Last Friday evening, every Daraja student gathered to watch, for the first time ever, the newest Daraja film “School of My Dreams” (by Out of The Blue Films, Inc. – check out its trailer here). Before its premier, the girls also watched “Girls of Daraja,” the first movie made about the school years ago by the same company. (You can watch it here.) Everyone but the Form 1s had seen this first film, but it was still fun re-watching it, and helpful as a precursor to the new film.

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Jason Doherty, Daraja co-founder, introduced the films by asking the girls, “Do you want to be exceptional? This is a serious question! Sometimes we are afraid to be extraordinary – it would be easier to just be ordinary, right?” Everyone agreed that they wanted to be extraordinary, and that explained Jason, “is why you are all here.” “Yes,” he told them, “you might come from challenging backgrounds. But this movie will allow you all to see that you’re not alone in that – all of your peers have struggled in their past. And in the future your past will be so helpful. When you go to a job interview after University and it’s you, a girl with high grades who has struggled, versus another student with high grades who came from wealth, who do you think they’re going to choose?”

What did the girls think of the films? Mary N. and Jesica, both Form 3s, enjoyed them both. “The movie made me realize that there are so many people who couldn’t be in school if it were not for the sponsoring and blessing we have from Daraja,” explained Mary. “It’s not the aim of the school only to teach about academics but also to make girls become more responsible and also to become important people in their society.”

Watching the movie was important to Jesica, too. It reminded her that “it happened like a miracle to many girls since they could not be able to get the money to take them to school…This way, they could realize their goals and they could be able to change the world.

[The movie] also showed me that I’m not the only person who had the problem of not being able to go school; there were actually many girls who did not have the opportunity of going to school.” Mary added, “It also inspired us because we had some girls who were talking about their career goals and through that we realized that there is much that we can do for ourselves and for our country.” “It was an educative movie,” added Jesica. “It encouraged other students to be able to give their views and share with others, and also it was another way of maintaining their speaking abilities and good postures – it showed a lot of grace.” Mary agreed, and liked seeing her friends in the film. “It made me feel good to see my friends in it because I used to believe that there is no time that I can see my friends, self, or relatives in a movie. I concluded that if you appear in a movie you are not more superior than others; what it means is that you’ve accepted yourself as who you are. Through that you can build up your confidence.”