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 Alex Yang
When Team Dayā arrived in Hardhani, the most prominent emotion I felt was anxiety. Would I be able to connect with the community? Would we be able to make meaningful progress? How will I adapt to living with the locals? All these questions and more were racing in my mind.
The opening ceremony quelled my anxiety a little bit. The speech Purwa gave really set the tone for the rest of the week. She highlighted her experience with education and how important it was for her development. It made me realize the education we’re providing could impact the people in the village like it impacted her. We then had the privilege to listen to Mayor Sushila Shahi of the Lamki Chuha municipality deliver a speech about how education impacted her development as well, and that settled the fact that this school would empower the local community.
On the school building site, working hand in hand with the locals solidified how beautiful their personalities are and affirmed our commitment to the school. We would work hard in the morning, and then we would head to lunch together. From there we participated in various village wide activities. Cultural workshops, gender talks, even the Mayor came and spent time with Team Dayā.
I learned so much of the community’s culture and values. Surprisingly, the younger generation appreciates arranged marriage over love marriage. After these events, we were free to move around the village and socialize with the community. This was where the real fun occurred. The local teenagers were super friendly and were eager to practice their English, while we fumbled through our translation packet to practice the local Tharu language. To live with the locals was a privilege. Learning their day to day, helping them prepare dinner, throwing around a frisbee and playing with the kids all made me feel a sense of connection I did not expect to feel halfway across the world.
Even though our time was short, the connections we made were strong. The closing ceremony made me an emotional mess. Just thinking about how Dai cared for us, the delicious dinners we shared with Chandra, and tossing the frisbee with Ravi, Milan, and all the boys brings me to the verge of tears.
We may have helped build a school for the community, but they have made everlasting impressions on each of our lives that we will not forget for as long as we live. This is the power of giving back. It really is a two way street.
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.
