[4] Gichuhi’s experience and leadership in Kenya gave the Dohertys a partner who could efficiently navigate local laws and policies, and so together they envisioned a boarding school that would best suit the girls they aimed to help, addressing both girls’ physical needs in addition to providing a rigorous academic curriculum, and bolstering them as women and leaders.
[10] However, in return, each student commits to “pay forward” her education through providing a minimum of 30 hours of community service per year.
Standing for “Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope,” WISH is a program developed and implemented at Daraja Academy in order to empower girls to become leaders in their communities.
In addition to giving girls confidence and leadership skills, the program also enables them to become changemakers, working in turn to reduce poverty and conflict in their lives, families, and communities.
[12] To complement its high school, Daraja Academy also offers a transition program to bridge the six-month gap between exit examinations and the start of college or university.