Highlights from the 1st Ten Days of 2010
They returned in one mad rush of excitement, hugs and cheer. One year older, a little bit wiser and beating the odds, Daraja Academy’s 1st class of girls returned to the campus as FORM 2’s (sophomores).
Highlights:
* Daraja Academy held it’s first democratic election. Girls ran for the positions of Dining Hall Prefect, Dorm Prefect, Sports Prefect and Head Prefect. I cannot stress just how much work and responsibility falls on the prefect’s shoulders. Often they rise before their classmates, overseeing cleaning, delegating responsibilities to classmates who don’t always want them, and coordinating activities and chores with Daraja teachers and staff. I am proud to announce that for the second year in a row Mary K. will act as Dining Hall Prefect, Catherine will serve as Sports Prefect, Betty won a very close three-way race and will be Dorm Prefect and Marylene will oversee everything in 2010 as the Head Prefect. To me the most exciting aspect of the election process was the fact that our students truly voted for the girl they felt would represent them best, rather than allowing the election to become a popularity contest.
* Daraja has been very lucky to host 3 wonderful volunteers from Denmark. Unlike the Danish students who prepare with MS Kenya for their 3-month placements across the continent at our school, these volunteers all chose to give their time specifically to Daraja Academy. Signe, a life long Girl Scout worked with the Daraja scouts (about 8 girls) on skills, scout philosophy and team building, while also working on the school garden. Anne Marie has been incredibly helpful in many aspects of campus life. She has been assisting in the office creating a database for the Daraja Academy 2010 applicants, helping in the kitchen and working with the girls. And then there was Martin… a member of the Danish military; Martin chose to give Daraja Academy his well-earned vacation. To the girls he has become a football (soccer) God. Martin has worked the girls into a pretty formidable team, often barking at them the way I did with the guys on my American football teams back home. “COME ON GIRLS, RUN!” and “RELINA MOVE YOUR DEFENSE UP!! COME ON!” can often be heard roaring through campus with a Danish lilt in the afternoon. As I type, boxes of gear and uniforms are in transit, generously donated by Martin’s father in Jutland.
* New teacher Mr. Wycliffe had a fantastic opportunity to bring his teaching into the World, when a solar eclipse occurred during his Geography class. It was tangible teaching as its best as the girls felt the temperature drop and continue dropping, as it got darker and darker. Mr. Wycliffe, along with Mr. Mwambura and Ms. Caroline, Daraja Academy’s new teachers, have been accepted and embraced by the students and staff.
* University of San Diego professors Nancy and Peggy visited campus and made an unforgettable impact. It amazes me when visitors seamlessly become part of our little community, genuinely interacting with the students and staff. Nancy is the super hero who took on Daraja’s water worries as her own. This was essentially a fact-finding mission her providing her with the info she needs to approach groups in the USA requesting their assistance. She also spent a lot of time talking with our teachers and often 1 on 1 with students. Several times actually, I saw both Nancy and Peggy slowly walking or sitting in a quiet corner of campus with a Daraja girl, talking and more importantly… listening. Both women actually helped with our first set of interviews for the upcoming year, about 10 girls from our closets villages. Peggy was a whirlwind during her stay at Daraja. At one point utilizing her background in counseling she spent several hours with the students discussing issues, reading poetry and just talking about matters they generally don’t get the chance to. She was up at 6am to watch the sunrise over Mt. Kenya and continued buzzing around campus until long after it set in the west. We look forward to their return.
So it is 2010, the girls are back and the World is right. Signe, Nancy and Peggy drove off campus, heading home this morning, after many hugs and very few dry eyes.
Every Monday and Friday Daraja Academy students and staff assemble around the flagpole. The scouts raise the flag, we sing the Kenyan national anthem and the teachers or I speak to the students. Kenya is a very religious country and the students have set up a sort of “prayer rotation.” One day the Baptist girls will prepare a song, another time the Muslim students will read a passage from the Koran and explain what it means to them personally and so on.
Today Mary P. read an excerpt from the book of Ecclesiastes, if she had tried, I don’t think she could have picked a more poignant passage to be read on a day when three of our new friends were leaving. Standing under the Kenyan flag she read:
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance”
And I thought, how lucky are we that this is working. How lucky am I, and for me it was both a time to laugh and a time to weep.
Thank you so much for taking the time to catch up with news from Daraja Academy.
JASON DOHERTY
Tags: Anne Marie, Martin, Nancy, Peggy, Signe, USD
Filed under From the Founder, News :
Comments (1) :
Jan 25th, 2010
January 26th, 2010 at 1:33 PM
Congratulations to the new prefects, and to the entire Form 2 class! Welcome back! And kudos to the many volunteers who have dedicated so much to Daraja. May you continue to inspire others to share their talents.
Jason, luck only plays a small part of this undertaking…Daraja is a result of so many positive and real factors, not the least of which is your unwavering dedication, awareness, intelligence and abundant love!