The youngest and oldest Banaadir Academy students came together in the sunny gym, to offer a program for fellow students, staff and family.  The younger grades shared stories and acted out Somali folktales—student emcees told jokes and engaged the audience.  Students experienced the evolution of what it takes to put on a performance, from adapting the script, rehearsing, memorizing lines to the final production with an audience.

The 11 and 12th grades worked with a poet in residence, Khadijo Abdi, for eight weeks.  During this time the students studied poetry, learned and practiced interpreting poems and ultimately created their own, personal poems that they shared.  It was a beautiful expression of words and hearts—and power.

You can take a look at the live performance here.