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.
By Team Dayā member Lauren Rose
I had the privilege of traveling to Nepal in March 2024 to work alongside the Hardahani community in the Western Terai to build a primary school for their village, giving 80+ kids the opportunity to attend primary school locally. I knew going in this would be an incredible opportunity to give back to a community in need in a hands-on manner, but I quickly learned how profound the impact was for not only the community, but also on a personal level.
Our trek started by visiting the first school Team Dayā built in 2019. Our bus drove down dirt roads, slowly becoming more and more remote. We pulled into a small village and children holding signs saying “Welcome Team Dayā” jumped up and down with excitement and ran alongside our bus heading towards the center of the village. Straight ahead stood the entire community from children to grandparents, holding signs, waving, and cheering. As we made our way down a receiving line, we had flower necklaces put over our heads, our foreheads adorned with tikka and greeted individually with a “Namaste”. The overwhelming level of gratitude and true appreciation was palpable from the first moment, and I was instantly aware of how impactful building a school in an impoverished rural village was. Throughout the day, I listened to the aspirations of young girls dreaming of becoming doctors and I realized the pivotal role education plays in breaking gender barriers and fostering dreams and reflected on this as we prepared to embark on our next school build.
The next day we attended an opening ceremony with local government officials and men, women and children from the village, all who supported this school build and agreed to ensure equal opportunity for boys and girls and maintain enrollment. It was incredibly moving to witness the tremendous amount of support there was in having a school built in their village. Each community member signed a covenant declaring their support for the school, even the elder generation who, although illiterate, still signed their support with a simple thumbprint.
Over the course of our time in Hardahani, I had the privilege of working alongside the community by sifting sand, building rebar and digging the foundation of the future school. Outside of the construction aspect, I was able to integrate deeply into life in the village by playing soccer with village kids, learning about their culture and dreams and helping my host sister cook dinner, traditional meals consisting of food they grew on their land, usually lentil soup with potatoes and peas. It was an experience that served as an awakening or reset of sorts, challenging societal norms of materialism that we see in our daily life. Returning home, I carry with me a renewed perspective on what truly matters: the profound impact of education in lifting communities, nurturing dreams, and fostering collective well-being.
Please donate to my Team Dayā fundraising effort – all funds go directly to building schools.
Three Ways You Can Help
- Make a Donation Online
- Example investment opportunities:
- $100 Five shovels for excavating the school’s solid 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 Fund an entire school
- Spread the Word
- Share our mission with your friends, your company and your industry
- Invite us to speak about our mission to your network
- Follow us on our website (subscribe), LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
- Join the Team & Travel on a School Build
- If you have a combination of fundraising chops, an adventurous spirit and the belief each of us has the capacity to be Building Change, get in touch with us and have a conversation.
Team Dayā 2024 Plans
In 2024, we plan to build schools in Nepal (March), Senegal (June 2024) and Guatemala (December 2024). 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) [groundbreaking completed]
- Sunday, June 23, 2024 – Senegal (arrive Dakar) [full, no more capacity]
- Sunday, December 1, 2024 – Guatemala (arrive Guatemala City) [available]
- A 2025 schedule will be published by this summer.
If you are curious to learn more about joining a build, please reach out to our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen.
