The Boy Who Learned to Read

Mohamud Ege grew up in the heat and dust of northern Somalia, the son of a family
of nomads who were kept constantly on the move by the need to find water and grazing for the camels and sheep which were their only possessions. When Mohamud was five, his father was killed by a snake. A wise uncle then suggested that Mohamud, alone of his family, should go to school – a rare privilege in their culture.

To attend school, Mohamud had to sleep on a rush mat, survive for long periods on nothing but...