“We noticed girls were missing their opportunity at a 4-year scholarship because they couldn’t afford the little it took to get to campus,” recalls co-founder Jason Doherty. “Those are exactly the girls that Daraja wants to invest in so we had to adjust the student selection process.”

Every January, Daraja’s administrative team now travels throughout Kenya to reach young women in remote villages and overpopulated slums.

Nike’s Girl Effect campaign has conducted some of the most extensive research on helping girls in developing nations and has found that “It is the most vulnerable girl whose life will improve the most, and who will bring the greatest return back to her community.” Helping a girl is important, but helping certain girls is what creates change. These girls are the ones that are otherwise forgotten.

There is an 80% dropout rate from primary school to secondary school for children in Kenya, according to the 2009 Kenya census. The statistics are even more staggering for girls, in poverty, who are often obligated to household chores, or provide immediate income to the family if married or forced into prostitution. Compound that with the reality that more than half of Daraja’s students are orphaned, and it makes going to secondary school nothing short of a miracle for the student body currently on campus.

It also means the impact of their education will be that much greater.

Watch the video below to see how Jason describes the selection process:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Who doesn’t want to have some fun under the sun? Sunny San Diego is the perfect place to participate in a beautiful run/walk and get Southern California talking about the incredible Daraja girls. The Mermaid Series is a female-only event, dedicated specifically to empowering women and girls. Couldn’t get more perfect right? Wait, it can. Daraja is adding a twist. Not wanting to exclude our amazing male supporters, we’re encouraging the gentlemen of Daraja to be the race day cheerleaders!

Here’s the game plan:

February 11, 2012

Join us at Mission Bay in San Diego for a fun 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon run/walk on Saturday, February 11th 2012. You’ll get to soak in the sights of Mission Bay and be treated to festive post race expo!

A cool plus? You can bring the kids- if they are girls.

Bring out your mini mermaid for the girls 1.5 mini mermaid run!
The mini mermaid is for girls ages 6-12.

Tentative Start Times:
Half – 7:30 a.m.
10K – 7:45 a.m.
5K – 8:00 a.m.
mini – 9:45 a.m.

Given the fun and success of the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco last May, San Diego will be using the same Race for Daraja format. Once you register for the race (and receive a Daraja discount!), you will be matched with a Daraja girl and asked to find 10 sponsors for the race. Trust us, you’ll have a blast.

Get all the details here!

Here’s an excerpt:

The morning the Nike Girl Effect Challenge ended, I came out of my exam at 10 a.m. Shouts and screams filled the air and I knew that we had won.

I went to the dining hall where the results were posted. From a distance I saw a huge poster with the words: “We Are The Girl Effect” – and I learned that our school, Daraja Academy, was in second place. I jumped up and screamed and all the other girls did the same. Even though it was tea break, I was too excited to have my tea.

I was happy to win because I know that the dreams of many girls will come true from the support of the Nike Girl Effect. I believe in girls and know that they can change the world; with a little support, they can do a lot.

Being part of the Girl Effect Challenge will make me always dream big. It  is a competition for yearly funding from the Nike Global Giving Project.

My dream is to become a journalist or a tour guide. To achieve this, I will work hard at school, get good grades and get advice from people in the field. I also want to join a university, where I will learn all about how to become a good journalist or tour guide. When I saw how people volunteered and donated money to support girls through the Girl Effect Challenge, it motivated me to work harder. It also made me want to help more people in return, because there are so many who want help but can’t find it. (Continue…)

Grace and Leila

Recovering from the downpour – After weeks of rain, people all across Kenya are getting back on their feet after floods caused damage to livestock, crops, roads and bridges. On campus we were quite lucky, although we’ve been unable to pump river water since the storms. Daraja’s drinking water is boiled rain water, of which we have plenty. But for cleaning and bathing, we rely on water pumped from the river. Peter Rutere, director of maintenance, suspects there was damage to the connection between the generator and pumphouse, which should be repaired this weekend. While most buildings on campus are without running water, staff are fetching water from a borehole on the property.

One of Alex's gabions, standing strong

The rains were the first big test for gabions that volunteer Alex Rodondi built in the summer. The gabions are wire-mesh frames filled with rocks, which act as miniature dams to slow the flow of water and prevent soil erosion during heavy rains. Rutere says they held up very well against the downpours.

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Two years after my first visit to Daraja, the opportunity came for me to return to the most wonderful group of girls and continue building the school’s WISH program. We describe WISH as a life skills and women’s empowerment class that all students partake in once a week. From my viewpoint, and that of the girls, WISH class is the soul of the education at Daraja.

Why is this? At some point in our lives we forget why volcanoes erupt, what cells are made of, and how an ancient civilization evolved. There is more to education than what one can read in a textbook. It is the mentorship at Daraja that protects the strength and hope in these girls and molds them to become powerful leaders. They come from a society that fosters closed emotions and doesn’t always provide positive messages. But in WISH, they are encouraged to ask open questions for the first time:

“What is safe sex?”
“What is HIV/AIDS?”
“How can I speak confidently to my father when he is always drunk?”
“How can I make peace with a mother who has sent me away?”
“What can I do to instill justice and fairness when my community leaders are corrupt?”

Each school break they go back to their communities and visit women’s groups, churches, and schools, and for a day or a week they become teachers. They teach about community garbage and sewage systems, HIV/AIDS, and how to strengthen women’s voices in the community. They spread their education not just geographically, but across generations and genders. They come back to Daraja and share how excited and curious these groups were to hear new facts and ideas.

As freshmen, they were guarded and closed up. Being empowered young women, in their minds, meant being stoic, emotionless – and no wonder when examples of leadership or success always portray men.  They were shy and all too conscious of their place as young, uneducated women from poor communities. They didn’t know of careers outside of house help, cooks, and child bearers – they didn’t understand even the beginning of their potential. It took almost five weeks for them to speak about home to me, of their friends and family, to share with me who they really were.

When I came back at the end of their third year, these (very grown up) women ran up to me and talked all at once about what they have been up to. Now they know what goes on in their communities, but they aren’t scared to talk about it. A large group started the Grassroots club, where they meet women leaders from East Africa, attend conferences, and plan proposals and volunteering in their own towns. They created an amazing performance – a variety of tribal dances and songs (reducing a few of us to tears!) – that raised money for the completion of a chicken coop in a local town.

These women have been given a safe place to talk and reflect – and they have utilized it. The many Kenyan teachers involved in WISH have become role models and mentors. Professionals and leaders from around Kenya are coming to Daraja to share their experiences and break down the walls of silence. The students are excited about their futures – there are aspiring nurses, journalists, community business owners, politicians, magistrates, UN workers, doctors, lawyers, researchers, teachers. They aren’t naïve to the challenges – they have back-up plans and they are ready ­– ready to graduate and start a life they hadn’t dreamed of when they first arrived to Daraja.

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The water level was about 16 feet higher than usual, trucks headed to a local market were held up for several hours

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Unfortunately, the smaller footbridge built this summer to connect the community with the nearest village was washed away. Small family farms were destroyed by the flood, and Daraja’s water pump isn’t working because of the amount of silt stirred up in the river and the pump’s motor is partially covered in water. Since the girls are home for the holidays, the campus water usage is quite low – head of maintenance Peter Rutere says we just have to wait for the water levels to go down before we can start pumping from the river again.

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Teacher Joseph, Coach Dorcas, Andy Harley, Mr. Charles, Peter Rutere and Chef Symon check out the situation at the water pump

The gate – before…

The Daraja girls worked with the American students to come up with an idea that would represent Daraja and give a strong impression to campus visitors as they roll in.

Painting the gate was more than just a task in art club, says Alice A., a second year student. It has helped the girls recognize their artistic gifts as well. “Being able to draw and paint are talents we wouldn’t have discovered without Daraja.”

With some good time management the girls were able to fit this huge project into their final term schedules. They are so proud of the results! Amazing job, girls!

… and after! (With Mesret)

Berewa with Ann W.

It was special for the girls to hear from successful women who come from backgrounds similar to theirs. Berewa, Njeri, Carol and Dorcas told stories about the challenges they faced in their educations – paying for high school, getting scholarships in fields that didn’t necessarily excite them, and using adult education to move ahead in their careers.

A few of the ladies had studied abroad – one entered Switzerland as an au pair to get a visa, then enrolled in school instead. Many of the girls had questions about pursuing university studies in another country.

They talked a lot about how the directions of their lives have changed, sometimes according to plan, other times not. Njeri went from being a secretary to a journalist. After a few years of work for a newspaper, her interests changed to law and she returned to school to become a lawyer. Now she does work for the United Nations in human rights law.

Joyce, a Form 2 student who dreams of becoming a magistrate, was so encouraged listening to these ladies speak. “It was great to know that they had overcome some of the same challenges that I face,” she said.

Irene N. explaining her tree, and the candle that shines in it

As an exercise, the girls drew trees that represent their lives – the base and roots being family, or those people who positively influenced their childhoods; the trunk being education, starting in nursery school and moving up to Daraja; and the branches representing career and family. “Some branches start to grow and then stop, and that’s okay,” Carol said. “Sometimes we have to let our lives change direction.”

They taught the girls that just like a tree, our lives have seasons – a time to plant, a time to grow, a time to flower and a time to bear fruit – and that we should make the most of whatever season we’re in, not move on to the next too soon.

The girls spoke about these visitors non-stop after they left. We would love to seem them return next year and continue bringing inspiration and hope to the Daraja girls.

The girls enjoyed their last night together of 2011 with their teachers

The first group of girls left campus in the pouring rain at 6 a.m. Their teachers woke up early to see them off. They huddled under umbrellas to stay dry; the women had their hair wrapped up in a turban or shower cap.

“At other schools the teachers can’t see the students leave soon enough,” Teacher Carol said after the first bus pulled away. “Here we want to say goodbye to the girls and wish them the best as they go.” 

Girls’ on-campus fundraiser for Daraja’s neighbors – The Grassroots Girls and Drama clubs worked together on an end-of-term project to raise money for Daraja’s neighboring community. They put together an incredible performance of music and dance – with inspirational from many of Kenya’s tribes and traditions – and sold tickets on campus to raise money for a women’s group in nearby Maramoja. The girls have already helped the women’s group build a chicken house – it will be exciting to see what more the girls will be able to do next year as they put more of their awesome ideas into action!

Lillian leading a section of a traditional dance performance