Before the Daraja campus was home to eager Kenyan girls, it was a haven for troubled Baltimore boys transferred from their poor-quality schools and rough neighborhoods to the Baraka School in Kenya. The Baraka School was an education program that attempted to transform these at-risk boys into successful students with a future. The program thrived for seven years before it was forced to shut down in 2003 due to the 2002 Mombasa bombings and escalating war on terrorism. Its final year of operation was chronicled in the acclaimed documentary “Boys of Baraka”.
After the program closed, the campus remained largely desolate. The only people on campus were a few remaining staff from the Baraka days that were still employed largely to maintain the campus until a new organization took over. The board of directors of the Baraka School, however, looked actively for four years but could never find the right fit. They determined campus destruction was the only alternative.
But on the exact day when contractors were ready to come to campus to obliterate the school, fate intervened. Baraka school administrator (and current Daraja Academy director of operations) Peter Wathitu recounts the events :
“Baraka shut down its operations in June 2003 and Kenya had been placed as a travel advisory country. There was no way the boys would come back because of the risk involved. So the school stayed shut down from 2003 until September 2007. In 2007, the Baraka board decided to completely close the campus- no guards, no nothing- it was time to wrap it up. I had been asked to come up with a budget for the school’s closure: destructing the campus, anything that could be sold would be sold. I had talked to one of the contractors and we were ready to go. I had written up termination letters for all the employees- and that was the ultimate sign that this is over. The last thing I had to do was pick up the Vice President of the board to finalize everything.
On the day before I had to go pick him up from the Nairobi airport, I checked my email to make sure there were no last minute schedule changes. Then I saw this email from Jason and Jenni Doherty requesting to see the campus. I had heard this story so many times. So many people had come to visit the school and nothing would come of it. The Baraka board wanted to give the campus to an organization that was helping the community. Many visitors would ask to see the campus. Either they weren’t interested or the Baraka board wasn’t interested. I thought this would be one of those visits. The only reason I decided to call them was because Doherty was the last name of one of the Baraka board members and I had assumed they might be related to the board member so I called them back.
The day after I got the email, Jason and Jenni came to the campus, took pictures and loved the place. I told them I’m going to meet one of the Baraka board members that night in Nairobi to see this place off. Jason and Jenni were leaving that next morning so we had a very small window for the two parties to meet.
Fortunately we were able to arrange a breakfast with the Baraka board member, Jason and Jenni explained their dream and their intentions for the campus. With a handshake, they sealed the deal and the fate of Daraja was set at in the lobby of a hotel in Nairobi. They went back to he US, the vice-president of the Baraka School kindly decided to put off the demolition and laying off workers to see if Daraja Academy would work out. The Dohertys took over in September 2007. For a year and a half, the board waited to see if the Dohertys and this school would work out. Fortunately, it has and Daraja Academy opened its doors in January 2009.”
