BIG, BIG, NEWS From the Founders of Daraja After four years of hard work, the pioneer class of Daraja Academy students sat down and took the 2012 K.C.S.E. (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations, and the results are in!!! What is the K.C.S.E.? Though high schools in Kenya do receive report cards at the
There's only one former Form 4 who isn't attending the Transition Program - Betty, who took the KCSE in November and scored highest of any girl in Daraja's district (Laikipia East). As a result, she was offered a job by local Equity Bank, and not only is she paid for her work, the bank is
Daraja maintenance teams spent the last month building Daraja's first-ever school store, and it officially opened last week! Transition Program students are running and operating the school store entirely on their own, and they are loving the experience so far. The aim of the Transition Program is to teach Daraja grads life skills before they
Daraja Academy sits in the middle of the African savannah, and while this might sound a bit intimidating to some, its location "in the bush" is actually a great resource. The campus is beautiful, and in addition to the incredible wildlife, it's also nice that Daraja is located so close to one of its long-term
Prefects play an important role in leadership at Daraja, as does Daraja's head girl. (Learn more here.) Daraja's head girl this year is Esther, Form 3, and one of the 11 prefects is Jemima, Form 4, who is the leader of the shamba (garden). Earlier this month, Daraja teachers selected these two girls out of
Recently, Daraja girls had the opportunity to sign up for a social entrepreneurship class held for two months each Sunday. A total of 19 girls enrolled in the class, called the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” seminar. The class is being taught by a new volunteer, Trevor, who recently spent several months in Uganda creating a coffee cooperative.
There's a lot to be excited about on the Daraja campus. The new Transition Program started this week, and all graduates returned (except Betty, who was awarded a scholarship and began a job!). Based on her incredible performance and win at the last competition, Lisayo has been practicing running in preparation for the national competition
On Monday, April 1, 2013, Daraja officially started its first-ever Transition Program. Former Form 4s - who completed their secondary school education at the end of November - began filtering back to Daraja over the weekend, after a four-month break from school. Most students around Kenya who completed their end-of-high-school exams in the fall will
Last Saturday, March 23, 18 Daraja girls spent the day in the nearby town of Nanyuki, where they participated in the local Science Congress. The day before, these nine teams (of two girls each) practiced, by presenting the presentations they’d spent the last few months working on to all Daraja students and staff. The goal
On Friday, March 22, Daraja welcomed its newest and fifth freshman class (called Form 1s in Kenya). This is possibly Daraja's most diverse class yet. Here are some facts about these 26 new students: They range in age from 13 to 19 Some come from regions not yet represented by any of Daraja's students, including
In its history, Daraja has been blessed with volunteers from around the globe. Some come for a week, some decide to stay for months, and everyone leaves having had a special and unique experience. Volunteers are usually on campus until late Fall, when students leave during the school's quiet season. (Forms 1-3 leave for break
In exactly one week Daraja will welcome its newest freshman class. In honor of this, we are profiling Form 3's Lilian N, who, in the 8th grade, received one of the highest KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) scores of any Daraja student ever. (Her score was 395; to give some perspective, the highest score
