Caweys wanaagasn! Good evening.
Tonight's discussions focused on Somali and American cultures. Several themes discussed included multiple marriages whereas a man can have four wives, prearranged marriages, and female mutilations. Several of the young people discussed the Somali language and how young people are growing up not knowing how to write in Somali as schools are taught in Arabic and French. Some feared the lack of teaching the Somali language will result in the Somali people losing their traditional culture. As far as female multilations, they are not typically performed in Djibouti City, but they do occur in tribes in northern Djibouti. The mutilations are carried out by the women and men normally do not know about it. I wish people could meet these Somali young people because they are really terrific.
Tonight I received a letter from the Head Master:
"We write to thank you very much for the useful books you brought to us. Secondly, we are giving our greetings to you as well as your friends who always visit our school. In fact this is a great encouragement. We acknowledge our happy memories and appreciations are always with you. As you can imagine, starting from 1994 up to now, we taught the English language to many many people. In fact, that is great effort so all you can do for us will be highly appreciated. If possible, we need visual aids for the beginners and beginner books, especially picture dictionaries which are very important. Thank you very much." - Head Master Saed Barkad Maussa.
If you would like to help these young people learn English, please send visual aids, picture dictionaries, and beginner English books to: Officer in Charge, Expeditionary Medical Facility, PSC Box 851, FPO AE 09363-9998.
Asalaamu calaykum - Peace be with you!
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