emphasize how much I respect and admire Abdinasir for his contributions and efforts. I became teary eyed when I first heard of his efforts to help Las Anod.

With so many people who were actually born and raised in Las Anod, doing nothing to make a difference, I was shocked to hear his story. I hope this account will encourage all of my brothers and sisters to remember where they came from and who they left behind!

By: Yasmin Jama Abdi Bille