JOWHAR, SOMALIA — A nation overwhelmed by civil war, flooding and, most recently, the threat of starvation might be forgiven for overlooking the back-to-school season.
But Abdulkhadir Wasuge has devoted his life to making sure his corner of Somalia never forgets. Over the last 14 years, Wasuge has emerged as a leading education advocate in this Horn of Africa country, one of many unsung heroes who have stepped up to fill the void left by the government's collapse in 1991.
As he does each year, Wasuge, 43, recently made the rounds in Jowhar, 60 miles north of Mogadishu, the capital, collecting enrollment figures, assessing teacher curricula and reminding parents and community leaders about the importance of putting children in school.
His Shabelle Educational Umbrella, which functions as a de facto school board, is largely responsible for rebuilding the region's education system, which has grown from a single schoolroom with 40 pupils in 1993 to 146 schools and 10,000 pupils.
"Education is the light," said Wasuge, a father of eight. "I want to make sure young people don't miss out."
He attributed his motivation to overcoming personal challenges as a child. A bout with polio at age 5 left him without use of his legs. "I've lived with a handicap myself, so I know what that's like," he said. "Lack of education is just another kind of handicap."
Much of the time he gets around town on a specially built four-wheel motorbike or in a wheelchair. But often he walks on his hands, protected by a pair of well-worn sandals, using a powerful upper body to go up steps and climb into cars without assistance.
Aid groups say his efforts have pushed the primary school enrollment rate to 24% in the Middle Shabelle region, which includes Jowhar. Though still relatively low, that rate is the highest in southern Somalia, where only about one in five children attends school.
"He's someone who never gets tired of working for what he's committed to," said Marian Abkow, education manager in the Jowhar office of the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF.
Somalia's school system disintegrated in 1991, when the dictatorship of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled and the country descended into clan-based civil war. Government institutions were the first to collapse; schools were ransacked and teachers fled the country.
