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 all their school leaders to send them to a local leadership conference, held in Nyahururu, a town a few hours away from campus. Esther thinks they were selected because teachers “saw that we have good leadership qualities and potential. If

[Jemima and I] are taught leadership skills, we’ll be able to apply them.”

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On Thursday, Esther and Jemima boarded a bus and headed off to Ndururumo Secondary School in Nyahururu, where they gathered with 140 other student leaders from around Laikipia District for this four-day conference. They spent the weekend learning a wide array of important skills. They heard honorable speakers, including an inspirational university student, the principal of the secondary school, and a Kenyan author, who is also a motivational speaker. These speakers taught students about the effects of peer pressure – both positive and negative – and explained to them qualities that good leaders have. These qualities, explained Esther, include honesty, the ability to take on challenges, courage, and being solution-oriented. She explained that if a student at Daraja has a problem, as a good leader, it is her job to brainstorm solutions.  Then she should approach the administration with ideas for remedies to the situation.

Jemima

Jemima

At night, students gathered to discuss what they’d learned that day and brainstormed with one another. Esther and Jemima were excited to talk to other secondary school leaders about how their leadership system works. They liked the idea of a student council, because the student council representatives they met play a strong role in their school’s finance and budgeting.

Next up is the national Bomas conference, which is a Kenya cultural theater. Two students will be selected from every county across the country and will attend this important national conference in Nairobi, where they’ll have the opportunity to present issues from their county to national leaders, including the Minister of Education. Esther or Jemima might be one of the students selected to represent Laikipia District, so stay tuned!