Running on the strength of passion and enthusiasm, the girls were able to contribute an impressive $2,040, and they’re not done yet! The girls are motivated even after the race to raise the extra $460 that will total a year’s education for Daraja student, Lilian.

Superstars!

Julia, stellar athlete from Team Toorak, gave the race her all, running the entire 12km after school. Her drive and spirit filtered inspiration through her team and showed in the amount of support she was able to create thanks to her dedication. Equally impressive is the awesome logo created by Ruby, which was represented on the cool badges Team Toorak sported during the event.

More on Team Toorak here!

THANK YOU, TEAM TOORAK! You are what makes Daraja AWESOME. And special thanks to the Lukach family for taking to heart “Daraja means bridge” by creating bridges to connect Daraja family members all over the world. We appreciate you!

Leila, Form 4

Women of Integrity, Strength, & Hope Class

This week’s Form 1 class focused on the self-discovery of “Who am I?” Taught by Teacher Susan, the girls participated in an activity outlining strengths, weaknesses, hopes, fears, and unique qualities. “What makes up who we are?” Teacher Susan asked the class. The girls responded with, “The heart, the mind, the soul, the flesh, and our behavior.” The Form 2s tackled facts versus fiction related to sex education, and the Form 4s discussed the future with a class theme of “beginning with the end in mind.” The Form 3s class was led by Daraja senior, Leila, who discussed leadership. “You must have intensity in your integrity,” she told the class.

Congrats to Daraja’s Athletes!Last week, Lisayo (400 meter), Mary P (javeline) and Cate (long jump) traveled to Eldoret, Kenya for the Provencial Athletics competition. Even after making the two day trek from school to the arena, the girls made Daraja proud! Lisayo placed 7th out of 30 competitors, Mary P. placed 5th out of 30 competitors, and Cate placed 4th! Congratulations, ladies!

Lisayo, Mary P,. and Cate: Daraja's superstar athletes!

Charity shares her team's reportings

The Next Step of Project-Based Learning. The Form 2s have gone into local villages, collected community-health related data, and now are reporting their findings. This week, the Forms 2s had a special PBL class to share with each other what each group discovered. The leaders of each group stood up in front of the class and reported common diseases found, how the diseases were contracted, potential preventative measures and other relevant data. Stay tuned for the next step of this process!

Daraja welcomes another intern to the team, Tehsin, a Masters of Social Work student from University of Calgary. Tehsin will be around for 3 months to development the curriculum of the Academy’s W.I.S.H. classes. Welcome, Tehsin!

Favorite Photo of the Week! Form 1s Meldah, Hannah and Zaituna before their first ever Lap-a-Thon!

When Father Wario came to visit Daraja, he gave a motivational speech that changed my attitude. I had started to feel stressed, but he reminded me what it takes to be a leader and a good student at Daraja.

Everyone has a dream, vision, ambition or a set goal that they wish to accomplish one day. Before this, motivation and guidance is of great importance since it renews one’s strength and brightens one’s future. I will focus on the following principles, and encourage my little sisters at Daraja to do the same:

Discipline: As a student, be expected to stand accountable for every role you play. A disciplined student is one who knows why she/he is in school and can live peacefully with everyone. A disciplined student is a successful student.

Being an Eagle: An eagle is a proud bird; a bird who flies with other like-minded birds. Students should wisely choose their friends, friends who add positive value to her studies.

Focus on the Future: I have learned that we cannot change our past, but we can change our future. The tool to my future is education, and although I cannot change the status of my family, I can help them by becoming a member of the educated community.

I believe the key to being a leader at the Daraja Academy is to be respectful of my teachers, school staff, sponsor and fellow students. While my four years at Daraja is a limited amount of time, I know I can use my experiences here to change my entire life, and the lives of my family and community at home.

By Marylene, Form 4.

A special highlight during this campaign was seeing longtime supporter Sarah Montgomery representing the team on NBC. Her passion and genuine appreciation for the girls was the perfect exemplification of the type of advocates that exist around the world for Daraja. We’re thankful the world got a glimpse.

We also want to give a shout out to Anthem Branding for designing the awesome Race for Daraja T-shirts. They make us look good!

Although Bay to Breakers champion and 2011 Daraja teammate Lineth Chepkurui was not in the US to participate, we are proud that Ethiopian female runner Manitu Daska — last year’s second fastest woman–was the first to finish the 7.46 mile course with a time of 39 minutes and three seconds!

Check out pictures of the fantastic event in San Francisco and Kenya. Here’s to another successful Bay to Breakers race! We can’t wait for next year! Only 12 months left…

Three Events. One Family. Over $90,000 Raised!

Lilian, Form 1, tries to hide her excitement for the race to start

We did it. We smashed through our goal of $75,000 raised for the future female leaders of Kenya, and we could not have done it without your support.”We are so happy,” Teddy, Bay to Breakers co-captain said after the race. “We had so much fun running. Our hearts feel full and loved as the overwhelming support we have felt from the Daraja family continues to show. We thank you, and we love you!”

Join us in telling the world about the power one family can have when focused on a critical cause. Invite your friends and family to witness the strength of our solidarity on our Crowdrise page.

Ready… The Grassroots Girls club got the already hyped school even more excited for the race by hosting Daraja’s first ever Pep Rally. The Drama club was tasked with creating Bay to Breakers songs and skits, each club competed on a B2B catwalk for a prize (and bragging rights), and the girls put on informational and hilarious skits about the history and relevance of Bay to Breakers and Daraja.

Set…On Race Day, Coach Mama Boi led the girl in stretches, a quick dance party was held on the field, and Teacher Carol gave a moving and inspirational speech about the importance of the event.

GO! The girls took off down the track, up and around the field and curled back down past the classrooms to get marked off for having completed each lap. Lisayo (Form 3) and Florence Mueni (Form 4) raced side-by-side for the duration of the race. On the last lap, however, Lisayo picked up her speed and eeked out a win in a photo-finish worthy completion.

Check out the photos of the Bay to Breakers weekend fun at Daraja on our Facebook page!

Ashley shows the Form 4s how to maintain Daraja's Facebook page

The final note, getting the word out about Daraja, was the most exciting to the students.

“We can speak to our supporters directly,” Leila said, as she volunteered to type the group’s first Facebook status update. “What should we say?” She turned around and looked at her peers.

Hadijah offered, “We should say thank you. We should tell them how much their support means to us.”

“And we love you!” Florence chimed in.

The Internet provides a more effective means to maintain relationships between the students on campus and the greater Daraja family around the world. “With regular mail, it can take sometimes weeks, months, sometimes longer for letters to come and go,” Marylene said. “But if we can learn how to use email, we can send mail instantly and not worry if it will get to the person.”

Said Teacher Wycliff, who set up the demonstration, “It is important that the Form 4s learn to how to use this technology. This is the way the world works, and before they graduate, they need to know how to communicate with people.”

Benny volunteers to type on behalf of Form 4 Blue

Separated by two oceans. United by a single cause.

The excitement for Bay to Breakers continues as Toorak College at Mount Eliza in Australia brings amazing news that around 50 girls have created a Race for Daraja team. The 9th graders are set to begin their 12k run at 4:30pm on May 19th, becoming the first team to start the race . Some girls will run a couple kilometers in teams, other will attempt the feat of completing the entire race in the hopes that their enthusiasm and perseverance will draw even more attention to this important cause.

Once the race in Australia has been completed, the girls are celebrating in style with a student-led disco-dance party, movies and a sleepover.

Equally impressive as the additional burst of momentum they’re bringing to this highly anticipated event, is the logo Team Toorak created. Great job, ladies, and welcome to the Daraja Family!

Jael, Form One:

When our teachers are giving instructions, I listen well. After the lessons are over, during my free time, I read again what we read in class, and I revise and revise until my work is perfect. When I come across things I do not understand, I ask teachers or the older students for help explaining, and then I make sure that I can say it back in my own words.

My advice for my peers who might find struggles with classes is to read and read until you understand the subject. Consider asking more questions in class, and she should use her free time to study and revise her work. If I know the answer, I will tell her. If not, we can ask a teacher together. I think when a student asks and learns from a student, it is easier to understand and easier to remember.

 

Lilian, Form 2

I was surprised and so happy that I placed at the top of my class. I did not expect it, but I do work very hard so I expected to be in the top 10. If I had a secret, it would be to work hard in class, and also outside of class. I study and review during study hall, break and free time, to make sure that I understand all of the information given to me.

 

Alice N., Form 3:

My favorite class is business studies. I am going to start a business one day. Don’t ask me what yet, but someday, I will. My favorite part about business studies is understanding that most people go to University to get a job in a big town, but if you start your own business, you can create your own job anywhere.

This is my second time getting the highest marks in my form. I work really hard to get the best grades that I can by doing the following things: I revise all my work, I participate in discussion questions, I ask the teachers anything I do not understand, and I concentrate in class.

My advice to other students is not to focus on being number one in the class, but being the best student that you can personally be.

 

Monicah, Form Four:

This was not the first time I have placed as number one. I have been at the top of my class three other times, but this time, I was surprised! Betty has been beating me this year!

I am not the kind of person who can read for 2 hours continuously and remember all the information, so I work hard at taking notes, asking questions to teachers, and reviewing my work again and again. If I had a secret, I would say that it would be talking to my teachers all the time. Sometimes you can find out what areas to focus on for tests if you ask the right questions.

It is very important to me to do well in school. Here in Kenya most classes that will prepare me for a career are in University. You need high marks to attend University, so I focus on working very hard.

Bay to Breakers is an exclusively important event in our lives. It has created an opportunity for us to participate in fundraising money that is of benefit to our wellbeing in general, and our education in particular. Many are the times that volunteers have worked hard to support us  –mind you they work even for extra hours just to see to it that we are faring on well in our education- but we have not at any given point made any contributions. Now, with the existence of Bay to Breakers, we are able to play a part in fundraising for Daraja. Apart from being able to take part in fundraising for our selves, Bay to Breakers has also been a strong source of funds for the sustainability of Daraja.

Last years event was full of fun; it had been anticipated by everyone ion campus. Some of us got an opportunity to realize their hidden talent, which is running. It was really surprising that some girls could run faster than we actually thought they would! Lisayo, who is currently a third year student in Daraja, emerged first!!! She is super fast, she was ahead of me (Teddy) by seventeen good laps. It is with no doubt that she is going to be first this year again. Though we do have other good runners. Last year, we had some motivating music which kept us going, and cheers from our teachers also motivated us a lot.

On behalf of the Daraja family, we sincerely appreciate the great effort our supporters are putting in for Daraja. It touches our hearts that some of you do not even know us that well yet you have the heart to make our futures bright by offering us an opportunity to get educated. We wish that there would be greater words than THANK YOU that would express how much we appreciate your kindness, love and care, then we would say that word to you.

To visit our very own Crowdrise page, click here!

Carol, Form 4

Teddy, Form 3

With lots of love,

Teddy Nyakado and Carol Nyangi.

(Bay to Breaker School Captains)

Reunited! Friends Moreen (F2) and Lilian (F3)

The campus is busy and bustling again, as the girls made the trek from their respective homes and villages all across Kenya back to Daraja. “Home is 3 matatu (bus) rides away,” Fatuma, Form 2 said. “I traveled for maybe 6 hours on matatus to get to Daraja. I am so happy to be back at school!”

School beautification

Monday morning after Flag, Forms 4 got right back to the books with exams and K.C.S.E. prep. Forms 1 through 3 spent the morning planting trees down by the MS platform. Said Zaituna, “Yes, we are digging holes and planting trees. But we are doing more than that. We are making our home a more beautiful place to live.”

Baaaaaay to Breakers!

The countdown to Bay to Breakers continues! The accumulation of excitement keeps building with cheer teams forming, a Bay to Breakers anthem in the works, and plans for a huge pep rally/bonfire are made for B2B Eve. A morning ritualistic chant has been started, where the entire school cheers, claps and stomps during the B2B countdown chant: “Baaaaay to Breakers! Baaaaay to Breakers! <stomp, stomp, clap! stomp, stomp, clap!> 10 days left!”

Comings & Goings

Guest motivational speaker Preist Cyril joined the girls on campus Tuesday. Said Charles, Dean of Curriculum, “He challenged them to work hard and to transform their lives. He helped them create goals and taught them ways to perseverance through challenges”

The Daraja intern team welcomes new member, Marybeth! “Coming from Chattanooga, Tennessee, I didn’t know about Bay to Breakers. But I sure do now, and the importance of this event to these girls is clear. This is an event that creates excitement and unity around a common cause: girls’ education.”