Somali night at HHS

On Fri. May 11, Somali night was held at the high school. It was organized by Anab Abdullahi, Ramla Mohamed, and Salma Said, juniors, as an AVID service project.

The night, which was put together in two short weeks and planned around the Islamic holiday, Ramadan, involved Somali dance, foods, and a fashion show. The girls, who didn’t initially know the traditional dance called the Dhaanto, sought help from fellow students to learn it on short notice.

“We went to Mr. Adam’s ELL class because he has students who came directly from Somalia. We are the more ‘americanized’ versions of them,” Abdullahi said.

Upon entering the event, guests chose from classic Somali food like Sambusas, a thin dough filled with hamburger meat. Xalwo, a delicacy for special occasions in the culture and a fried dough called Bur Macaan were also served.

Ms. Heimlich, social studies, was the staff person in attendance, who also reserved the facilities for the night.

“I would have attended anyway, since I have many Somali students and I always like social events that provide opportunities for student creativity,” Heimlich said.

After eating, everyone went to the auditorium to view spoken word, the dance performance, and the catwalk fashion showing off Somali dresses.

Around 150 people, many of them families, attended. Flyers sent out to district elementary schools ensured the presence of a wide age group. The cost to get in was three dollars and the proceeds are projected to be donated to the Sojourner Project, a local domestic violence shelter.

“Next year we want to host a multicultural night, so anyone can show up and share their talents wherever they may be from,” Abdullahi said, “We are going to need much more than two weeks of planning though.”