For many of the girls, a highlight of this past term was when four ladies from Nairobi visited campus to talk about their lives, their careers and their experiences as women in Kenya. It was one of the first times Daraja has had Kenyan women volunteer their time and experience to the girls.

Berewa with Ann W.

It was special for the girls to hear from successful women who come from backgrounds similar to theirs. Berewa, Njeri, Carol and Dorcas told stories about the challenges they faced in their educations – paying for high school, getting scholarships in fields that didn’t necessarily excite them, and using adult education to move ahead in their careers.

A few of the ladies had studied abroad – one entered Switzerland as an au pair to get a visa, then enrolled in school instead. Many of the girls had questions about pursuing university studies in another country.

They talked a lot about how the directions of their lives have changed, sometimes according to plan, other times not. Njeri went from being a secretary to a journalist. After a few years of work for a newspaper, her interests changed to law and she returned to school to become a lawyer. Now she does work for the United Nations in human rights law.

Joyce, a Form 2 student who dreams of becoming a magistrate, was so encouraged listening to these ladies speak. “It was great to know that they had overcome some of the same challenges that I face,” she said.

Irene N. explaining her tree, and the candle that shines in it

As an exercise, the girls drew trees that represent their lives – the base and roots being family, or those people who positively influenced their childhoods; the trunk being education, starting in nursery school and moving up to Daraja; and the branches representing career and family. “Some branches start to grow and then stop, and that’s okay,” Carol said. “Sometimes we have to let our lives change direction.”

They taught the girls that just like a tree, our lives have seasons – a time to plant, a time to grow, a time to flower and a time to bear fruit – and that we should make the most of whatever season we’re in, not move on to the next too soon.

The girls spoke about these visitors non-stop after they left. We would love to seem them return next year and continue bringing inspiration and hope to the Daraja girls.