With internships having come to a close for the transition girls, Cate feels that her Daraja experience has come full-circle. For her internship, Cate taught at Ol Girgiri Primary, a local school that is only a few kilometers from Daraja’s campus. What makes this extra special is that Cate actually attended this school as a
So, the first Daraja graduates have been welcomed into the world, but where to? Many girls are attending University, many are applying to enroll in college courses, and many plan to search for jobs and bring their gained knowledge and skills back to their communities. Everlyne and Christine (Tina) will be attending Moi University, where
On Friday, August 23 Daraja held our first ever graduation ceremony. The ceremony celebrated Daraja’s class of 2012 after their four years of secondary school curriculum at Daraja Academy, KCSE testing, and Transition Program this spring. As Daraja’s campus filled with guests including families of the graduates and staff from Laikipia County’s education office, the
“I think that the biggest lesson I learned was that I really can do good work and make decisions on my own,” Mary K. reflected. The Transition girls have now left campus, and are headed out on their respective journeys to begin their post-Daraja lives. “Daraja is still my home,” assured Mary, “but I am
“I feel confident that these girls will go into the world and flourish,” Carol says, referring to Daraja’s first graduating class. Daraja’s first Transition Program will conclude at the end of this week, a five-month preparation program for Daraja graduates’ futures. The first part of the program revolved around community service and life skills such
As part of the third portion of the Transition Program, transition students participated in an activity entitled Daraja Quest over the course of the weekend starting on August 9. Mark Stefanski, a board member for Daraja, visited campus and collaborated with Carol, the head of the Transition Program for this activity. The objective of the
With environmental responsibility being an integral aspect of Daraja’s educational model, sustainability is incredibly important on campus! Daraja students are regularly learning and doing projects to improve environmental sustainability. In July, two volunteers, Leigh and Amelia, did a water project on campus where they measured the amount of water that was being used daily, weekly,
At the end of each term, students and staff gather together at a closing meeting the night before students depart from campus for their breaks. Housekeeping items such as cleaning and packing and transportation are addressed in this meeting, in addition to the announcement of end of term scores. The top ten girls in each
During the month of July, all Daraja girls took a four-week self defense workshop. This workshop was not only a crucial study break for the students, but also armed them with knowledge about how to defend themselves physically and why it is important. Enjoy this (less than) 2 minute video of girls practicing and speaking
On Friday, August 2nd, Daraja Academy hosted a community event at The Lily Pond Arts Centre in Nanyuki, Kenya. Daraja administrators, teachers and 4 students from each form, including transition students were in attendance along with community members from Laikipia County. There were employees of the County government in attendance, representatives from Kenya Women Finance
As July comes to a close, Daraja students are sitting for their end of term exams. Campus is quiet with lots of studying, but girls have spent time looking back on term two during their breaks. “Bay to Breakers is my favorite part about term two,” Hannah (F2) recounted. Daraja girls ran for Bay to
This term, form 4’s WISH (Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope class) curriculum revolved around Social Justice. Comprised of lessons about power, society, and social change, Form 4’s took useful tools about justice and action away from the term. Passionate to set out and start creating positive social change now, Form 4’s reflected on the
