Welcome!

Keren High School Reunion

Our Keren High School Reunion website is fostering a spirit of networking where former Keren students could reflect on their childhood. We would like to receive your emails and comments. If you have old pictures, please send them to us, and we will post them. If you have memories of Keren High School that you want to write about, please do so. We all know that we missed one-another, and by sharing memories, we will be able to stay close and energized.

Our Keren High School reunion on July 4, 5 and 6, 2025 is going to be a great weekend event. Come to Seattle to meet childhood friends.

2025
9th Keren High Schools Reunion
In Seattle

Come and Join DEKI Keren TSADA.

Our reunion is coming closer and closer. Do you want to meet childhood friends and classmates? July 4, 5, and 6, 2025 is going to be a wonderful get together event. Don’t miss it.

Reserve your room at the link provided. If you have problems registering, feel free to email us at abrahazerai@yahoo.com.

Place: University of Washington, Seattle

Link to reserve: https://washington.irisregistration.com/Form/7133

Host Site: University of Washington Seattle Campus, Madrona Hall (Madrona Hall - UW HFS)
Address: 4320 Little Canoe Channel NE, Seattle WA 98185

OUR MISSION: The Keren Secondary School Reunion mission is to strive in bringing together old friends, and bridge the gap that was created due to circumstances. The re-union aims to build on shared core values. The Keren Secondary School re-union will serve to aid in learning the lessons of the past and looking forward to the future.

seattle 2025 9th keren high school reunion

Keren High School's reunion is going to be held in Seattle, from July 4 to 6 , 2025. All Kerenites are invited to attend this non-political and non-religious gathering.

Reserve Your Hotel

Dates: July 4 – 6, 2025

Place: University of Washington

Link to reserve: https://washington.irisregistration.com/Form/7133

Reserve early to avoid the late registration fee.

Here are some details:

Room Rates:

Double Occupancy: $74/night for 1 person (which is $148/night for 2 people)

Single Occupancy: $124.75/night

Meal Rates: $32/day minimum. (Breakfast $15, Lunch $17.50, and Dinner $21)

Registration fee: $25

Arrivals and Late Check Outs: You can check in as early as Wednesday July 2 and check out as late as Thursday July 10, 2025. Rate will be $10/night more for the extra days.

All Kerenites are invited to come and mingle with old friends and talk about the memories of our schools and Keren. Bring family and friends.

Transportation

Take a train to the University of Washington from Seattle/Tacoma Airport. You will get off the train at U District Station.

If you have a question, please send an email to Abrah Zerai

@ abrahazerai@yahoo.com or by phone : 206 355 3181 (Abrah)

Mark your Calendar

July 4 – 6, 2025 Seattle is hosting Keren High Schools Reunion.

Keren High Schools reunion is going to be held in Seattle. For July 4th weekend, all Kerenites are invited to attend this non-political, non-religious, non-regional, get together of former students.

Keren High Schools reunion started in 2008. Since its inception, we held 8 reunions. We had 2 reunions in Toronto, 4 reunions in Washington, DC, 1 reunion in Los Angeles, and 1 via zoon during the Covid years. The next 9th reunion is happening in Seattle, Washington.

Visit “SweetKeren.com” to learn about the goals and the history of these reunions. In short, the reunions are get together of old childhood friends and classmates to remember the good old days. We usually spend 3 quality days laughing and enjoying one another. We Kerenites, have great memories of our sweet Keren TSADA.

In the streets of Keren, you will hear many languages. To mention a few Bilen, Tigre, Tigringa, Saho, Arabic, Italian, and some more. In the olden days Keren was a home to Sudanese, Yemens, Nigerians, Italians, Ethiopians, and the 9 Eritrean BIHERAT. We also had people whose descendants are from Somalia, Greece, and Turkey. We have Moslems and Christian. The amazing thing about Keren was this: It was the place of tolerance, respect, harmony and peaceful co-exitance. The diversity made us learn all cultures and learn how to live together as brothers and sisters.

8th Keren High School

2023 reunion

Image of Natural Keren June 30 -July 2, 2023

By Bahlibi Tekle

The more anticipated Keren High School Reunion also known as Sweet Keren has come and gone leaving nostalgic moments for the participants. The people of Keren and its suburbs known for their diversity and tolerance found their exact image at this reunion. Happiness and brotherhood were the main key points shown at this reunion. Keren High School reunion started in July 2008 at Seneca College Toronto. After having reunions every two years and after interruption for three years because of COVID 19, the 8 th reunion came back where it started.

The following is the summary of the three-day event. .Continue Reading..

7th Keren high school

2021 zoom reunion

Speech by Chairman Abraha Zerai

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In behalf of Keren High Schools Organizing Committee allow me to say thank you for attending our Keren High Schools 2021 Zoom Reunion. I feel honored to welcome you to this historic get together of former classmates and school-mates. My name is Abraha Zerai. I was born and raised in Keren. I went to Keren Secondary School, and now I live in America. My favorite American president, John Kennedy once said, “The success of any school can be measured by the contributions the alumni make to our nation’s life.” Keren High School alumni contribution socially and politically in Keren in particular, and Eritrea in general was very huge. We are here today to celebrate those achievements by young Keren boys and girls. Continue Reading...

The Seventh Extraordinary

Keren High School Reunion - July 3, 2021

By Bahlibi Tekle

Toronto, Canada

When you are alive for so long, you can see many different things you can never imagine seeing during your lifetime. Who would think to have a high school meeting virtually? Who would think about the creation of Zoom technology?

Despite the existence of Covid-19 through out the world, there was no problem to have a Keren high school reunion using zoom technology. It was so different and exciting to see many friends virtually on the screen. Thanks to Mukhtar Saleh Baramberas who mastered this technology and led us to good conclusion.

On Saturday July 3,2021, People started to join the zoom meeting at 3:00 p.m. Everyone was shouting the names they see on the screen with happiness and nostalgic manner. After a lot of interference with each other, the program started. The meeting was opened with dedication of one minute silence to all students, teachers, and Eritrean Martyrs for independence and liberty. Bahlibi also remembered the deceased people who participated in person to our unions or encouraged with letters. They were Director Mahmoud Mohammed Ali Kanoni, Mohammed Hashi, Letebrhan Michael Gobay, Ramadan Ferej, Zeray woldetinsae, memhir Berih alishek, and memhir Osman Omer Omran. The introduction by Bahlibi also included the significance of a reunion and explained that a reunion is not an association or an organization but just a meeting between friends you met at school when you were young. Continue Reading...

ዝኽሪ 50 ዓመት ህልቂት ዖና

ዘይሃስስ በሰላ ህልቂት ዖና

ብተስፋጋብር ምስግና

ኣብ ኣርእስትይ ቅድሚ ምእታወይ ብረታዊ ቃልሲ ኤርትራ ካብ ዝጅምር ኣትሒዙ ብሕሱማት ገዛእቲ ኤርትራ ብሕማቕ ጠመተ እትርአ ዝተወለድኩላን ዝዓበኹላን ብከረን ጻዕዳ እተጠምቀትን እትልለን ተቐባሊት ጋሻ ዝኾነት ከረን መነባብሮኣ ከመይን እንታይን ከምዝነበረት ብሕጽር ዝበለ ክገልጽ ደስ ይብለኒ።

ብፍቅርን ሰላምን ሓድነትን ምትሕግጋዝን ምርድዳእን፡ ዓሌት ይኹን ወገን ዘየጥቅዓ፡ ኣመንቲ ክርስትናን ምስልምናን ተኸባቢሮም ዝነብሩላ፡ ኣብ ሽግር ኮነ ኣብ ራህዋ ብሓባር ዝጕህዩን ዝሕጎሱን ንዝኾነ ግርጭታታ ኣብ ትሕቲ ገረብ ኮፍ ኢሎም ሽግር ዝፈትሑ ለባማትን ክቡራትን ሽማግለታት ዝነበራ፡ ኩሩዓት ሰብ መሬት ብሄረ ብሌንን ብሙሉኣተን ብሄራት ኤርትራን ዝተፈላለዩ ካልኦት ብሄራትን ብሓድነት ዝነብሩላ፡ ናይ ብሓንሳእ ኰንካ ምንባር ምኩር ተመኩሮ ዘለዋ ከተማ ምዃና ዘይከሓድ ሓቂ ኢዩ፡፡ Continue Reading...

Memories of the ONA Massacre

By Tekle Bahlibi

I was at school on December 1, 1970. There were not many students as it was the second day of Eid celebrations. In the morning, missiles were launched from Forto to Ona passing over our secondary school. They were soon followed by the sounds of shootings and bombings by soldiers who went to Ona on foot and from their direction we saw people running for their lives towards Ad Hashel. We were dismissed from school not having any idea of what was going on. Later on in the day people started to share stories of what happened and the many lives lost. Continue Reading...

In Memory Of Ustaz Osman Omar Omran

By Hassen Saleh Baramberas

About everyone who attended school in Keren in the 60s and 70s has a fond memory of Ustaz

Osman Omar Umran, a beloved and respected figure whose steady and avuncular presence on

school campus was a source of emotional support for a proud community that endured an

endless siege for being at the epicenter of resistance to a brutal occupation. He knew your name,

your family, your friends, as if you were part of his extended family. In a calm and soothing way

that many found appealing, he mentored us without judging or scolding us. No doubt, he has left

an indelible impression on our collective memory. The last time I met him was in Agordat after it was liberated by the ELF. Even in the chaos of a newly liberated town, he took the time to tell me that he saw my younger brother, martyr Kamal, an ELF fighter, near Hagat, and that he had a chance to talk to him. I was surprised that he knew my younger brother. But that was him, genuine, unpretentious and caring. While we grieve his loss, let’s celebrate his caring life and cherish his memory.

By Hassen Fereg

Ustaz Omar Omran, age 85, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 22, 2020, in Medina, Saudi Arabia where he was living since 1980’s. He was born in Keren, Eritrea in 1935. He received his education in Keren Elementary School along with traditional Islamic education. Later he continued his education in Beit Ghergis, Asmara, Eritrea. He graduated from the Teacher’s Training Institute (TTI) and worked as a teacher in Barka, Agordat, Sahel, and Keren as well as in the highlands of Eritrea. He was one of the most beloved teachers, father, mentor and impromptu counselor, advising the school children on any issue which may have plagued them. He had a deep-rooted knowledge of Keren and its inhabitants. He will be missed dearly. Ustaz Omar Omran is survived by his wife, his four sons, Mohamed-Nur, Mustafa,

Abdulrahman, and Abdulkareem, his two daughters, Suad and Nejat. May God grant his paradise.

By Michael Embaie

It is very sad to learn about the passing away of Ustaz Osman Omar Umran. He was like a father figure to almost every student. One of the things that I have always talked about Ustaz Umran was during the brutal attack on ONA by the Ethiopian military. As the brutal attacks and killings was going on, I remember that Ustaz Umran rounded as many students as possible to get us to the OLD BUILDING, where the Library was to keep us safe. (I am not sure where it came from, when we were kids we used to call the old building AKAN ABKUL (the place/house of mules, may be it was a Campo police thing). As you know the Old building was built of Rocks (Smooth Strong Rocks, River Rocks) that could withstand incoming bullets. His quick thinking was that, half of the walls of the NEW BUILDING were glass walls and not safe. I think that was his parental or fatherly instinct......Continue Reading

Chairman Speech

Abraha Zerai

Dear friends,

It is an honor and pleasure to stand in front of you and give a speech about my memories and

experiences of Keren High School. My respected brothers, sisters, and the young generation,

WELCOME to 6th Keren High School Reunion.

Allow me to introduce the board of our reunion who worked hard to organize this weekend’s get together. Our founding brothers from Toronto Tesfagabir Misgina, Bahlibi Tekle, Hassen Fereg, Yacob Idris, Zienab Warah, from Calgary Michael Embaye, from Ottawa Yohannes Ferdinado, from New York Mehari Estifanos, Woldensia, from DC, Yemane Desta, Mohamed Ali Mahmud, Habtimichael Woldesus , Tekleab Birhane, from Nebraska Semira Osman, from Seattle Jowet gual Gemetra and myself (Abraha Zerai), Michael Tikabo, from Bay Area Woldeslassie Tesfai, Dr. Mulugeta Abraha, from LA Dr. Woldermariam, Kibra Gabre, and from St. Louis Missouri Muktar Saleh, from Texas Ibrahim Yassin, and from Illinois Dr. Fickak Habtes.

In the last few years, we lost some KH community members. To mention a few, our dear father, big brother, our role model, our mentor, and beloved principal Mahmud Kanoni who was part of our 3 reunions; ….. Continue Reading

Ustaz Mahmoud Kanoni

Hummed Neberai Scholarship – HNS

The children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the late Hajj Hummed Ibrahim Neberai (رحمه الله) of Keren, Eritrea, launched this scholarship fund in July 2016, as a perpetual voluntary charity (صدقة جارية), on

behalf of their ancestor for the benefit of deserving Eritreans seeking higher education. For more information please visit www.neberai.com

In behalf of the organizing committee, it is my pleasure to say thank you for coming from all around the world to celebrate our 4th Keren High Schools Reunion. First, allow me to introduce the organizing committee who made this possible. They are Abraha Zerai, Bahlibi Tekle, Hassen Fereg, Tesfagabir Misgina, Yacob Idris, Zeinab Warah, Michael Embaye, Woldeslassie Tesfai, Dr. Wolderamriam Gebreslassie, Kibra Gebre, Yassin Ibrahim, Dr. Fickak Habtes, Habtinkiel Woldesus, Yemane Desta, Yohannes Ferdinado, Mohamed Ali, Hassen Mender, and Dr. Ogbai Tekie. In the last 2 years, through teleconferences, we met at least once a month to prepare this get together. We put a lot of work into it.

We are all gathered here today in the name of Keren High Schools Reunion, which covers from the day it was founded to today’s Keren High Schools. Before I speak about our beloved High Schools, allow me to talk about Keren in general. In our first reunion, Hassen Fereg described it as, and I quote, “Keren is a cosmopolitan town with all the Eritrean ethnic groups and religious traditions living side by side. It is a town were more than eight other nationalities have assimilated into...Continue Reading...

Chairman’s 4th Reunion Speech

Honored Mr. Mahmud Kanoni and

Honored Guests,

Mr. & Mrs. Hugh's Letter

to the 4th Reunion

Words to the people of Keren, Eritrea and surrounding villages.

From Marty and Deacon Hugh Downey.

Times change. Generations pass. Lives become lost. People live for today and hope for tomorrow. But some things never change and some times are never forgotten. Such is the case with our lives.

We lived the most meaningful and important part of our lives with you in the Keren area. We can never forget that, and will carry the memories of those days to our graves – whether they were good or bad. Yes, during those years (1962 onward) we were young and enthusiastic and believed that “we could make a difference”. But regardless of what we accomplished we learned something from you good people which influenced our entire lives. You taught us about the things in life that are ‘truly valuable’... Continue Reading

Old Memories

Keren High School Students

Outlook Magazine

Compiled by Yohannes Ferdinando Drar, Ottawa, Canada February 4, 2010

To all former students of Keren high school (Then called Atzie Dawit Secondary), especially graduates of the 60s and 70s, the school had a magazine run by the students. To preserve the memory of our former students, I am trying to collect copies so that people can remember their classmates and friends. I have the first edition from 1967 with different articles that I have transcribed. The magazine has poems, question and answer sessions, biographies and thought pieces. The articles are mostly written by students and teachers. I would suggest any former students from the high school to forward materials that could be important for our website.

Below is a listing of all former teachers at Keren High School or Atzie Dawit during the 1960’s and 70’s. Some teachers were from India, Peace Corps teachers from the U. S. including local teachers. The first director of the high school was Mr. Mahmoud Adam and then Mr. Mahmoud Kanouni (1960’s & 1970’s). I have collected the information from the Outlook Magazine Newsletter published by students in the 1960’s. I have also redesigned and reprinted it for your enjoyment! I encourage all former students to send any informative memories to the website.

Enjoy!

July 13, 2012

In my entire life I have never been affirmed and appreciated as much as you good Keren people were to Marty and me. I have been just overwhelmed with a joyful feeling of goodwill between you native born Eritreans and me, an adopted Eritrean... Continue Reading

It was a wonderful treat to have Haben Girma as our motivational speaker of our 4th reunion. She is a real hero of our Eritrean community who become an icon and stood to the rights of our disabled. I am so glad to see our little daughter of Keren descent is doing so great. Her speech made everyone of us to think of how we treat our disabled back home; growing up in our beautiful Keren, we were nice people to one another, but we didn’t know how to take care of our disabled. Her speech will help everyone in attendance to reflect into their lives and make change in the way he/she thinks about our community.

(Abraha Zerai)

Haben Girma was a motivational speaker at the 4th Keren High Schools Reunion in Los Angeles; what an inspirational person she is. Haben is an extra-ordinary person who accomplished so much in her tender age against formidable obstacles. She conquered her disability and rose to prominence to be a genuine motivator and true role model. Every word she uttered was music to the ears of the audience.

(Woldeselassie Omer)

I had the privilege to sit down with WaleT Keren, Haben Girma and exchanged few words during the 4th Keren Highschool Reunion in Los Angeles. Haben Girma overcame the adversity of being blind and deaf to become one of the leading Civil rights Advocate, also teaches families and educators to set high expectations. She is truly inspirational.

(Mukhtar Saleh Baramberas)

Haben Girma

Haben Girma speech at 4th KHSR

Selected Keren Team vs Hamasen 1971

Sports History in Keren: Football

By Dr. Salah Jimi

Part I

Like elsewhere in Eritrea and perhaps in the world, sport activities in Keren primarily conducted at two levels- the town's league and as part of the educational system. There were also strong football competitions at suburbs' (Hillet) level. In this first part, the focus is on the town's football league. The second part will shed light on various sport activities at Keren High School and other schools in the town, encompassing football, Basketball, Volleyball and different types of athletics. The purpose of documenting sport history in Keren is to give it its right place in the Eritrean history. The period of interest in this and the follow-up article is 1970 to 1990.

The people of keren are sport-loving in general but have had great affection for football in particular. The town was endowed with talented footballers like Yohannes Weldezion (Joker) and Ismael Mahmoud who were key players of Asmara/Hamassien team; Aragay G/Ezgabeher, another highly-skilled footballer from Keren played for Seraye, the rival team to Asmara team in the 1960s and 1970s. Moreover, Tesfalem G/Meskel, a highly-gifted footballer from Keren represented Ethiopia at the national level to play in the Africa Cup of Nations in Khartoum. A brief history of sport in Keren, narrated by one of the talented footballers of the early 1970s, Tesfagabir Mesgina, spanning over the period late 1960s to early 1970s can be accessed here.... Continue Reading

Can you remember your former Peace Corps Teachers?

Here is a list of former Peace Corps teachers who served in Keren, Eritrea. The Peace Corps teachers served in Eritrea during the Ethiopian rule and after independence of Eritrea. I have collected this information from the Peace Corps website and it might help former students to reminisce their student life in Keren.
By Yohannes Ferdinando Drar (Ottawa, May 28th, 2010)

ቦኽሪ ዳግመ ርክብ

July 4 – 6, 2008

ተስፋጋብር ምስግና

ብተስፋጋብር ምስግና ዝቐረበ ጽሑፍ

ቶሮንቶ ካናዳ - እንቋዕ ብደሓን መጻእኩም ንምባል ኣፍቁዱለይ፡ ካብ ዝተፈላለየ ኩርነዓት ዓለም ኣብዛ ንመጀመሪያ ጊዜ አነብዕላ ዘሎና ምትእኽኻብ ንገለና ናይ ድሕሪ መዋእል እንቋዕ ገጽ ንገጽ ኣረኣኣየና። ናይታ እንፈትዋን ዘዕበየትናን ቤት ትምህርቲ ከረን ካልኣይ ደረጃ ድሒራ ሃጸይ ዳዊት ዝተባህለት እንደገና ተመሊሳ ናይ ከረን ካልኣይ ደረጃ ቤት ትምህርቲ ምርኻብናን ምትእኽኻብና ዓቢ ጸጋ ኢዩ።

ሎሚ ኣብ ከረን ኣሎና ይመስለኒ፡ ኣብ ከረን ክብል ከሎኹ አታ ካብ ኣርባዕተ መኣዝንን ከባብን ኮነ ካብ ኣስመራ ፡ ዓሊ ግድር፡ ተሰነይ፡

ባረንቱ፡ኣቑርደት፡ኣፍዓበት ኮነ ናቕፋን መአከቢትናን ትምህርቲ እንቐስመላ ዝነበርናን መስራቲት ሓድነትናን ፍቕርና እነሳላስለላ ዝነበርናን ናይ ከረን ካልኣይ ደረጃ ቤት ትምህርቲ ኣሎና።