Achievements of the institution in its 13th anniversary
Edna Aden profoundly lauds Prof Eid’s initiatives
By M.A. Egge
The Darlington-Gacmo-dheere-Foundation held an event on Tuesday in Hargeisa to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the establishment of the organization which mainly caters for education scholarships.
This event, which was held at Hotel Mansoor in Hargeisa, presented the achievements of the Darlington Gacma-Dheere Foundation during its 13-year existence and was attended by various eminent personalities, leaders and numerous state officials.
The Darlington Gacmo-dheere Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the education of young people in Somaliland who cannot afford to pay for tertiary education, and at the same time they are getting help in high schools.
The organization was founded by the students who graduated from the Ex-Sheikh School and named after their beloved teacher Richard R. Darlington who was locally known by the nickname Gacmadheere, meaning ‘long hands’.
Revealed at the event was the fact that the organization has so far sponsored 82 students from the regions of Somaliland; fifty eight (58) students have already graduated from different colleges and now they have found different jobs in different parts of Somaliland in different fields. The organization pays for university tuition fees as well as textbooks.
Sponsored students studied in various faculties such as Business, Law, Medicine, Engineering, ICT, Education, Lab techniques, Public Health etc with the students freely choosing the institutions or courses they want faculties they want such as Hargeisa University, Amoud University, Golis University, Sanaag University, Burao University, Berbera University and Nugaal University.
Professor Eid Ali Ahmed who is the main force behind the foundation spoke in depth about the stages the program has gone through and the way they select the students whom they award the scholarships.
He beamed with contentment when he narrated that one day as he was entering a mosque a young man greeted him and when he sought the youth’s introduction he was informed that the young man happened to be one of the recipients of the foundation’s scholarship and was now an employed engineer.
The young man, said the professor, was from Badan.
“The students we sponsored came from different areas like Badan, Lasaanood, Zeyla, Erigavo, Burao, Hargeisa, Berbera, they come from all areas of Somaliland. For instance we do not know the 7 students sitting here but we know that they were the best students and are really quite hard working people”.
He pointed out that they provided education to deserving students from low income families.
Of the 58 students have already graduated from the sponsorship programme, about twenty nine are fresh graduates with 13 of them having studied medicine, 6 are civil engineering graduates, 5 are ICT, and the rest did Nursing, Nutrition and Agricultural courses.
The Chairman of Higher Education of the Republic of Somaliland Prof. Suleiman Dirir Abdi greatly praised the Darlington Gacma-dheere Foundation for their fete in seeing to it that deserving students are financed in education.
He described the foundation as a light and a candle for the nation of Somaliland, and he pledged that his organization would support the programme.
He said that the higher education board will see to it that such students are supported even further. He also spoke about the history of Richard Darlington in whose honour the programme is named.
The chairman of the independent banking association of Somaliland, Mr. Khalif Noor, also spoke at the venue and expressed his elation to the programme and its achievements.
On her part Dr. Adna Adan Ismail profoundly lauded the initiatives done by Prof Eid and mentioned that the practical performance of the Darlington Gacma-dheere Foundation as being a result of just and equal examinations and tests subjected to the deserved recipients.
She said, “Professor Eid, I applaud the work that Darlington Foundation is fronting, I am very grateful to you, and the students who passed the test that made it possible for you to get a free education at Darlington – Foundation through your own prowess”.
She hoped that such compassion, goodwill, humanity and patriotism depicted may be instilled upon the youth of Somaliland and wished them well in their endeavours.
The former Vice President of the Republic of Somaliland, Abdirahman Aw Ali Farah, praised the efforts made by the foundation and their vision in advancing education in the nation by supporting the under-privileged.
He said. “I am grateful to the Darlington Foundation, when listening to their moving stories, these young people deserve to be role models”.
He continued, “In fact, this institution of Darlington Gacma-dheere Foundation is the foundation of Professor Eid Ali Salaan, who put in a lot of energy and tirelessly worked on it”.
He spoke at length on the ideals the late Darlington stood for and described him as a father figure.
A happy recipient of the scholarship, Farhan Farah Ali, narrated his experience since Prof. Eid first broke the news to him and told him to register himself at Burao University under the programme.
He hailed the transparency in the awarding system and was elated when he informed the audience that upon finishing his accounting degree he got a job with the local bottling company SBI and have since risen up the ranks to head its sales division.
He profusely thanked the foundation and its vision.
Guest of honour Abdirahman Aw Ali Farah lastly presented certificates to the esteemed members of the foundation who have put their selfless efforts into the programme.