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"I was only six years old when I experienced the worst nightmare of my life. Something that left me filled with grief and fear,’’ says Laki Muse* as she recalls how she left her home in Ethiopia to seek refuge in neighboring Somalia.

Hawa Abdullahi is a principal of Dr. Abdalla Derow Primary School for Girls in Baidoa, Bay Region of South West State, Somalia. Photograph: Abdirahman Abdulle / Save the Children.

When I asked Asad about his dreams, his eyes lit up immediately.  He smiled and gave that look of enthusiasm, excitement and hope.  “I want to be a doctor,” he says.  “Yes. Now I know if I work hard, I can make it.”  This is a change in Asad. Some months ago, he wasn’t sure if he will continue with school, let alone dream of becoming a doctor. Asad, a third born in a family of eight is a fifth grade student at Al-Hikma Primary School.

Many of you might not have had the chance to interact with the soft-spoken and always smiling lady knows as Faisa.  With her petite frame, she can almost go unnoticed in the office but when you have a chance to interact with this charismatic woman, she commands your attention and that is what happened when I asked to interview her for our first article on the ‘parting shot’.