Daraja Academy is a boarding school in Naibor, near Nanyuki, offering full scholarships to exceptional Kenyan girls from underprivileged backgrounds. Daraja provides an opportunity for girls at risk of early marriage, FGM, and other hardships to gain independence through education backed by a curriculum that focuses on three key objectives:
- Her Life – Empowering girls to overcome past traumas, achieve better health, pursue higher education, and access employment.
- The Community – Equipping girls to contribute to their communities through financial support, service initiatives, and mentorship.
- The World – Preparing girls to become leaders and advocates for peacebuilding, sustainability, and women’s rights.
Our Programs
Daraja Academy: Academic Innovations Using a modified KCSE syllabus, Daraja teachers utilize project-based learning techniques to teach subject matter. Partnerships with U.S universities have been established to provide professional development for teaching students. Through the knowledge gained in class for example, our girls were able to invent a working water pump and many other innovations
WISH (Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope): This is a 4-year Women’s Empowerment program that covers topics such as identity, self-worth, sex education, leadership, global citizenship, and social justice. Due to its positive community impact, the program has expanded to 11 other secondary schools in Laikipia. Recognizing the need for a similar initiative for boys, Daraja launched The Man I Am, a program designed to empower boys to navigate 21st-century challenges. This boys’ empowerment program is now active in 7 public schools in Laikipia.
Psychosocial Welfare Program: This is a 4.5-year Psychosocial Welfare program that focuses on students’ mental and emotional well-being, helping them overcome traumatic challenges such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), abuse, gender-based violence, poverty, teen pregnancies, and early marriages. The program nurtures resilience through 24-hour professional counseling, offering both individual and group sessions to support the personal growth of the girls.
A 5 Months Transition Program: This program aims to keep girls engaged between finishing school and starting university by equipping them with practical skills not covered in the traditional curriculum. It prepares them for self-reliant, sustainable lives through lessons in computer literacy, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and career exploration.
The Culture
Daraja Pillars: Daraja is a school with a unique approach of no rules but only four pillars that guide both students and staff members. These 4 values that guide the school in its teaching and operation include:
Pillar 1. Be accountable for the role you play at Daraja, neither neglecting nor abusing it.
Pillar 2. Maintain open communication. Speak honestly and listen respectfully.
Pillar 3. Embrace differences. Treat all with dignity and respect.
Pillar 4. Each day, leave it better than you found it.
LWFs Brian Otieno takes a photo of the pillars during our visit to Daraja Academy
Environmental Conservation: Incorporated in every aspect of Daraja, conservation and climate action is not run by a club but as an initiative of the whole school. So far projects like hosting a “Women in Conservation” series, addressing the conservation of native and endangered wildlife and sustainable practices such as hosting annual climate action week, composting, beekeeping and organic gardening, innovation of an automatic hand-washing machine designed to reduce water waste, which earned Daraja students the 1st runners-up at the Green Kids Award and recognition at the Africa Youth Climate Assembly alongside artistic projects focused on climate change have been running at Daraja Academy.
The Daraja Wildlife Project: Founded in 2016 by Peter Barto, a certified naturalist from California, with extensive experience in wildlife research and outreach to teach Daraja Academy students how to run a wildlife camera-trapping program and introduce them to wildlife research methods through trail cameras. Through the project students learn about the animals using the Daraja campus as a corridor or home range. The project’s future goal is to expand, training students to become naturalists and advocates for wildlife conservation in Kenya and East Africa.
Peter Barto, along with his family, are long-time supporters of Daraja Academy.
Alumni Mentorship:This program fosters a strong sisterhood among graduates. Alumni return for Mentorship Days to receive guidance and training while mentoring current students. From the moment they join Daraja, they become part of a “Family Tree” and take on the responsibility of supporting their younger sisters. Through social media, WhatsApp, and phone calls, alumni share internships, job opportunities, and celebrate each other’s milestones, such as graduating, getting married, or having children.
Community service: The Academy requires that each student commits to 10 hours of service in their home communities during each of the three-term breaks. This teaches the girls that the education they are receiving is something to be shared and that it nurtures their innate leadership abilities. Girls volunteer at health clinics, schools, community centers, etc. Daraja girls volunteer approximately 12,000 hours every year in their local communities.
How to support
To support Daraja Academy and be part of its mission, you can:
- Sponsor a Girl’s Education: Directly contribute to covering the education expenses of a student at Daraja. Your support can transform a girl’s future.
- Share Daraja’s Mission: Spread the word about Daraja Academy to your network, encouraging others to get involved and support this cause.
- Post on Social Media: Help raise awareness by sharing Daraja Academy’s story, mission, and impact on your social platforms. You can use your voice to inspire others to support the initiative.
Each contribution helps create lasting change in the lives of the girls at Daraja Academy.