Summer is always busy at Daraja, thanks in large part to the slew of volunteers who come, from around the world, to experience the school. In June, 14 high school students from Woodside Priory School in California arrived at Daraja Academy, where they spent a week volunteering in many different capacities. Volunteerism is important for different reasons – it’s important for the students of Daraja and for the volunteers themselves.
Dianah, a Form 2 who’s built special relationships with volunteers over the past year and a half, explained why she thinks it’s important for people to come volunteer. “Volunteers come here for different reasons,” she explained. “Some come here because they want to see how Daraja is – they’ve heard about it so they’re excited to be here. Some are fundraising for Daraja, and others come during the summer to have fun. It’s important because these are two people from different cultures so us, the Daraja girls, get to interact with volunteers and we get to exchange ideas and become better people, and vice versa.”
Daraja cofounder Jenni Doherty agrees with Dianah. “When we think about the vision of Daraja, it’s the concept of the bridge,” she explained. “If you’re not ready to learn you’re just kind of stagnant, I think. One way that we provide enhanced education to our students is through a volunteer program. I think it’s valuable because of the different perspectives people come from, and the more perspective the girls hear from the more well-rounded they’ll be. It’s not about, ‘I’m here to teach you,’ but, rather, it’s about, ‘I’m here to share my past experiences with you.'”
Bob Bessin, longtime Daraja supporter, former Board president, and Priory teacher and chaperone, is happy to be here alongside students like Dianah. “It’s a global world that we have here,” he said. “I think that part of what every person needs to understand is the similarities and differences are between people and how we can contribute to everyone’s well being. Volunteering allows people to contribute to others and also to learn from other people as well. At Daraja they can do that. We get a chance to get to know these girls for a week at a greater level. I’ve already seen the level of emotional connection and impact that the Daraja girls have had on our kids. We’ve had some kids who’ve had issues like the Daraja kids have had and they’re able to talk about that – they’re able to talk about some of their common issues, concerns, hopes and dreams, sharing them with people halfway across the world. Teenagers are kind of focused on themselves and this helps to broaden them and see how they can contribute to the world.” The high school students gain just as much as the Daraja girls do – explained Dianah, “My favorite part of having volunteers here is that I become a new person each time I get to learn about someone else – that person is very different from me so I get so excited to learn from that person’s character and behavior.”
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