Posted on April 3, 2012 by Paria Posted in Blog, News
The girls' final practice before the competition
Last weekend in Nanyuki, over 30 schools met to face off in Netball and Athletics (Track & Field). The Daraja Academy dominated across the board, handily winning all 4 Netball games and advancing to next week’s regional tournament in several Athletic categories.
“At first, I felt very nervous,” Christine Jamaica, Form 4, said. “I thought, we might get defeated. But I decided before every game and before every event to just go for it. As soon as the games started, the nervousness went away. We worked as a team and we won. I was so happy.”
A true reflection of Daraja, representing 4 tribes, 2 religions, rural and city backgrounds, Gitwa, Nasibo, Lisayo and Catharine worked together to fly by the competition and win the 4 x 100 meter sprint. Jamaica stunned the competition by leading the Netball team to victory, as well as advancing in discus, shot put, and javeline for next week’s events.
Jamaica won’t be alone in her quest to advance regionally. Daraja athletes also advancing to the next round are:
Florence Mueni: 5000 Meter
Lisayo Kanje: 400 Meter Hurdle
Catherine Epur: Long Jump
Mary Poririas: Javeline
Joyce Masiya: 3000 Meter
…and the entire Netball team!
“The girls did a very good job,” Coach Wycliffe said about the competitions. These girls are able to be amazing academically, and then get on to the field and be just as great. Next week [at the Regional finals], the Daraja Academy will represent not only our school, but the entire district. This region of Kenya will be watching Daraja, and I believe we will live up to expectations.”
When final scores for the schools were tallied, Daraja took home first place overall, blowing out the closest competition by over 30 points. Even more impressive- the two runners up behind Daraja were co-ed schools. The girls of Daraja were not only the best girls’ school, but better than schools with girls and boys’ points combined.
Photos from the competition will be posted on our Facebook page here!
Stay tuned for updates on how the girls of Daraja place in next week’s events.
Posted on March 30, 2012 by Paria Posted in Blog, News
This month, Drake High’s Daraja Club raised nearly $3000 to benefit the Daraja girls.
The Dollars for Daraja: A Night of Music was held at George’s in San Rafael and featured performances by students from Marin Academy. Drake student Melanie Voorsanger coordinated the musical acts.
The Drake Daraja Club is a student group at Sir Francis Drake High School that was founded to bring attention to the need to educate girls worldwide. The club is run by co-presidents, Maddie Barto and Mackenzie Mock. The club’s efforts have allowed them to sponsor 10th grader Fatuma [below].
Despite having just wrapped up a successful fundraiser, the club isn’t slowing down. They have gotten more than 10 mother/daughter teams registered for the Race for Daraja happening May 20th during Bay to Breakers in San Francisco.
“This is the kind of excitement from students that got Daraja off the ground five years ago,” reflects co-founder Jenni Doherty. “Their passion is infectious and it encourages the people around them to listen and participate.”
Other active Daraja clubs include American Canyon High School, Marin Academy, and Woodside Priory in Portola Valley.
You can see a video of the event here. Congrats to the inspiring club! If you are interested in starting your own Daraja club, email paria@daraja-academy.org!
The Drake Club gives development director Julie Whyte a check that will go towards Fatuma's scholarship fund.
Source: San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch
Posted on March 26, 2012 by Paria Posted in Blog, News
Monday Assembly introduces new component and new flag
The media club has taken on an important, new role at Flag, whereby a representative is chosen to announce the country’s current events. This allows the campus to stay apprised of relevant, pressing news in and around the community. Sunday evenings, a representative from the club sifts through newspapers, magazines and headlines from the internet in search of a diverse, informing pool of information to share with the school.
The rest of Daraja’s weekly Assembly follows traditional format, filled with words of advice, quotes to live by, songs, dance, and advice from teachers.
Posted on March 23, 2012 by Paria Posted in Blog, News
Preparing for Greatness
Last week, Daraja’s science club teamed up with St. Augustine, a mixed scho
ol for boys and girls, to attend a Science Congress. Faith, Form 4, describes the day:
“We left early. At 7:30am, we got in a bus and went into town to get the other students. It was very fun! They had many questions for us about what Daraja was like and why our school is so different. For example, Daraja girls have study hall and sometimes sports before we even have breakfast. Other schools are not like that they said.
The Science Congress was wonderful. We went to observe this year so we know how to participate next year. The theme is to line up with Kenya’s 2030 Vision, that we prepare our youth to have better infrastructure and living standards.”
When it was pointed out that Faith was a Form 4 and would not be able to participate next year, Faith smiled. “It was important that I go so I can teach the younger girls what is important, and how to be great. I learned many things that day, and I will pass the information along so Daraja will not only be good next year, but we will be the best.”
Stiff Competition
A semi-annual futbol game took place this week: MS (Danish group of volunteers) versus the girls of Daraja, and it was one tough game! Zekki, Form 3, noted, “They played tough. It was the toughest game we have ever played against MS! But I think it was good, because it made our girls strong.” The final score was 1-1. Whether or not a rematch is in the near future remains to be seen.
Taking Care of Home
As part of a school beautification project, 
the girls and a couple volunteers repainted the garage. “We take pride in where we live,” Carol (Form 4) said, “so we want everything, even where the cars are parked, to be beautiful.”
Posted on March 22, 2012 by Paria Posted in Blog, News
The girls of Daraja love visitors, and had the pleasure of welcoming special guests to campus last week.
From Nairobi to Copenhagen
“Do you always travel alone?” Lillian asked Ben Leeds, a guest presenter who came to campus last week. Ben put on a two-night slide show presentation chronicling his 2011 bike tour from Nairobi to Copenhagen. “It’s hard, sometimes, to find people along the road who want to travel with you,” he said. Ben had the girls’ full attention as he told unique and inspiring anecdotes of his journey while stunning photos of Kenya, Ethiopia, Europe and Denmark flashed across the wall.
Hello, Goodbye
Hugs, smiles and tears accompanied Monday Flag last week, as a group of volunteers from the University of San Diego said their goodbyes to the girls of Daraja. Now an annual tradition, a group of graduate students from USD travel to Daraja volunteer their time, energy and enthusiasm to campus for 10 days. And they didn’t come empty handed! This year, the girls of Daraja were excited to sift through sports bras and socks, participate in activities and games, and show the USD volunteers what a day in the life of a Daraja girl was like.
Thank you to Ben Leeds and USD for sharing special moments with the girls of Daraja!
