One Thing Stands Out In APU Orientation Week

Finally, for the next two years, I’ll live in a place where I used to see/watch it only on YouTube, the beautiful and green campus of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU). We’re already in the middle of the orientation week for the new students (including me and six of my friends from Africa).

The only thing that got my attention was the AP House Disaster Drill. Japan is an earthquake-prone country, so everyone should get prepared for it. So the best way to get prepared is to get involved with the drill. Resident Assistants (RAs) would take us from our floors like if a real earthquake struck. Then, we're evacuated to a nearby evacuation center. Later, we're shown how to use the Fire Extinguisher. In sum, we're now ready for an earthquake.



We’re here for only a week, but now we truly understand why APU keeps on repeating that they offer an international environment for the students. That claim is real and I can prove it. With less than a week, I have friends from USA, Switzerland, China, Germany, Samoa, and Japan. This is in addition to my friends from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Burkino Faso. This friendship was unimaginable two weeks ago. This university is really one-of-its-kind.

I’m impressed so far, and I hope this will only increase during my stay in APU for the next two years. Thank you, everyone, who’s part of APU’s history.

First Two Weeks in Japan: ABE Initiative Orientation

I arrived in Japan on August 26, 2016, as a participant of the African Business Education Initiative for Youth (ABE Initiative). ABE Initiative offers opportunities for young and eligible African men and women to study at Master's courses in Japanese universities as international students and to experience internships at Japanese enterprises in order to develop effective skills and knowledge in various fields for contributing the development of industries in Africa. At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), it is recognized that there is a need for human resource development in both private and public sectors of Africa in order to cultivate a strong human network between Japan and Africa.

FURSAD FUND – Is Politicophabia Hindering the Potential Development of Somalia?

In my country, according to UN reports, 67%% of our youth are unemployed – but I’m luckier enough to be one of the few who are employed. Yet, unemployment is only one of many global economic indicators that Somalia is leading from the bottom. Sorry, my country!

For the last 2 decades, our country heavily depended on foreign aid. But fast forward 25 years, we are starting to dream and we want to become the champions of our own dreams. We are seeing a future of “Somalis helping Somalis”. That's the promise of Fursad Fund.

FROM PASSION TO CAREER: WEB 2.0 & SOCIAL MEDIA

FROM A TRAINEE TO A TRAINER OF WEB 2.0 & SOCIAL MEDIA

This narrative article reflects on a personal milestone. Why? Because I’m chosen to become the lead trainer of a web 2.0 & social media workshop facilitated by Somalis for the first time. And it’s worth mentioning that I was one of the beneficiaries of this same training when it first came in Somalia in 2014, but at that time, Training Center in Communication (TCC) from Nairobi, Kenya was assisting its delivery. Fast forward 2 years, we have now developed the capacity to train our people: Somalis educating other Somalis, at least technologically.