Castle in the Clouds

A year ago, I received an email from one of my best friends Chelsea. She had just done a segment on a couple that was preparing to move to Kenya to open an all girl’s school. At the time, I was sitting in my cube at work and the thought of living in Kenya to help seemed like a dream. Now, one year later and oddly enough on Chelsea’s birthday, I arrived on the Daraja campus.

Any time you chase a dream, finally fulfilling it, you wonder, is it as good as you imagined? The aesthetic beauty of the campus, the morning sounds of birds, and the peaceful calm of Kenyan rural life would be sufficient to say yes. Spending time with some of the most inspiring young women, however, makes this even better than anything I could have dreamed.

Prior to coming to Daraja, I knew a lot about the hardships each girl faced. Right before our arrival, one of the students had lost her brother, just one year after losing her father and two years after losing her mother. I come from a small family too. Losing one member would be life altering; losing the other would be inconceivable.

Yet, that girl I had pictured: sullen, thin, and morose was nowhere to be found. Just yesterday, I realized Wait…is the girl I have spent time with the past three weeks the same one who just lost her last family member? Those two girls could not be the same. The one I have gotten to know has the most radiant smile, and never fails to show it. She gives Matt and I hugs each time she sees us. She is also the one who rushes to other students when they are upset. THIS is the same girl that I have been reading about?

It’s not to say that she isn’t in pain. I don’t doubt that she feels the pain in her heart when she puts her head on the pillow to sleep at night. I don’t doubt that her heart breaks any time she sees a young man her brother’s age. I don’t doubt that she wishes she could call home to her mother like some of the other students.

The reality is, however, that the Daraja students don’t have the luxury to dwell on their difficult realities. They must continue studying, being strong and looking forward. Daraja is their way out. When I talk to the girls, they are still so amazed at the change in their destiny. Many times I have heard the girls say, “My life will be different from my mother’s.”
It is moments like when I know I am finally where I’m supposed to be. And my dream isn’t alone here; it’s accompanied by the dreams of 26 other girls. And thankfully, all of our dreams are slowly coming true.

Welcome to Daraja!

Hello everyone!

Matt and I arrived at Daraja Academy on January 23rd. It has been three weeks since we’ve arrived and it has been so much fun getting to know the girls, staff, and volunteers. I knew I would love it here, but I didn’t think it would happen so fast! It is not hard to feel welcome when everyone is full of smiles from the first day.

I’m going to try my best to explain the setting:

Daraja’s campus is 60 acres. There is an electrical fence around the land that was designed to keep elephants away although I highly doubt it could do this. Daraja is about 15 minutes from the nearest town called Nanyuki. In order to get to Nanyuki, we pass by herds of camels, zebras and cows. We also have to stop sometimes because groups of baboons are crossing the street. It is pretty cool.

Our neighbors include the local Maasai tribe. A distant neighbor is the British Army. I’m not sure exactly where they are located but the huge camouflage 4x4s that say “British Army” indicate they are along the same road. You can also see them at the local bar...the same bars that the prostitutes attend (you get the hint).

I live in a pretty big randoval that includes a bedroom, bathroom, shower, and living room. It is very cute. The bathroom can get pretty stinky due to the questionable sewing system and Im often taking showers with bugs. Our showers have to be infrequent and short because, when it doesn’t rain, there is no water in the river and the river is the source of our water. Needless to say, my usual 30-minute hot showers where I use every conditioner known to man for my hair are non-existent here in Kenya.

Animals on campus include cows, chickens, bats, sheep, dogs, cats and the most beautiful birds. I miss my cats but there are enough animals on campus to keep me occupied for now!

Since this is a boarding school, the students and staff live on campus. The girls live in the dorms and the staff live in the staffing housing with their families. In addition, MS Kenya, a Danish NGO, has rented some dorms on campus. The combination of all these different people makes for a very lively living situation. You can always find someone on campus to hang out with, whether it be little Stephen, the 4 yr old son of Beatrice, a woman in charge of the cleaning staff, or Mr. Charles, the dynamic physics and biology teacher.

Currently, we have 26 Daraja students on campus. They are part of the Form 2 (sophomore) class. These girls were the first class ever at Daraja Academy when the school opened last year in February. They have set the bar pretty high- these girls are incredible! They walk around smiling, giving hugs, and they work so hard in school. They are such warm girls which is amazing when you learn about the life they have had so far. I'll definitely write more about them.

On February 26th, the brand new Form 1 (freshman) class will begin their schooling at Daraja Academy. The Form 2 girls, along with most of Kenya’s students, have already began the new school year. However, Daraja postpones the start date for freshman because they want to make sure that the girls who are entering Daraja would literally not be going to school if it weren’t for this academy. (Sometimes, families act like they can’t afford it so that they could get a free education for their kid. By postponing the first day of school for Daraja freshman, we can be sure our incoming students would not be going to school otherwise.)

Our executive staff has been incredibly busy the past few weeks evaluating applications and traveling to different towns in Kenya interviewing girls for the upcoming Form 1 (freshman) class. I have been fortunate enough to help a bit with this process. It is an incredibly challenging endeavor and will write more about this later too.

Hopefully this introduction is sufficient for now. I look forward to writing more about getting to know the girls and the Kenyan people because that has been the best part of my stay. Let's just say it is hard to have a bad day when you hear "Paria, paria! I made this necklace for you!". (I am currently wearing two beaded becklaces, and two beaded bracelets).

Lots of hugs!