SOS Sheikh Secondary School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The SOS Sheikh Secondary School is situated near Sheikh in a remote part of the self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland and a three hour drive from the capital, Hargeisa. The once-renowned boarding school was established during British colonial rule and was mostly destroyed in fighting launched by long-time dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1989. It had fallen into further disrepair during the civil war when Somaliland broke away from the rest of Somalia in 1991 following the ousting of Siad Barre.

In September 2002, Dick and Enid Eyeington moved to Somalia to take on the restoration and running of this derelict boarding school. Following years of closure, the SOS Sheikh Secondary School reopened in January 2003 to its first 53 pupils. Many of the 45 boys and 8 girls who started at the school in 2003 had previously been denied any education by the civil war and the interclan fighting that followed it in this war-torn country. Another 50 pupils arrived in September 2003.

In October 2003 the Eyeingtons were murdered by gunmen. The school has since reopened and continues to work to improve the lot of Somali children.

The first Somali principle of the school after the British was Ghalib Musa afi