Daraja means bridge in Swahili. After the violent 2008 elections in Kenya, the American couple Jason and Jenni Doherty, along with Kenyans Victoria Gichuchi and Charles Mbuto, decided to join forces and found a school for girls from poor families.
Besides providing the girls with high-quality secondary school education in a safe environment, the school also fosters understanding and tolerance between different ethnic groups. Every year, the school accepts students from all over Kenya, working actively to boost mutual understanding and respect towards each other, creating a warm sense of community. In addition to academics, girls are provided with internships and training in leadership skills to prepare them for the next phase of their lives.
Social Initiative supports a class at Daraja and works with the school to double the student intake.
When schools in Kenya reopened, after being closed since Mars 2020 due to the corona pandemic, 100% of the Daraja students returned to school compared to the national 80%. Daradja quickly adopted to the new situation by organizing online-classes. Since some students lacked necessary digital equipment Daradja also organized fundraising for mobile phones in order to enable all the students to participate in the classes. 75% of the students participated in the online-classes throughout the year.