“Throughout primary school, all my classes had been taught in mother tongue because I came from a bush school. I hardly knew any English. Then, I entered high school and the entire curriculum was taught in English!” Teacher Peris, Daraja’s Chemistry teacher, told the story above during last week’s WISH class which focused on how
Name: Colin Grisel Age: 26 Hometown: Icogne, Switzerland Experience: Marketing Agency Duration of Stay: October 2009-August 2010 (10 months) How did you learn about Daraja Academy? Kirsten, my girlfriend, was hired by MS-the Danish NGO on campus. She told me about this great project with this American couple and she said I would love them.
For nearly two years, the girls' appreciation for their education and general nature of the school has created a culture in which bad behavior is quite uncommon. In fact, a mere “warning” has been sufficient in the rare event that a Daraja girl does break the rules. But as Daraja prepares to welcome 26 new
Volunteer Sarah Montgomery held a writing workshop with the students this summer. She explained that they could write about anything and that their writing would be shared with people around the world. Many chose to share their personal stories. The entry below is by a current Form 1 student and has been edited for clarity.
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
On August 4th, a referendum will be held in Kenya to approve or disapprove of the new proposed constitution. The draft was passed in parliament in April but Kenyan citizens will decide whether to formerly adopt this new legislation on Wednesday. “Yes” and “No” campaigns have been going strong for the past few months and
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
“What is this…Daraja?” asked one of the timekeepers at this weekend’s Zonal Championships, an annual Kenyan event in which students from various schools compete to represent their zone (region). “Oh, I hear it’s towards that direction,” slyly replies Wycliffe, Daraja’s Swahili and Geography teacher. Apparently, a lot of people were asking the same thing this
The Daraja students have officially returned to campus after a three-week break and their first lesson already occurred during their transport back to Nanyuki, a town a half hour away from Daraja Academy. The students take a matatu from their respective homes to Nanyuki. A matatu is a mini van used for public transport and
In earlier postings I wrote about the numerous student interviews we conducted earlier in the term and the 26 amazing students we rendered from them. These girls came from many parts of Kenya, they came eager to learn and were excited discover what their new futures held. I have not however, written about the new
Thanks to volunteer Matt Orcutt, we have a video of the Daraja girls singing the school anthem. Written by the inaugural class of 26 girls, they performed it on camera for all the world to see how much the school means to them. And they're great singers too! Enjoy. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3r8tfEd4vE
“Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Growing up in California, I have always valued water and thought I conserved it… thought. On the Laikipia Plateau, the home location of Daraja Academy, water is a life or death issue. There are several rivers and creeks that run through the area which originate high
