There’s a little thing we call “Daraja Fever,” that visitors and volunteers often catch and spread during and after visiting campus. Symptoms include sore cheeks from smiling, a full heart of love, and a plaguing desire to return once you’ve left. Experiencing campus and meeting the Daraja girls isn’t something that everyone is able to do, so we’d like to illustrate it for you, as best we can with the limitations of words.
“Daraja is more than just a school; it is a great idea that’s been given flesh.” -Laikipia County Minister of Education
The idea: Provide a place—not just a physical space, but an atmosphere—where bright, eager, left-out-of-the-equation Kenyan girls can realize their potential and play an active role in crafting their future.
The flesh: Every weekday morning on Daraja’s campus, more than one hundred girls button their shirts, tie their ties, buckle their shoes, and walk to study hall. If not at Daraja, many of them would be on their way back from the 6 kilometer walk to collect the day’s water or comforting a crying sibling in the absence of one, or maybe both parents. But, these girls are more than their stories.
They’re teenagers.
It’s Saturday afternoon and girls are already gathering stools and arranging seats in front of Daraja’s small television for the Saturday evening movie. The girls finish dinner and anxiously await 7:30 PM, when computer and tech prefect, Lilian, returns with a Harry Potter film- everyone squeals with excitement. Girls shuffle in their seats and get comfortable as Regina ensures that the cords are all plugged in and working. During action-packed scenes, girls cheer on their favorite characters and predict what’s coming next. Movie-watching at Daraja isn’t a passive activity, it’s an event.
They’re role models.
To sit with second-year Agnes during a meal is like sitting with the wisest person you’ve ever met. You’ll grab your rice and beans and she’ll motion for you to come join her, moving over to make room for you. She’ll instruct you, “tell me about yourself.” As you speak, she nods along and her eyes never leave yours, she’s really listening to all you’ve got to say.
“What do you aspire to be,” she will ask, “I need role models, so that I can learn to be one myself.” She will tell you about her dreams to become not only a doctor- but a flying emergency doctor- and to transform health in her home community of Kiambu. Agnes will insist on washing your plate when you finish your meal, and won’t let you leave without a hug. She’s passionate about carrying herself with confidence and dignity, and those qualities nearly radiate off her five-foot-one body as she walks across Daraja’s campus.
They’re game-changers.
When Cate was in primary school, she collected as much paper as she could on her way home from class to burn for light when studying after dark. She admired her teachers for their kindness and knowledge, and knew that she wouldn’t give up on her education. She interviewed for admission to Daraja since she knew that her family wouldn’t be able to pay school fees and she got in; Cate was the first girl in her primary school to attend secondary school in many years. After four years, Cate is now a teacher at Junior Scholars Elementary, a private school just outside of Nanyuki. Since she began teaching there, her students’ scores have improved on every single exam they’ve taken.
Faith grew up just outside of Daraja’s gates, in the nearest settlement called Naibor. She grew up battling the stereotypes of unimportance because of the intense poverty in her community. In August, during Daraja’s first graduation ceremony, Faith gave her salutatorian speech and claimed pride and ownership over her hometown, in addition to confidence within herself and trust in her growth. “We’ve grown wings,” she declared about herself and the rest of her graduating class, “and we will fly even higher than you expect.” Faith could barely look Daraja administrators in the eye out of shyness during her admission interview, and she is now studying hard at Kenyatta University, one of the top schools in the country.
The Minister of Education is right; Daraja is more than just a school. Daraja is a spirit, which enters the hearts of everyone involved. That’s why we call ourselves a family; we are bound by something greater than ourselves; we are bound by the excellence of these girls, faith in their development, and excitement for their futures.
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