A Special Evening Celebration Kenya’s Daraja Academy

On Sunday, April 23, 2017, 4-7 pm, Deborah Santana and Carl Lumbly will host a special event at The Open Square at Futures Without Violence, the Presidio (100 Montgomery St, SF in the Presidio), to raise funds for Kenya’s Daraja Academy. Daraja Academy founders, award-winning educator from the Bay Area Jason Doherty and his wife Jenni Doherty, along with Daraja Academy students and graduates, will present an intimate account of the extraordinary education and opportunities offered at the school that empowers exceptional Kenyan girls whose potential would otherwise be lost. Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening is broadcast personality Dana King.

The event is free and open to the public but seating is limited. RSVP by April 3rd through Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/e/deborah-santana-carl-lumblys-daraja-academy-fundraiser-tickets-31279411562 Wine & hors d’oeuvres will be served and music will be performed by Grammy Award-Winning musician Salvador Santana. www.daraja-academy.org

Deborah Santana first traveled to Daraja Academy in 2010, producing the first of three short documentary films about the school: Girls of Daraja. The Daraja Academy provides students with full scholarships and resources to be critical thinkers, progressive leaders, and volunteers in their villages and communities. The school provides shelter, food, healthcare and counseling services so students may focus on their academic and personal potential without the everyday barriers they would otherwise face.

The Daraja Story

An award winning teacher from the Bay Area, Jason Doherty and his wife Jenni were traveling in East Africa when the lack of access to education, particularly for girls, hit him hard. “The unfairness of it was hard for me to digest,” says Doherty. “Vallejo, the Bay Area community I was teaching in, had its share of problems but what we saw in Kenya, man, the access was zero for so, so many girls – virtually ensuring that they had no chance to escape the material poverty they just had the misfortune to be born into. We just couldn’t leave it alone.”

In 2006 through research, discussions with hundreds of Kenyans on the ground, and a little luck the Dohertys’ dream to increase gender equality in Sub-Saharan Africa’s education system became a clear vision. The Dohertys started with a strong belief that the education of girls living in regions of material poverty would result in girls empowered to uplift their families, communities, and country. They and their Kenyan administrative team had a unique perspective on how to create the ideal school – a combination of rigorous academics, women’s empowerment, and choosing girls with innate leadership ability. They built the campus and its curriculum around a vision they believed would not only produce well educated young women, but also women prepared to become agents of change in their communities.

For those who cannot attend the April 23rd fundraiser and wish to donate: Daraja Education Fund, P.O. Box 4333, San Rafael, California 94913. www.daraja-academy.org