Posts Tagged ‘kenya’
“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!
The Water Project, also know as Project Kibuki Maji, has officially been completed! Thanks to our dedicated donors, the project has provided campus with:
- Two new water tanks that hold a combined amount of over 340,000 liters (89,000 gallons) of water
- Brand new piping system for the existing water tanks
- Water pumps
The academy hired George, a local contractor, to complete the job and his workers managed to finish in just a few months. The speed of the progress was astounding! You can follow the project’s evolution and see the finished product in the photo album here.
Huge thank you to all those that donated in support of this project! The stabilization of water provides security that we will have enough water to sustain the expanding student body and that, despite any drought, the academy can continue running. Both essential ingredients to the school’s expansion and longevity.
Big, big thank you to our Daraja family for supporting this growing school!
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.
Name: Lilian David
Grade Level: Form 2
Age: 15
As a child growing up, I always believed that I have a gift of writing but didn’t have an idea of what to write about. Today one of the most interesting things I love doing in my leisure time is writing my life history. I give out what is with within me because it is of help not only to me but to all.
Journal Entries:
“I once was in the midst of darkness when life tried to challenge my heart and mind. Goals seemed to be unachievable and though I was a failure, I embraced everything and empowered myself with trust, then went ahead and put on a spare tire of strong determination, added oil of perseverance, and changed my heart with positive network. Through the struggle I was able to learn that everything was and is achievable if we have passion and energy towards it.”
“True ladies never give up but accept the reality. The best part of experience is the ride itself. They accept disappointments, rejections and even failures and continue with the journey without turning back, because they know the only barrier that can hinder them or make them losers are they themselves.”
“My name is Lilian Wanjini Nduhiu and we are only two in the family. My younger brother and I. Am a lady who was born with great ambition and a gift of love and trust. Part of my life is of giving what I know to others. Ability I have to make my future bright and full of happiness. Choices I have towards tomorrow. Am what I am today to make tomorrow great. I stand with what I know to do what I don’t know. Am a woman of integrity, strength and hope. I accept the realities and never give up. Also setting goals and dreams because everything worthwhile in life starts with a dream. I love helping and giving love to the rejected, giving them bundle of hugs and shoulder to cry on. We are all equal and need great love. The purpose of this life is to be useful. Action springs not from thoughts but from readiness for responsibility.”
“Mr. D & Ms. Jenni
Nothing in the world can take their place.
They empowered their minds and thoughts,
Picked a dream which they were passionate in
And were enthusiastic about.
They did the best they could and built a strong foundation for the future of the girls.
This is love more than love. They inspire everybody around them
Shining day and night to those
Who know them.
Love explodes from a small community (DARAJA)
To every corner of the world!”
Love,
Lilian David
A lot has been made in the last year about the successes of Facebook and Twitter as modes of communication–and not just for meaningless communication, but the type that can empower change. Organizations like Charity: Water have very effectively utilized this powerful form of spreading a message of hope.
We at Daraja Academy would like to step up our own involvement in Social Networking this holiday season by initiating a Facebook Holiday Drive. The concept is simple: my name is Mark Lukach, I am a board member for the school, and I have 500 friends on Facebook. If I am able to convince each of those 500 friends to donate just $5 over the next month, then I will raise $2,500, which is enough to sponsor a student at Daraja for an entire year of school. Our first academic year has finished, and for the remaining weeks of 2009 our administration in Kenya will be eagerly conducting admissions interviews to find 25 new girls to add to the Daraja family. While they are hard at work, I figure that I can be doing my part here in the United States, by updating my Facebook status, tweeting about Daraja, and in general, spreading the Daraja message–to involve more people in our social web.
Just by reading this blog post, you are already taking part. If you have your own Facebook account, go get busy! Below are a list of things you can do to help promote our Facebook Holiday Drive through Facebook:
-Become a Facebook fan of Daraja. Doing so will add updates from Daraja to your facebook news stream–a great way to stay updated on campus happenings, as well as how our Holiday Drive is going. (You will probably be prompted to log-in when you click on the link.)
-Check out and join our Facebook Causes Page. This is Ground Zero for our Holiday Drive. It is here that you can donate to our holiday campaign. You can explore around, see who is donating, invite other friends to join the cause, add a “badge” to your own Facebook profile, and various other fun stuff.
-Update your own Facebook status, regularly, and encourage people to check out this blog post, so that they too can learn about the Holiday Drive and get involved. You are welcome to use this abbreviated link in order to direct traffic to this site:
You can also get involved via Twitter. Daraja is on Twitter, so you can follow us, Retweet us, mention us, and all those goodies. A great thing you can do via Twitter, similar to Facebook, is broadcast our campaign by sharing links and information about the school and the Holiday Drive.
Lastly, if you have your own blog, you are welcome to re-post this entire entry, so you can share it with your audience as well.
Thanks for your support of this Holiday Drive. Keep an eye on Facebook and Twitter for updates on how the Drive is progressing!
Check out the latest edition of the Daraja Academy newsletter!
Click here to download the PDF of the newsletter
An article came out in Wednesday’s Marin Independent Journal in anticipation of Jason and Jenni’s imminent departure to Kenya, which is happening next week. Click here to go to the article, and also the text is pasted below. Consider donating now to send Jason and Jenni off with our full support!
Marin couple ready to open dream school in Africa
Posted: 12/02/2008 04:55:46 PM PST
Jenni and Jason Doherty pack boxes in their San Rafael home. They are moving to Kenya to start a school for girls. (IJ photo/Frankie Frost)
When Jason Doherty asked his wife Jenni to leave her friends, her job and her San Rafael home to open a boarding school for girls in Kenya, she didn’t immediately leap at the opportunity.”I think I said ‘OK,’ but I wasn’t 100 percent sure,” said Jenni Doherty, a research associate at WestEd, a San Francisco consulting firm.
After she traveled to Kenya in 2006, however, “it was a done deal,” said Doherty, 28. “Africa changes something in you. For me, it was going to the slums of Nairobi and seeing the little girls with their torn clothing standing in front of me.”
On Monday, the Dohertys will move to Nanyuki, Kenya, and begin the process of readying Daraja Academy for its first class in February. The project is the fulfillment of a decade’s worth of effort by Jason Doherty, a history teacher in Vallejo who previously taught at San Rafael’s Terra Linda High School.
“This started as a dream,” said Doherty, 34, who visited Africa as a child and later taught for a year at Makambako Secondary School in Tanzania. “But a dream is not worth doing if it doesn’t end up doing good for other people. A lot of people who have started similar projects didn’t do their research. They didn’t find out what Africa needed.”
With Daraja Academy – the name means “bridge” in Swahili – Doherty hopes to provide access to high school for academically talented Kenyan girls who cannot afford to pay tuition.
“Most (Kenyan) families are not willing to pay for women to go to school,” said Bob Bessin, a math teacher at Woodside Priory, a Portola Valley private school, who serves on the Daraja Academy board and visited the school last summer. “And yet girls essentially manage families.
The Dohertys traveled to East Africa in 2006 to scout out sites for their dream, and stumbled upon what seemed to be the perfect opportunity: the Baraka School, an American institution whose owners were looking to sell.
The school, featured in the 2005 documentary “The Boys From Baraka,” had housed an immersion program for troubled 12-year-old boys from Baltimore schools.
“The program was really working. A lot of the boys flourished,” Jason Doherty said. “But once the ‘war on terror’ got going, travel became much harder, and the school’s insurance went through the roof. They had to shut down.”
Although the Dohertys eventually hope to house 200 students at Daraja Academy, the school’s first class will include only 25, drawn from three areas. By bringing together girls from many parts of Kenya, the Dohertys and others believe they can lay a foundation for the nation’s future.
“We wanted these girls to not only be educated, but to understand what it is like to be part of other tribes and other regions,” Bessin said. “They can be a stabilizing force economically and politically in a place that has recently had a lot of tribal conflict.”
Daraja Academy will share space at the former Baraka School with MS Kenya, a Danish volunteer organization that will pay for 40 percent of the school’s initial expenses, the Dohertys said.
As heads of the San Rafael-based Carr Educational Foundation, the couple has reached out to friends, neighbors and foundations for other donations. An ongoing holiday fund drive asks donors to contribute whatever they can, from $11 for a backpack to the $3,579 it costs to educate a single student for one year.
Several local schools have contributed to the campaign. In Kentfield, Kent Middle School student Megan Oeschel raised $2,123 for Daraja Academy through a bake sale and information booth at the Woodlands Market.
“It just seemed like it was the right cause to raise money for,” said Oeschel, an eighth-grade student. “Kids in Kenya don’t get an education like we do here.”
As their school begins to take shape and they adjust to living in Africa, the Dohertys plan to keep in touch with family and friends through e-mail, newsletters and an ongoing web log.
In the mean time, the couple is adjusting its expectations.
“We have running water, which is great,” Jenni Doherty said. “And we have a generator in place, so we’ll have two hours of electricity each night.”
For more information on the Daraja Academy, visit www.daraja-academy.org
Contact Rob Rogers via e-mail at rrogers@marinij.com
