Archive for the ‘Students’ Category

Let’s get it started…Daraja Clubs 2010!

It’s that time of the year, family! As schools begin to re-open in the US and abroad, we would love your help in launching Daraja Clubs 2010…

Through Daraja’s short time operating, we’ve learned that passionate students abroad are the best advocates for the passionate students at Daraja. Student advocates around the world helped fund many of our start-up costs. Without them, Daraja simply wouldn’t be here today.

If you are an interested student, teacher, parent or active community member, let’s get your school connected to the Daraja cause. And if you have a friend that is a teacher, student, parent or active community member, then please pass on this message and let’s get them involved! The more people we have spreading the word about the school, the stronger this organization gets. And the stronger Daraja gets, the more girls we can educate.

Our hope is to get youth ranging from elementary school to college levels involved. Students from all ages and all walks of life can make a tremendous impact on Daraja through their work.  Not only does it educate kids about another way of living in the world, it shows students at a young age that they have the power to truly make a difference.

If you’ve got that fire in you to do something, then get started! Ways to help…

Start a Daraja Club: Daraja clubs have shined as students from around the world have learned about the struggle for girls education and worked actively to fundraise for this academy. Clubs have raised money by throwing a benefit, selling products or partnering with local businesses. This year, get a Daraja club started at a school (or schools)!

“Dimes for Daraja”: Spare change can make a huge difference and this is a fantastic way for our younger advocates to get involved. After learning about the Daraja girls, kids can begin a coin drive where they get their parents, neighbors and friends involved.

Throw an event: Get together with peers to organize an event to raise awareness or to fundraise for a certain Daraja need. Past events include presenting personal Daraja volunteer experiences or fundraising for a certain need (student’s school fees for a year, water tanks, laptops, teacher’s salary…)

The possibilities are truly endless and we encourage students to think of creative ways to help. If you’ve thought of an exciting way to help, GO FOR IT! And let us know so that we can post it on the blog and encourage others to follow your lead. If you would like more information including a “How to Start a Daraja Club” brochure, fundraising material, or to submit questions/ideas, please e-mail paria@daraja-academy.org.

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Filed under Donations, News, Students, daraja : Comments (0) : Aug 31st, 2010

“The Earth & Me” Seminar: Huge Success!

“The Earth & Me”

Over their break, the Daraja students were invited for an optional two-day seminar called “The Earth & Me” held on August 21st-23rd. The goal of the seminar was to help facilitate conversation and thought concerning the very important and at times tenuous relationship that people share with the land around them.

We held our breath, as this was the first optional seminar Daraja Academy has hosted over break. We weren’t sure if anyone would show up!

The result: half the school arrived and the enthusiasm and dedication of the girls was awe-inspiring. Their questions and answers showed that they were absorbing the lessons and that they were thinking about what they were learning.

The “Earth & Me” schedule included learning the importance of compost, debating new environmental policies proposed in the freshly approved constitution, listening to presentations by researchers from the nearby Mpala Research Center, planting over twenty trees in the nearby community, just to name a few.

The girls arrived as students but they left as conservationists. The relationship between people and the environment became clearer, as did the personal and communal responsibilities humans have to protect the environment. It was a very, very powerful weekend.

To see a full timeline of events with pictures and stories, check out our “Earth & Me” photo gallery…

To get a glimpse of the dialogue that occurred throughout the weekend, read below…

The New Constitution and the Environment: 10% Tree Cover

The purpose of this portion of the program was to investigate the relationship in the new Kenyan constitution between the country, people and environment. Article 69.1 (b) of the new constitution asserts that as a country Kenya will work toward at least 10% tree cover in five years.

Article 69.1 (b)

“…work to achieve and maintain a tree cover of at least ten per cent of the land area in Kenya…”

Students were asked whether this was feasible, and if so, what each student would do “as a parliament leader, community leader and individual” to ensure the success of this ambitious proposal. Below are some of the answers that the girls presented. In true Daraja girl fashion, the students had lots of opinions and ideas…

As a Parliament leader…

-       Introduce alternate sources of energy like BioGas

-       Plant trees in government-owned, public places.

-       National Carbon Footprint: Government should monitor the trees cut due to agriculture and industries in Kenya, they should         then buy land and pay people to plant trees on that land to make up for the trees cut.

-       Design regulations and penalties on cutting down trees such as:

  • If you cut one tree, you must plant at least two trees and take care of those trees.
  • If you own land, you must have trees planted on 10% of the land.
  • If someone continually cuts trees, then their penalty will be to plant and take care of many trees. That way, the person that once cut trees will eventually build a relationship with the environment through planting and eventually understand the importance of trees.

-       Government should reclaim land and start planting:

  • The students cited the Mau Forest: The Mau Forest is 675,000 acres and it the largest water catchment in the area. Numerous rivers receive their water from this area. Seeing the destruction and potential water crisis that would arise if the forest continued to be depleted, the Kenyan government launched a multimillion dollar plan to focus on the rehabilitation of the forest.
  • Reclaiming the land and rehabilitating the forest also meant that many Kenyans would be evicted from their homes. While the students encourage further reclaiming of land for environmental purposes, they explained that the government should provide a loan for those being evicted so the residents could buy new land.

-       Provide seedlings to the people

-       Inform & educate communities, explain the importance of trees

As a community leader…

-       Educate people of the community

-       Talk to the chief to call a meeting and hold seminars

-       Talk about the future of the children and how tree planting will benefit them.

-       Create a tree nursery with community land and then sell those trees to other communities

-       Plant trees that create food for the community

-       Create local laws and community accountability

As an individual…

-       Plant a tree once per month or at least once per year

-       Plant a tree on special occasions (ie birthday)

-       Lead an educational seminar

-       Plant trees in public areas

Overall, it was a powerful weekend seminar and it was magical to see the girls truly embrace the curriculum, voice their thoughtful ideas and learn practices that would be beneficial to their own communities. Check out the “Earth & Me” gallery for a full recap of the various activities!

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Filed under Events, News, Students, Uncategorized, daraja : Comments (1) : Aug 24th, 2010

Reflections of Daraja Advocate Nancy Hanssen

Volunteer Nancy Hanssen has been to the campus twice. She is already scheduling a date for her third visit. She has been a huge proponent of this project and has worked tirelessly, in collaboration with University of San Diego, to help the academy grow.

The piece written below by Nancy documents her emotions during her very first visit last year. It was the visit that, lucky for us, solidified her bond with Daraja.

Voices of Daraja

My First Visit

By Nancy Adelle Hanssen

A flicker of lights dotted the darkness as the plane began its descent.  Nodding in and out of weariness after thirty hours of travel, a sense of serene slithered into my consciousness.  I pressed my forehead against the small, cool window and squinted trying to capture a glimpse of the countryside.  Too dark at three o’clock in the morning but in my mind I saw the rolling hills of the valleys and the umbrella tops of the acacia trees.  In my heart I heard the voices of the young women of the Daraja Academy whispering their dreams.

I am Monicah

I am from Nanyuki

I am from a land of peace and harmony

I am from dreams of adventure and listening to happily ending stories

I am she who likes music

I am from Daraja

I am Monicah

Landing jolted me back to now.  Would the Kanatco cab office still be open at this hour?  Surely, someone from the Macushla House in Karen where I was staying would notify the drivers.  The plane rolled to a stop.  Gathering my belongings, I felt myself filling with trepidation and anticipation.

As I nervously climbed into the back seat of the cab, the driver chatted with others in Swahili.  Soon the car rolled out past the Nairobi airport and I sat enveloped in darkness and quiet.  A small crack of hello in English opened a conversation about the beauty of Kenya and why I had come.

I am Benedictor

I am from Nairobi

I am from a peaceful, glad and loving family

I am from wanting to fulfill my dreams

I am from Daraja

I am Benny

The car sped but slowed over bumps in the road.  With smiles and laughter, the driver and I shared our fondness for early morning drives with no traffic.    I watched as the slums of the city made way to looming lawns and towering walls.  I thought about the power of humor to make a friend.  A wrong turn and a stop to ask a young herder walking his cow along the road, we made a u-turn. Guards in green uniforms emerged in front of the beam from headlights and pushed open the gates.  Welcomed with a smile from Helen, a cup of tea and clean bed, I fell quickly to sleep hearing words that would soon be written.

I am Everlyne

I am from a place that never stumbles

I am from the land above

I am from a village of ten clans

I am from a quiet, kind and peaceful community

I am from a dream and a wish to be

I am from Daraja

I am Everlyne

I awoke to the sound of monkeys dancing on the rooftops and the aroma of strong pressed coffee.  I also awoke with a sense of purpose.  My trip to Kenya was a gift to myself.  I dreamed of Africa at an early age and shared self-said safari stories with my father.  Now I am here. I never met and never heard Jenni and Jason Doherty speak about Daraja during their visit to the University of San Diego.  But I did hear the voices of the girls.

I am Carolyne

I am from a beautiful country Kenya

Where you can hear birds singing their sweet, melodious song

I am from poetry

I am from dreams of adventures without ending

I am from Daraja

I am Carolyne

Meeting Jenni made my heart sing.  Eternally positive, exhaustingly driven.  In her presence I felt like a tree clinging to the side of Mount Kilimanjaro.  The drive through Nairobi was nail-biting and exciting. Dear Andy, a wonderful young man you meet and immediately love, read the maps and guided the SUV dubbed Black Beautiful like a satellite.  He selected the music as we dodged and bobbed over the streets and around the matatus.  Outside of the city, the road to Nanyuki stretched long, and dusty, made comfortable by the immediate warmth and curious conversation inside.  I watched in wonder the colorful Maasai stroll along the road with their herds and watch back with wonder at me.  I closed my eyes and wished my father was here for me to tell him but I know that he could hear these same words.

I am Marylene

I am from a forest of flowers in Nyeri

I am from where rain is our daily bread

I am from hard work and a will to succeed in life

I am from love and laughter

I am from a heart that hopes for the best

I am from the beautiful world that I have made

I am from grace and I am unique

I am from Daraja

I am Marylene

A large painted white rock marks the turn in the road to Daraja.  As Black Beauty made her way to the school and the sky turned orange, I heard the faint sound of soft singing waft through the air. The gate swung open wide as did my heart that afternoon to welcome twenty six amazing young women whose voices will remain.

I am Florence

I am from Makueni

I am first born

I am from a wonderful and hard working family

I am from honesty, faith and hope

I am from fulfilling my goals

I am from music and dance

I am from loving you

Will you love me?

I am from Daraja

I am Florence

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Filed under Students, daraja : Comments (0) : Aug 10th, 2010

“Girls of Daraja” wins the Jury Prize at the Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival!

Out of The Blue Films, Inc. debuted the “Girls of Daraja” short documentary at the Lights. Camera. Help. Nonprofit Film Festival on July 29th in Austin, TX. The result?  The film was awarded the Jury Prize and, along with raising awareness, the award grants proceeds from the event to Daraja Academy.

The event is an annual film festival focused on nonprofit and cause-driven films. The short documentary was filmed in February when director/producer Barbara Rick, cinematographer Jim Anderson, and executive producer Deborah Santana came to visit the campus.

The short version of the film has been posted on the blog before, but this extended 14 minute film includes additional animation, music and footage. You can watch the award-winning film here!

We can’t thank Out of The Blue Films, Inc. enough for making all this possible.

Filed under Events, News, Students, daraja : Comments (0) : Aug 5th, 2010

Little Girl, Big Voice

As many of you know, this past February Daraja had a highly successful talent show. When the Form 1’s arrived, they heard all about it and were eager to show off their own talents. They persuaded the administration to throw another one and last weekend volunteers Matt Orcutt and Sarah Montgomery helped put together the show. The result? Poems, dances, singing and skits- these girls proved they could do it all!

Rosalia, Form 1, shared a poem with the audience entitled “Why Education is Important to a Kenyan Girl”. For a small girl, she had big opinions. Her confidence and conviction shined through as she spoke. To check out the video of her performance, click here.

It is definitely worth watching the video to see her perform but if you can’t, we have a transcript of the video available below:


“Why Education is Important to a Kenyan Girl”

by Rosalia, Form 1

Why is education important to a Kenyan girl?

Because we have to educate the Kenyan girls.

If it were not the Kenyan girls,

we would not be here.

We should thank all the administration

for taking care of us.

Other girls who are at home are not educated.

If it were not Mother Karua…

If Mother Karua was not there..

Wangari Maathai…

Could we have politician women?

Could we have educated women?

We should educate a Kenyan girl

so that we could have educated politicians, educated doctors, educated educators

and make our Kenya beautiful, a wonderful country and a developed country.

We should educate a Kenyan girl.

Why?

If a Kenyan girl is educated,

she is always beautiful, talented,

and ready to serve the Kenya and ready to serve her country Kenya.

We should educate a Kenyan girl.

We should thank Mr. Jason and Jenni who has volunteered to take their money

and teach us, take us, sponsor us

…four year sponsorship…

so that we could be educated

so that we could make good politicians, good lawyers, good doctors

and fulfill our dreams.

We should educate a Kenyan girl

so that we could make our Kenya better.

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Filed under Students, daraja : Comments (0) : Jul 22nd, 2010

“Rape Threat Stalks Kenya’s Slums”

Daraja family member Jabiz Raisdana posted a very hard to read, but important article from Aljazeera.net entitled “Rape threat stalks Kenya’s slums” on our Daraja facebook page. This article hits close to home because at Daraja we have numerous girls from the slums-including a handful of girls from Kibera, the area mentioned in the article.

With all the students’ smiling faces and positive attitudes, sometimes it is easy to forget the depths of poverty and lack of basic infrastructure in the places that our students come from. The news piece was a great reminder of why Daraja Academy was established in the first place…

The article talks about how the communal toilets in slums such as Kibera are a target for sexual violence toward women. In some cases, the perpetrator is a family relative. In that case, the article points out, young women find themselves in a tough predicament.  ”Do I go and report on my father who is the breadwinner, then what happens to the rest of the family?” In other cases, the perpetrator is the police themselves. The article further concludes that it is hard for many of these sexual violence victims to have their voices heard.

Recently, we interviewed Mercy, Form 2, who is among the Daraja students from Kibera. When asked what surprised her the most about Daraja, she said “Being given everything you need. I just knew I would be sponsored for 4 years but I never knew I’d be given everything to use like soaps, like towels…also the food.”

If you stripped the access to secondary education, healthcare, counseling…Daraja Academy would still be a life-changing escape for  many of the students. Basic goods such as safe, sanitary toilets are a luxury and talking with students like Mercy is a reminder of just that.

The point of this blog post is to thank you. Thank you to all of our Daraja family. Although most of you have the basics in life, you are choosing to support people halfway around the world from you who don’t. Because of that, they are living a better life every single day.

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Filed under Students, daraja : Comments (0) : Jul 13th, 2010

Join Our Daraja Academy Facebook Fan Page

Yes, we are on Facebook! Join our Daraja Academy Fan page, read the latest news, comments, feedback and keep in touch!

Filed under Donations, Events, News, Students, daraja : Comments (0) : Jun 30th, 2010

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