Haybad Language

children with the tools they need to speak fluently in Somali. Encourage children's understanding of their own identity and culture. Strengthen community ties and maintain important links through a shared language. Awoowe Ali
Awoowe Ali is now retired and spends his days caring for his grandchildren. He is a native Somali speaker and knows enough English to get by. With his grandchildren, he has difficulty communicating. He has so much he wants to share with them about his life and childhood stories, but the language barrier is preventing him from doing so. He is looking for a fun Somali language programme that he can use to teach his grandchildren Somali whilst also allowing him to spend quality time with them. Hodan
Hodan homeschools her children and is teaching them Somali as part of the curriculum. She spends a great deal of time looking for resources or creating them herself which has proven to be time consuming. She is looking for a simple and straightforward curriculum that she can follow which will reinforce her children’s learning. Ahmed and Muna
Both Ahmed and Muna are employed full-time. Their children engage in a range of extracurricular activities because they believe it will help them develop into well-rounded individuals. They want their children to speak Somali more fluently. Because the parents' schedules are so hectic, the curriculum must be one that the children can do independently with minimum adult supervision. If any of the scenarios above sound familiar to you, you've come to the right place! Haybad Language arose from a common challenge that the Somali diaspora faces: the loss of our mother tongue. My realisation occurred when I asked my eldest to throw something in the bin ("ku tuur qashinka"). "What is gashgash? - it's called a bin mum!" she replied. I was speechless as the realisation of my failure washed over me. That night, I resolved to make a change, and the more families I spoke with, the more I realised I wasn't alone. I have been teaching for nearly ten years and during that time, I have served as the KS3 Curriculum Coordinator, an AQA examiner, and obtained a postgraduate degree in Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment. I'm excited to put all of my resources, expertise, and knowledge to work on creating a great Somali language programme for our children.