I would not trade what I am doing at this point in my life, the creation of Daraja Academy, for anything… but, it isn’t always easy. Africa has a very unique way of reminding you that she is in charge, and you… are very small.

EXAMPLES: One of my oldest/closest friends Jabiz, visited campus for the holidays and I haven’t yet had time to blog about those life changing days. Daraja Academy went through a rigorous hiring process and has added two INCREDIBLE teachers: a young, bubbly, “I think outside of the box” language teacher and a science teacher that educational administrators DREAMS are made of. Having served as a Kenyan national park ranger, he can make learning applicable to all and in fact said during his interview, “to me, that tree outside is an entire unit: how its roots pull minerals from the soil for nutrients and its leaves pull energy from our sun… the bark and limbs are home for a myriad creatures and eco-systems.” As head master of the school and manager of it’s curriculum I am getting fired up just pushing these keys… yet, have not had a spare hour to create a fresh blog.

We are nearly done knocking off the dust and patching up the cracks that arrive on a campus that has slumbered as long as ours. But, things break and the nearest part is a 3-hour drive away. Things break and there isn’t room in the budget for the part. Your up-river neighbor who owns the flower farm forgets that he is supposed to release the flow of water at night… for two month

… and on, and on, and on.

Without, patience and a sense of humor this would be an extremely difficult job, and then magic happens.

 

In a single instant, every splinter of your understanding focuses in and you are overwhelmed by the most incredible feeling of awe and joy and gratitude — because you just met a girl who will soon be leaving the slums and attending Daraja Academy.

About ten days ago we began to interview students. With only 25 available openings, it is a very difficult job discerning who best fits the “Daraja mold.” Most importantly the young lady must be from an impoverished family who simply did not have the means to send her onto secondary school themselves. She must be driven and truly have the desire to better herself and further her education. Since we are working on a limited budget, it is important to find a girl who will not be easily distracted and drop out mid way through her schooling; thus wasting the time, effort and resources we invested in her and not somebody else.

I am happy to say that we are finding those girls!

Not every interviewee is a fit, but some are so clearly “the Daraja girl” that it is hard maintaining composure and not running after her as she leaves the interview, giggling, “you’re in! You’re in!!!”

Because not all of the girls have been accepted at this point, I will not use specifics in this blog entry as I describe them. However, I am so excited about this growing group of amazing young ladies that it would be impossible for me not to share just a little.

First, a group of us drove about eight hours southeast into the dry and dusty town of Makindu, which lies only a few hundred kilometers from the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa. The Makindu Children’s Center and its Director Michael Omandi arranged for us to meet and speak with a large group of both girls and boys concerning the importance of education after which, we broke off with eight girls who had just taken their Standard Eight compulsory examinations (if there was a hard test at the end of the 8th grade in the US that tested you on everything you’d ever learned, this would be it.)

All of the girls were amazing and extremely varied. Some of the girls who’d grown up near or in Makindu town spoke English very well and were relaxed in their interviews. Those who grew up further into the bush had a more difficult time responding in English, but what they did not lack as a deep desire to continue their education. It is extremely safe to say that several of those amazing young ladies will be joining us very soon.

After leaving Makindu we traveled for about three hours to Nairobi’s largest slum, Kibera. These young ladies are quite frankly the reason Daraja Academy was created, after learning three years ago how badly they wanted to go to secondary school. These girls are probably the demographic which stands to lose the most if they do not move on to secondary. Unemployment, pregnancy, prostitution, AID’s and worse are simply facts of life for many of Kibera’s teenage girls.

Three of the girls definitely have what it takes to succeed at Daraja Academy, and one of them has what it takes to conquer the world. Our entire panel had goose bumps near the end of the interview because of her infectious personality and hopeful demeanor. Minutes after her interview, because her mother had traveled to the interview with her, we called them both in because I had one last question, “would you please consider becoming a student at Daraja Academy and be a part of our history making first class?” to which her and her mother broke into controlled tears and hugged us all… twice.

This is why this project makes sense. These moments when young ladies are given a chance to better theirs, and their family’s futures is why we risked everything and moved to Africa. This is why high school students and teachers in the US work so hard bringing awareness and funding to this cause. It is also why Daraja will work; because its too good not to.

We interviewed a local girl who received extremely high marks on her exams two years ago, was promised tuition by a member of parliament who then reneged on his promise after she’d attended for a term. His campaign ranked higher than the promise he’d made only months earlier.

Two girls from the Pokot tribe traveled 3 days from a small village near the Ugandan boarder to sit with us and share their scores and dreams. They were both very shy and simply said, “we’ve never sat down and talked with a white person before.” They will when they return next month because the will be part of the first class also.

Tomorrow, we will travel to the dusty, dry town of Isiolo and will be interviewing a handful of hopeful students. Two of those girls will have traveled several days swinging in canvas hammocks over cows and goats in the back of a cattle truck from Marsabit, but unfortunately no other means of transportation can be had through that section of the country.

Our biggest surprise was actually a young girl living right under Daraja’s nose. She is well spoken, confident, with an innate sense of what she wanted to do with her life, but her most remarkable trait was simmering just below the surface. Though she grew up within throwing distance of the campus and her family’s circumstances bled acceptance, this young lady had the courage to literally ask us if she was worthy. “My two older siblings who were both smarter than me couldn’t go on to high school, do you think I am good enough to attend Daraja?”

She is and she will.

As we get closer to our opening ceremony, support has never been more important. Please help us. Spread the word, if you can make a donation. What seems like a little to you can be a lot to our students and their education. What seems like a little could be enough to make history.

Asante