The drought and famine in the Horn of Africa have threatened over 10 million people with starvation in Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya - it's being called the worst drought in memory. With the Daraja girls dismissed for term break, some will be going home to towns in the northern part of Kenya – like
The girls are heading home after a busy exams period. But before they left they spent some time together to relax, finish up some projects and play. Here's what happened on campus this week: Home for a rest – The Daraja girls are spreading out all over Kenya for their term break. They filled up
Exams – The girls are just one day away from the end of Term 2 exams – marking the end of Daraja’s eighth term! They will be heading home in one week; the Form 1 and 2 girls will be away until the beginning of September but the Form 1 students will come back early
Final exams for this year’s second term are underway. Most of the girls approach their term finals, which cover everything they’ve learned since the beginning of their high school studies, with relaxed optimism. But if you mention the exam that the Form 3 girls will be writing next autumn, the girls respond with the unusual
Volunteers – Steve Gaughran (father to Maggie, who’s leading the HIV/AIDS lessons) and mother-son duo Eliza and Chase Paré arrived last weekend to spend their summer holidays at Daraja. Steve is working on a playground for the Daraja staff and teachers’ kids; 25 small children live on campus so it will be a welcome addition
By Colleen and Karen Lafferty Our main project focused on working with fellow English teachers at Daraja to help them prepare students for the K.C.S.E., the crucial, cumulative exam that Kenyan students take at the end of high school. In our time on campus we noted many similarities and differences between the teachers at Daraja
Nelson Mandela celebrates his 93rd birthday today, July 18. To recognize his special day, people all over the world are dedicating 67 minutes – one minute for every year Mr. Mandela worked for human rights – to do work for someone else, either in their communities or for a charity. Today the Daraja girls walked
For those of us who have been wired for years, it’s difficult to imagine having never been online before. But for many teens in Kenya, the internet is not easily accessible or affordable. Daraja was recently awarded a Yahoo! grant to help get internet access on campus. Many of the Daraja girls said they would
Sports – After last week’s fantastic table tennis performance, Mesret, Esther C., Ann N. and Mary S. are off campus today, competing for Daraja’s ping pong glory. All four of them are thrilled to represent Daraja in sports for the first time. We’ll let you know how they do! Meanwhile, the whole school is preparing
Thanks to Yahoo! employee and long-time Daraja advocate Minoo Ayat, the Yahoo! Employee Foundation has granted the Daraja Academy funds to help get internet on campus. "Once I learned about my company's foundation, I had to make sure Daraja was in the running for a grant." We are glad she did! After a two-month application
By Sumari Barnes Being at Daraja has been an amazing and life-changing experience. Aside from all the projects we have been working on we have also lived the full life of a Daraja Academy girl. Whether we were sorting beans and singing with the girls, to sitting in a triple biology class for two
Singing, dancing, plastering, public speaking – it’s been another busy week for the Daraja girls! Here’s what they’ve been up to this week: Sports – The Daraja football team and table tennis players participated in a regional tournament over the weekend. Four freshmen table tennis players will be moving on to the district competition: Mesret,
