I have repeatedly tried to explain that the main point of this classroom is to try and learn how to build a community of young people from around the world determined to work together to learn about and solve some of the global issues we deal with on a daily basis.

I didn’t want to assign projects or give too much direction, because I wanted to see if it was possible for a group of random students to take charge and give this project some cohesion. This doesn’t seem to be working, so I want to start promoting a project that is dear to my heart.

I have mentioned Daraja several times before, but now I have some specific task. I received the following email today:

I’m writing today in my position of Volunteer Program Coordinator for Daraja Academy. I am looking to see if you are interested in being a part of Daraja in some capacity, be it an hour of computer research from home or a six-month education internship in Kenya. If you have any special skills, such as in languages (especially Swahili), computers, teaching, media, fundraising, etc., feel free to include those too. Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Grey

P.S. – The list below is mostly just food for thought; it includes projects already undertaken by members of the Daraja community, which I’ve provided as examples, as well as projects that we desperately need people on. If any of the items pique your interest, let me know and we’ll set you up.

• Starting a Daraja Club
• Fundraising Event (Benefits, coin drives, neighborhood meetings, etc.)
• Finding stores/restaurants who will donate a % of profits for one night
• Researching Corporate Sponsors
• Grant & Trust research
• Awareness campaigns (art festival booths, etc.)
• Coordinating vaccinations
• Coordinating Drives for goods (books, sheets, computers, etc.)
• Help putting together marketing materials
• Creating merchandise (calendars, greeting cards, shirts)
• Logo Design
• Grant writing
• Creation of admission materials—applications, forms, etc.
• Public Relations campaign—contacting newspaper, media, etc.
• Computer drive
• Textbook and reference book drive

So there you go. You want something specific to work on, then educate yourself about this amazing school and get involved. Find people here at Intrepid Classroom and see if you can work on some projects together. Raise money and raise awareness!

I also want to start using the chat feature on the Ning to try and bring us together more often. I want to set up a weekly meeting. It will be hard to coordinate it at first, so that every time zone can be involved, but let us start with a few different times and see which one sticks. Please come to the Intrepid Classrrom Ning this Friday October 31st at any of these times:

• 9:00 pm Doha
• 2:00pm East Coast Time USA
• midnight Asia (sorry guys.)
• 8:00am Hawaii

Daraja Academy will be the first free secondary school in all of East Africa. In January 2009, 25 girls from Kenya will be given a chance for a secondary education which would otherwise not be possible, given their current economic situation.

The mission of the Daraja Academy is to cultivate a community of individuals with a sense of cultural awareness, social conscience, and environmental responsibility, all while instilling talents that will enable them to open doors to a global society.

I am sure there are thousands of similar project like this worldwide, so what makes this particular project so important to me? It was started by my best friend. I have a personal interest in the success of this school. So where do you come in? I want the Intrepid Classroom to become a marketing and fundraising arm of the Daraja Academy. My dream is that each of you will do the research on Daraja and take what you find back to your schools and start a Daraja Club at your schools. I hope that with my help you will create videos, write blog posts, and do whatever it takes to raise awareness and money for this project.

This is not some ordinary inaccessible online project. Like I said, the founder of Daraja Academy is a very good friend of mine, thus giving me an insider advantage that can make this experience extremely personal for you if you so choose to make it one. I hope that we can create several viable and active clubs that will make your school a sister school to Daraja. This could be the beginning of very long and personal relationship between you and a very worthwhile project.

So where do we start?

1.    Snoop around Daraja’s offical site. Get the details; learn more about the in-and-outs of the school.
2.    Read the official blog, which is being written on the ground by Jason himself. Comment, interact, and get to know Jason.
3.    Watch the videos embedded below and on youtube.
4.    Go to Facebook and sign up as a supporter of the cause and get your friends to join as well.
5.    Share what you find, how you feel with as many people in your life as possible.
6.    Express interest in starting a club at your school by commenting on this blog. I would like to set up a Skype call (possible podcast) to brainstorm ideas of what these clubs will look like and what they will do.

There is a very good chance I will be going to Kenya to visit Jason in December, so it would be great if we could have some substantial offerings to hand over ti him from the IntrepidClassroom.

I hope this will be a yearlong project, so please get in touch with me if you want to be involved. This is a unique opportunity for you to be involved with a very grassroots project to educate young girls in Kenya. There is no bureaucracy, no complicated management, just a man and his dream of starting a school in Kenya. Get involved! Rember Daraja means bridge in Swahili and you are Daraja!

Watch the videos and get started:

If you wan to learn more about the histroy of the campus check out a movie called The Boys of Baraka and to learn more about my relationship with the founder, Jason Doherty, please read this post.