The Importance Of Education For Our Youth

By Kassim Wais

As-Salāmu `Alaykum. Ladies and Gentlemen. Bonjour Madams et Monsieur. My name is Kassim Wais and I am third year student at York University studying Economics and International Relations. Let me express my deepest gratitude in talking about this wonderful celebration. To have the chance to share my thoughts with you is a particular honour for me. We are all here to celebrate the achievements of our independence. The Somali National Movement (SNM) with their heroic actions led the struggle for our freedom by liberating the towns and cities throughout Somaliland and against all odds defeated the third largest army in Africa at the time, the Somali National Army (SNA).

Because of these heroic soldiers we are here today to celebrate eighteen years of independence though we are not yet recognized by the international community, we should not worry that time will come; with our patience and strong will we shall overcome. But, this fight is falling on the next generation of Somalilanders whose time it is to answer that call. I will be focusing on an important element: 1) the importance of our youth in pursing post-secondary education.

Our parents are so brave and we should be proud of them because they came to this unknown land where they were confused about how to adapt to the life and culture. Our parents choose to settle in Canada because it represented for them a place where their children can get an education and accomplish the goals that they have dreamed to achieve. Canada has given us the good things that make it possible for one to succeed.

My parents along with many other Somalilanders lived and worked in the Middle East during the 1980s before they came to Canada; my dad had a great job, nice car and great standard of living. But, seeing the political situation worsening back home they knew that they didn't have any possible hope of returning to Somaliland. So they like so many other parents had to make a tough decision, they decide to take a chance and come to Canada. That turned out to be a great decision because the fact of the matter is we are all here tonight. The main message that you should take with you is that it is important for all our youth to pursue post-secondary education, so that we can make a difference in society and also so that we can lead successful lives and have a lasting impact on society.

If you want to be a Economist like myself than we must strive to be the best that we can be, if you want to be an Engineer than you must also strive to be the best that you can be. The importance of education is quite clear. Education is the knowledge of putting one's potentials to maximum use. One can safely say that a human being is not in the proper sense till he is educated.

This importance of education is basically for two reasons. The first is that the training of the human mind is not complete without education. Education makes one a right thinker. It tells one how to think and how to make decision.

The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint someone with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards the outside world.

Education has paved the road in my life that I probably would not have otherwise traveled had my parents not come to Canada. I wouldn't have been born in Montreal, Quebec. I wouldn't have entered York University to study Economics. This road has allowed me to stretch the limits of my knowledge and experience and has challenged the way I think about life. It has changed the lenses from which I view the world.

In this fast changing world, it doesn't take long for skills and knowledge to become outdated. Technological advances and the flood of new information make it difficult to keep up with what's current. Lifelong learning is the only way to remain competitive in this global economy and be able to navigate the information highway. You should invest in your own growth, development and self-renewal. This is the most rewarding investment that you can make. In the economy of information and competitive global competition, education is our biggest currency.

People back home are looking to us to bring back the knowledge and education that we have received here in Canada and apply it in Somaliland.

In October 1970 Canada was in a state of national emergency, known as the October Crisis which was a series of events triggered by two terrorist kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) in my home province of Quebec. Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau was asked by a reporter how far he was willing to go to respond to these attacks and he replied by saying "Well, just watch me." The point that I am trying to make is that the world had better take notice and watch us because with an army of young bright, talented and educated youth we can finish the struggle our parents started, which is for an international recognized Somaliland where peace and prosperity are a fundamental right. Again, People back home are looking to us to bring back the knowledge, skills and education that we have received here in Canada and apply it in Somaliland.

To conclude, I will paraphrase another famous quote from Prime Minster Trudeau "Our hopes must be high. The faith in the next generation must be great. Our courage will remain strong. And our dreams for an internationally recognized Somaliland will become a future reality", but in order for this prophecy to come true we must take personal responsibility for continuing our education, we must map out the journey of lifelong learning or you'll end up without the necessary knowledge and skills to sustain your futrue careers. As individuals, we would be negligent not to pursue all avenues to live successfully.

God Bless Somaliland and God Bless Canada

Kassim Wais

York University

waisk@yorku.ca

Toronto, Ontario

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