Daraja Academy
Educating and Empowering Girls to Become Community Leaders
Fast Facts
Kenya
Phil Jonckheer
2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
Education
How Daraja Academy Is Making a Difference
Daraja Academy provides exceptional secondary education and leadership opportunities to Kenyan girls from homes of need, empowering them to become community leaders.
Work of Daraja Academy
- Operates a four-year full-scholarship boarding school for girls from underserved backgrounds, providing tuition, uniforms, health and hygiene services for all students.
- Delivers a unique Women of Integrity, Strength and Hope (WISH) program that builds leadership, self advocacy and community service.
- Provides a transition-year program for graduating students to gain mentoring, skills and guidance before university or career entry.
- Expands outreach to younger girls via WISH, and supports alumni and community-based leadership initiatives.
- Responds to emerging needs, such as distance-learning facilities, mental health support, and family micro-loans, to ensure continuity and adaptability in educational delivery.
Initiatives Supported by Project Redwood
2012: $25,000 to partially fund a transition-year program for the first graduating class.
2015: $25,000 to maintain, improve and expand the Academy’s transition-year program.
2017: $25,000 to research, counsel and teach income-earning skills that better address job-market demands.
2018: $25,000 to extend Daraja’s impact into the community, including approaching younger girls via the WISH program.
2020: $30,000 to provide distance learning for students, mental health care for families of students, and financial sustainability through micro-loans to families, in response to COVID-19.
2021: $30,000 to fund one year of expanded reach of the WISH program.