The Team Dayā school in Arenales #2, Nicaragua, where construction began on November 20th, 2023, just prior to the American Thanksgiving holiday, is now complete. It is the fifth Team Dayā school and another great example of what can be done in partnership with local communities and our supporters. The good news comes just weeks before we construct our next school in Nepal.
Muchas gracias a todos nuestros amigos y simpatizantes. (Many thanks to all our friends and supporters)
Your support is needed to continue our school building.
A special thanks to our team members that traveled to Nicaragua to work alongside the community: Kristy Quagliariello, Hasan Arik and Jordan Mitchell.
We also want to send a big ad tech thank you for the steadfast support from our friend Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk. Jeff was one of our earliest supporters back in 2018 when the only thing we had was an idea and a lot of conviction. Last summer his Jeff T. Green Family Foundation renewed its support of our work and funded the Nicaragua school build.
We asked Jeff to write a few words for the team to share with the community of Arenales #2. Here is Team Dayā Founding Member Jordan Mitchell reading Jeff’s remarks upon arrival to the community (1):
The 44 students in Arenales #2 are in their new classrooms enjoying the school and improved learning environment. Local leaders and buildOn staff are working to identify any out of school children so they can be enrolled in class. An additional 10 students are expected to enroll once the new school is completed.
(PHOTOS, below: Students enjoy the new Team Dayā School in Arenales #2.)
The community of Arenales #2 contributed the land and natural resources such as sand, water, and gravel to the project. A Project Leadership Committee (PLC) consisting of six men and six women from Arenales #2 were selected to oversee the school build. The PLC organized crews to volunteer on the worksite each day. By the end of the project, the men and women of Arenales #2 had proudly contributed 245 volunteer work days to the building of their new school.
(PHOTOS, below: working on the Team Dayā School in Arenales #2 before students returned.)
The Community: Before and After
Arenales #2 is in the municipality of Murra in the Department of Nueva Segovia. The area is in the north about 90 minutes drive from the Honduran border (and over six hours from Managua, the nation’s capital city). Arenales #2 is a small agricultural community of 381 residents growing beans, coffee and corn.
The School
The new school represents a significant improvement on the existing structure. The old school building, servicing all 44 kindergarten to 6th grade students with three teachers, was a temporary adobe structure. It lacked proper lighting and had a damaged floor. The limited space had been further divided with plastic to create separate areas for teachers, often requiring outdoor teaching when all students were present. The new school building has two functioning classrooms as well as boys and girls latrines.
Please Support Team Dayā
Please consider supporting Team Dayā. We cannot build these schools without your support. Example investment opportunities:
- $100 Five shovels for excavating the school’s foundation
- $250 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school
- $500 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
- $1,000 Paint for a school
- $40,000 Builds a school
Team Dayā 2024 Plans
In 2024, we plan to build schools in Nepal (March), Senegal (June) and Guatemala (December). These ground breakings will be our second school in each of these countries.
The exact start dates are:
- Sunday, March 17, 2024 – Nepal (arrive Kathmandu)
- Sunday, June 23, 2024 – Senegal (arrive Dakar)
- Sunday, December 1, 2024 – Guatemala (arrive Guatemala City)
If you are curious to learn more about joining a build, please reach out to our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen.
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(1) Here is a transcript of Jeff Green’s remarks to the community of of Arenales #2 upon the groundbreaking of the school:
Good morning/afternoon. My name is Jeff and I’m an American businessman. Thank you for gathering here today with the common goal of making a difference in the lives of others. It is with great joy and a deep sense of responsibility that I have chosen to make this gift. Building this school in your community is a symbol of hope, as well as an investment in you and the future of the students who will use this school for years to come.
I encourage each one of you to consider the incredible power that lies within you to make a difference, whether through kindness or volunteering your time. Let this gift be a call to action for all of us to come together, to uplift one another and to contribute to the greater good. In making this gift, I am not just offering financial support; I am extending an invitation to all of you to join me in creating a ripple effect of positive change. Together, we can be the builders of a brighter future – a future where compassion, empathy and generosity are the building blocks of our future.
I wish I could be with you in person, but I’m extremely proud to have my friend Jay Sears, Team Dayā and buildOn with you in my place. Please keep me informed about the progress of the school as well as the students who will study here. Good luck with the build!
Sincerely,
Jeff
