A vision Jenni and Jason Doherty had for the Daraja Academy was to create a “little Kenya” on campus, a population of students representing the country’s many unique cultures. When Kenya’s boundaries were drawn, over 40 different tribes inhabited its land – tribes with different cultural practices, religions and languages – which, at times, has led to tribal conflict. The most recent extreme case of tribal conflict was the election violence in 2007, which left 1,200 dead and displaced over 500,000 people.
Turkana, Kikuyu, Maasai and Somali - just four of the tribes represented at Daraja
To address this, the Daraja administrators and board strive to recruit girls who represent different tribes, races and religions, from all over the country. Between these girls, natural friendships and connections form – they discover different cultures and learn how to embrace and celebrate their diversity.
After three years, there are 24 tribes and four religions represented at Daraja. The girls have learned to incorporate this diversity into life on campus. Most recently, the Grassroots and Drama clubs mastered traditional dances and songs from several Kenyan tribes, combined them, and created a tremendous performance for campus volunteers and visitors. They sold tickets to their show and all proceeds went towards a local women’s group. It was incredible to see the girls work together on a project that demonstrated the beauty of their “little Kenya”.
Below is a poem created by Mesret, Ann W. and Molly, who will be starting their second year of high school next month. They wrote about Daraja, where girls come together from different backgrounds but with the common dream of achieving their goals through education.
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