This is the first of five posts from Team Dayā member Chevan Nanayakkara about his experience Building Change in Nchetana, Malawi. Please subscribe to receive future posts.
- Please donate to my Team Dayā fundraising effort – all funds go directly to building schools.
- If you are curious about Building Change with Team Dayā, please contact our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen.
Find all of Chevan’s posts here.
By Team Dayā member Chevan Nanayakkara
In July, 2023 I returned home after a life changing trip to Malawi. When I started the trip, I had no idea this tiny land-locked country in South-East Africa would end up having such a tremendous impact on my life. From a recreational travel perspective, I’d always wanted to go to Africa. Having traveled extensively through Asia and the Indian-Subcontinent I was curious how life in Africa would compare. In addition to travel, I wanted to find an opportunity to experience a culture and also be involved in service.
Enter Jay Sears. In 2018, Jay founded Team Dayā ( दया) (Daya means “kindness” in Nepalese, a country where Jay had spent time during his college years). Team Dayā was founded with the mission to raise funds in order to build primary schools in impoverished, developing countries. When I initially spoke to Jay about joining Team Dayā he already had initiatives underway in Nepal, Senegal and Guatemala. Joining the Malawi trip was an opportunity that seemed too good to pass up. In late 2022, I committed to Jay that I’d be part of the Malawi team.
The Team Dayā experience was exactly the kind of service opportunity I was looking for. In addition to raising funds for a good cause, we would travel to the location and be on-the-ground and hands-on working with the community on the project. In our case, we would be replacing an existing 100-student stick and thatch-roof school building with a proper permanent building with solid floors, walls and roof. Children would no longer have to sit on the dirt floor and be exposed to the elements but would have proper seating and protection so they could focus on their learning.
In addition to the service aspect of the project, the Team Dayā experience is also an opportunity for cultural exchange. Participants are immersed directly in the community. Instead of staying in a hotel or volunteer camp, team members were assigned host families who were kind enough to provide us living space in their homes. Empowered with local translators, we had ample opportunity to interact and converse with our host families and talk to the men and women who were our daily partners in digging holes, pouring concrete and hauling sand, bricks and water. There is no technology in these remote areas of the world – all the construction work was done with hands, feet and a spirit of partnership. Through our translators we all worked together and bonded over our shared sense of purpose and hope to improve education and ultimately unlock opportunity and prosperity for the people of the community.
Since I’ve been back, I’ve had an opportunity to reflect on the experience and think about my learnings. From a broader perspective, I’ve categorized my experience into four themes. I’ll spend the rest of this five part series reviewing those themes in my additional posts:
- Service opportunities have an impact beyond the target community
- Sustainable development projects enable national strategic independence
- “Execution is everything” – just like we say in start-ups
- Community vision is the foundation of community development
I was blessed to participate in this Team Dayā activity with the following people, who provided me with an unforgettable experience and were also sources of unending inspiration, support and joy. Please reach out to any one of them to hear more about Building Change: Davina Kent, Riley Jacobson, Kerri Olson, Nicolle Pangis, Vib Prasad, Lauren Rosen and Jay Sears.
This is the first of five posts from Team Dayā member Chevan Nanayakkara about his experience Building Change in Nchetana, Malawi. Please subscribe to receive future posts.
- Please donate to my Team Dayā fundraising effort – all funds go directly to building schools.
- If you are curious about Building Change with Team Dayā, please contact our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen.
Find all of Chevan’s posts here.
