Posted by Daraja Team on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 , Posted in Blog, News , Comments Off
400 people gathered at Daraja Saturday to give Form 4s encouragement for their remaining 18 KCSE exams. All Daraja girls woke early and were preparing for the day by 8:00 a.m., chopping vegetables and meat, washing dishes, mopping floors, sweeping dirt paths, and setting up chairs. Guests began arriving at 9:00, and girls waited by the gate to usher the girls to the seating area. Outside Daraja’s patio, hundreds of chairs were arranged to accommodate the guests, students, and staff. Guests included various acclaimed speakers from religious and political bodies, well known Daraja supporters, family members, and tribal chiefs from nearby Mpala, Muramati, and Ilpolie.
Christian Religious Education (CRE) and Swahili teacher Mwambura MC’ed the ceremony, which began at 11:00 a.m. First, all Form 4s gathered in front of the large audience, which contained 250 guests (150 more than expected), 104 Daraja students, and 50 staff members and their families. They sang Daraja’s Anthem, led by Betty and Maureen, and teacher Mercy led the group in prayer. The Form 4s then sang “You Raise Me Up,” and three religious groups of girls (Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims) each performed a song and dance.
Following the girls’ performances were three hours of presentations by various staff, family, students, famous Daraja supporters, political leaders, and religious leaders. Staff members who spoke included Daraja’s administration (Victoria, Deputy Principal, Charles, Academic Dean, and cofounders Jenni and Jason Doherty), teacher Peris, and teacher Caroline. F4 Leila’s mother spoke as the representative of Form 4 parents. Form 4 Marylene Njagi spoke as the class representative. Famed Daraja supporter Lineth Chepkurui, world recorder holder in the 12 kilometer run, was accompanied by 2008 Olympian 1500 meter gold medalist Nancy Jebet Langat and 2008 Olympian 5000 meter silver medalist Eliud Kipchoge. All offered their support for and confidence in Daraja’s Form 4s.
Laikipia East District’s District Education Officer (DEO) Wilson Kipaloi was the main speaker and guest of honor, accompanied by the district’s Quality Assurance Officer. Their presentations were followed by prayers led by representatives of both the Muslim and Christian community – Imam Adan from Nanyuki and Pastor King’ori from the Full Gospel Church of Kenya in Nanyuki. A Catholic priest from the Kalistas Parish in Dol-Dol led the audience in song, and a nearby secondary school principal Paul Mwangi from Laikipia Airbase gave the final blessing.
At 2:00 p.m., lunch was served, and families, honored guests, Daraja staff, and students visited with one another as matatus (van taxis) arrived at campus to bring Forms 1-3 girls home. Form 4s hugged their families and peers goodbye, as everyone but the eldest class and Daraja staff left campus and headed for home. Some were only headed 40 minutes away, to neighboring Nanyuki, while others anticipated day-long journeys to villages hundreds of kilometers away. By 4:00 p.m., campus was quiet, and Form 4s returned to their studies, preparing for their remaining 18 KCSE exams. Daraja’s first “Prayer Day” was a success (note: Daraja Academy has no religious affiliation, but understands and respects the fact that religion is very important in Kenyan life and culture).
Posted by Daraja Team on Thursday, October 25th, 2012 , Posted in Blog, News , Comments Off
“What is it about a fourteen-year-old educated girl that is so scary to a man with a gun?” asked Daraja Academy cofounder Jason Doherty Monday night when Daraja girls gathered to learn about and show their support for Malala Yousafzai. On October 9th, the Taliban attempted to assassinate fourteen-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl Malala for promoting girls’ education. Malala was on a bus in her Pakistani region of Swat with other schoolchildren when the Taliban gunmen stopped and boarded the bus, demanding to know which child was Malala. She was shot in the head and neck, and while she is likely to recover, people around the world are rallying behind her to show their support for her courageous cause.
Girls at Daraja know why Malala scares the Taliban. “When the men see the spirit in the girl they see that she can be the light of the other women and she’ll change them and cause them to change,” hypothesized Naomi F2. This idea seemed to be the general consensus. All 104 Daraja girls sat together in Daraja’s patio and talked about fear of change – Irene N. (F 2) said that if one woman educates other women, she creates a generation of empowered women. Men, then, might lose their control, and that may be why the Taliban is scared. The girls brainstormed various ways to generate ways of showing support on Daraja’s campus to remind them everyday of Malala.
They were then posed with the question: “What can Daraja do to let her know that she’s not alone?” One group of fourteen girls and two teachers sat together to discuss these questions. Dianah F1 suggested reaching out to the community to teach people about their rights, so that the work of Malala stays fresh in Daraja girls’ minds as they continue her work. Yvonne F1 suggested praying for her, and also creating art on some of the large stones around campus to remind girls of her whenever they see the art. Teacher Caroline thought that something symbolic – doing something that girls would see, do, and remember daily – would be helpful, like planting a tree. Alice F1 wanted to draw a picture of Malala and hang it in the dining hall, and Euphresia F2 suggested lighting a candle and ensuring it stays lit.
The girls also had many ideas as to how Daraja could show Malala support, so that she knows that she is not alone in her mission of educating girls. Yvonne wanted to email Malala a motivating quote so that she knows Daraja girls are thinking of her. Leila F4 suggested creating a video of the Daraja girls and sending it to her. Naomi’s idea was to write letters to show that Daraja girls have overcome their own experiences to show Malala that she’s not alone in facing such challenges. Other ideas including making a CD with songs about girls’ education; creating a movie about WISH class (Women of Integrity, Strength, and Empowerment) with interviews about Daraja girls’ lives before them came to high school; writing a story about Malala’s life; and sending her videos of other girls around the world who have faced similar challenges (for example, Anita the Beekeeper from India – see her story
here).
The girls have also been thinking of ways to show Malala that Daraja cares about girls’ education. That afternoon, and the next day at Form 4’s WISH class, the creative high school seniors were asked what they could create for Malala. Videos? Pictures? Songs? The girls were left to ponder two things: first, that Malala was a promoter of rights for human beings, and not just rights for select people based on gender or age. Second, the question is: if we only hear one person speaking out, does that imply that everyone else agrees with the ignorant and fearful sect of people? Daraja girls don’t think so, and they’re going to prove it to Malala.
Check out the song the Form 4s made for Malala, or watch it here! The lyrics are shown below: 
You are
The light of the world
You are
The champion of girls’ rights
We look up to you and we are on your side
Malala we’ll never let you down
Chorus:
You mean more than the world to us
You’ve shown, you’ve shown the way to go
We are
Together as one
We are
The hope of the world
You’ve made us proud
And we are on your side
Together we stand
Forever we can
Chorus:
You mean more than the world to us
You’ve shown, you’ve shown the way to go
You mean more than the world to us
You’ve shown, you’ve shown the way to go
“The glory in life does not lie in never falling but in rising every time you fall” — Nelson Mandella
“Get well soon Malala!”
Posted by Daraja Team on Friday, October 19th, 2012 , Posted in Blog, News , Comments Off
At 4 p.m. on October 11th, all 104 Daraja students met in the patio for a special forum in honor of International Day of the Girl. One student from each wrote a speech about a specific topic:
Zaituna (F1) : Why are girls important?
“Girls have a big role in their community,” she said. “The girl who is studying to be somebody important in the society is the same girl that will be a mother.” Girls, she said, are expected to one day bear children and run a household, but they also have rights that they might not be aware of. “I have the right to read and learn and achieve my goals and dreams. I dream of being a surgeon. My goal is to go back to my community and change my community.”
Charity (F2): What types of challenges do girls face?
Charity derived her list both from her own experiences back home in the Eastern Province of Kenya and from discussing problems other Daraja girls had seen. Problems that Kenyan girls face, said Charity, include poverty (which would prevent a girl from going to school), traditional practices (like early marriages and female circumcision), and peer pressure to do drugs, which could cause a girl to drop out of school. Charity said that one of the biggest problems is that girls often have a bad attitude toward school, because they believe education is only for boys, and therefore they will not work hard in pursuing an education. Charity, however, attended a mixed-gender school prior to Daraja where the teachers encouraged students to pursue their educations, because education is an equal right of boys and girls.
Mercy (F3): How can girls overcome these challenges?
Mercy focused on four character traits that are vital, she says, to overcoming these challenges:
- Being positive-minded: The world, Mercy said, is at once both positive and negative, but “as girls we have to take a step and live on the positive side of the world.” If girls can stay positive, problems seem smaller and thus will be easier to overcome. It can be hard to stay positive – “It takes energy because not all situations are favorable to us.” But, she explained, deciding to be positive is a commitment that takes energy. “It’s something you decide to do,” she said, and explained that someone might decide they don’t want to be late to class, so they exert effort everyday to take steps to ensure that they won’t be late to class.
- Being hopeful: In addition, girls must be hopeful, in order to have faith in themselves and the goals they can achieve. Achieving goals is a journey, and having hope directs the journey, explained Mercy.
- Having perseverance: Perseverance is also indispensable – “Perseverance shows society that we don’t give up,” said Mercy. “Then we convince them that we are capable of doing things they think we can’t do.”
- Being courageous: Mercy defined courage as the state of being brave and explained that it is crucial to girls. She said that women have progressed–making strides in education and the workplace–and that women couldn’t have become, for example, politicians or leaders without courage, because courage allows girls to “take on tasks that seem hard.”
Nasibo (F4): What does the future look like for girls? Anything is achievable with hope.
Hope is an expectation, according to Nasibo. It’s a belief that something good will happen. She, like Mercy, said that hope can lead to a better future. For example, if a girl can be hopeful about gaining an education, she can pursue her dreams and empower herself. She related this to Daraja’s WISH class (Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope), and explained that empowered and hopeful women have positioned themselves for a bright future. Nasibo said that having hope can be difficult. “Sometimes it’s hard to have hope if there is no one you can share your stress with,” she said. When she was in Class 8 back home, she had no hope of going to high school, and her future, she was sure, ended after Class 8. However, when she was given the opportunity to attend Daraja, she was able to “take an extra step to make my future brighter.”
The Daraja girls gathered based on the regions that they came from– Northeast, Southwest, Southwest, Northwest, or Central Kenya. Drawing from their own experience, each regional group interspersed the four speeches with presentations regarding the three biggest issues girls face in their region and solutions to overcoming those challenges. Their work is outlined below:
| Region |
Challenges |
Solutions |
Northeast Kenya |
- Early marriages
- Female circumcision
- Inadequate girls’ education
|
- Hold campaigns against early marriages
- Report cases of female circumcision to the respective authorities
- Educate people on the effects of girls’ education
- Be a role model
- Expose people to modern life
|
| Region |
Challenges |
Solutions |
Southeast Kenya |
- Early marriages
- Rape cases
- Lack of education
- Lack of finance to fulfill needs
- Prostitution
- Misuse by tourists
- Peer pressure
- Lack of parental love
|
- Form organizations that discourage early marriages
- Introduce sex education in society
- Increase access to free education
- Find jobs and encourage self-employment
- Set rules and regulations which guide tourists and natives
- Encourage parents to have close relationship with their children
|
| Region |
Challenges |
Solutions |
Southwest Kenya |
- Early marriages
- Early pregnancy
- Peer pressure
|
- Education
- Guidance and counseling
- Encourage abstinence and use of protection
|
| Region |
Challenges |
Solutions |
Northwest Kenya |
- Early marriages
- Female circumcision
- Rape
- Pregnancy
- Peer pressure
- Lack of parental support
- Lack of education
- Ignorance of rights
|
- Education
- Educate girls about their rights
- Protest against female circumcision
- Create awareness of rape cases
- Encourage parental support
|
| Region |
Challenges |
Solutions |
Central Kenya |
- Rape
- School drop out
- Early marriage
|
- Girls’ education
- Guidance and counseling
- Financial support
- Mentorship
|
Following the final speech, the girls broke into their families – each family contains one girl from each form – and in addition to discussing what they had learned, they each told their family members what they loved about one another. Daraja cofounder Jenni Doherty closed the forum by encouraging the girls to lie in bed that night and reflect on the reasons their Daraja families love them because, explained Jenni and the girls in unison, “Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure.”
Huge thanks to Daraja Academy interns Lauren and Varney for preparing such a powerful event! To see an album of all the photos, click here.
Posted by Daraja Team on Monday, October 8th, 2012 , Posted in Blog, News , Comments Off
The campus has been decorated with a brand new collage entitled “Being a Girl Means…”. Daraja girls explain what it means, in their words, to be a girl in honor of the upcoming International Day of the Girl on October 11th!
Posted by Daraja Team on Monday, October 1st, 2012 , Posted in Blog, News , Comments Off
The three Cross sisters finally experienced a dream come true. They visited the Daraja campus and met the amazing and talented girls they have grown to love.
Several years ago, Molly Venable heard about Daraja from a fellow teacher of Jason Doherty’s. Molly and her two sisters, Cathie Dalstrom and Jennifer Cross, knew they wanted to take action and combined their contributions to create a giving circle to benefit Daraja. The sisters met Jenni Doherty, were drawn to her magnetic personality, and committed to 6 months of giving.
As supporters, the sisters contribute funds, raise money, stay informed about the needs of the school and advocate for Daraja. They are also sponsors of a Form 4 Daraja student Lilian and remain involved in her progress and success.
As sponsors, the sisters knew that they wanted to make the trip to meet Lilian before she graduated. The sisters were so moved by the meeting that they want to continue to support Lilian through university.
After being in Kenya for more than a week, Jennifer says, “It puts a lot in perspective. Being around people who have so little, but have so much heart, is life changing. It makes you feel like you want to be better.”
Molly adds, “It is humbling. It makes me excited to continue to support Lilian and Daraja.” Cathie says, “The people are so warm. It has helped us to feel connected and I cannot help but to admire all of the girls. Jenni and Jason are wonderful and are a beacon of hope.”
What do the sisters have to share about sponsorship? In short, “Do it! It is so worth it! It will change your life and you will get more out of it than you can imagine. There is a lasting connection and it will never leave us. I get more satisfaction from this than anything else I have ever contributed to.”
A recent quote from Lilian says it all. “I would like to thank the Cross family and everybody who has sponsored Daraja family for they have made it possible for us to be in school. I am humbled to say that, you have changed my life to the better. You have created channels of trust in me making me realize that life holds so much for me and that I am not alone for I have wonderful people who think of me in a positive way, who care for me and who will do everything to see success in me. I find myself happier than before and am thankful for your love, your care, and most importantly for your support. My life will never be the same again, for I am enlightened and have been shown the right path to follow. I am happy for I am a part of Daraja family. ‘You can work miracles by having faith in others. By choosing to think and believe the best about people, you are able to bring out the best in them.’ -Bob Moawad”
Learn more about giving circles or sponsoring a girl.
Posted by Daraja Team on Sunday, September 2nd, 2012 , Posted in Blog, News , Comments Off
Tuition Studies Concludes with River Fun and Form 1 and 2s Return to Campus
After fun at the river, the girls stopped by the Daraja rock.
Tuition Studies Concludes
After two busy weeks of classes and studying, the Form 3 and 4s concluded Tuition Studies with a day of fun in the nearby river. It was a great break from school, especially for the Form 4s who will be focusing the next eight weeks on the upcoming KCSE exam beginning on November 5th. The hot day was calmed by the cool of the river as many girls splashed, played, and swam. Some girls took the chance to improve their swimming skills as their sisters helped them. The day was not complete without dancing and playing basketball and volleyball.
Florence, Form 3, welcomes Yvonne, Form 1, back to campus
Campus is full once again
On Saturday, the Form 1 and 2s returned to Daraja to begin Term 3 after one month of a partly full campus . The girls have been away from campus for one month as well as apart from the Form 3 and 4s so all girls were excited to see each other and share stories from break. Students were ready to return to studying on Sunday as they prepared for the first classes on Monday. We are glad all girls are safely back on campus and everyone is ready for a important term!
