A Phenomenal Woman

The subject of this profile is Victoria Gichuhi, a mother of two biological daughters and many more she owns at heart because of Daraja. She comes from a family of eight children, that includes six girls and two boys. Her family believes deeply in the power of education. Her mother was not as educated and this made her father encourage his daughters to study and learn what their mother didn’t learn.

Principal Victoria studied education and became a Mathematics, Geography & Business teacher and a principal at Daraja Academy. She got inspired to be a teacher so that she could encourage girls to be good in mathematics and show them it is possible to pursue careers in fields typically dominated by men. When Principal Victoria finished her course, she chose to work in community schools. She has received a number of offers to join a government school, but she did not agree.  She loves seeing girls transform through her hands at a school like the Daraja Academy and become successful in life.

Principal Victoria loves traveling, driving and adventure. Her favorite game is handball, loves eating mukimo and reading inspirational books. Her favourite quote is “if you have integrity then it does not matter and if  you  do  not  have  integrity  it  does  not matter”  by Alan K. Simpson.

She has been at Daraja Academy for nine years and Daraja’s growth makes her happy. Daraja means “bridge” in Swahili and it has transformed her from who she was to who she is now. Her best moment at Daraja recently was when a form one girl asked her to be her mentor. She encourages girls out there to keep focus, build their strength and feel good about being women. She maintains that the success of Daraja is determined by who Daraja girls become.

I chose to write about her because I love her character; she inspires me a lot and makes me want to be like her.