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 David Danziger, Team Dayā member
In February 2025, I embarked on my first trek with Team Dayā…and what an incredible experience it was. Our journey began with a Sunday flight into Managua, Nicaragua, where we met up with other Team Dayā members. From there, we connected with our local partner buildOn and drove to the city of Matagalpa for an overnight stay. Monday morning, our group traveled a number of hours to reach the remote community of Bambu 2.
Although the very last stretch was only about 9-10 miles from the last town of any size, it took well over an hour to navigate the rough terrain and single-lane dirt roads, which crossed through rivers and wound through the hills. Upon our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the community – adults and children alike – with all of us eager to meet each other.
The opening ceremony was exciting, filled with speeches, gratitude, and a shared sense of purpose related to getting started with the building of the new school. For years, the children of Bambu 2 had attended school in a structure built in the 1990s with limited materials.
With 75 school-age children currently enrolled across various grades, the new school will make a tremendous difference providing a safe, well-constructed learning space for generations to come. After the ceremony, we met our host families, who would generously welcome us into their homes and lives for the duration of our stay.
Work on the school site began the next morning. As someone accustomed to working at a desk, I quickly realized that physical labor – digging trenches, tying rebar, pounding down substrate, setting support pilings – was… err… challenging but also rewarding. Despite the rain and the demanding work, the energy among our group and the community remained high throughout.
Beyond the worksite, we spent afternoons learning about the daily lives of the people in Bambu 2. We discussed religion, family structure, gender roles, politics, and work. We shared our experiences from the U.S. while gaining insights into the traditions and challenges of this Nicaraguan community. We learned firsthand about the cultivation and processing of coffee and corn—two vital crops in the region.
After dinner in the evenings, we had fun at our host house with members of the family and their friends. We introduced games like the card game Uno as well as Jenga with the kids and adults. We found that friendly competition, playful rule-bending (yes, a mirror was used by players to spot another person’s cards!), and good-natured trash-talking translate across languages and cultures.
The days in the community passed quickly, with hard work in the mornings and learning + fun in the afternoons and evenings. Wednesday evening, we introduced the kids (and the community) to the US “tradition” of campfires and s’mores…a big hit!
On Thursday afternoon, we participated in a deeply moving closing ceremony, celebrating the progress made and the bonds in the community formed. The closing ceremony highlight for the children was undoubtedly the piñata, which, unlike the gentle swings I’d seen at American parties, turned into a high-energy, chaotic, and hilarious event. That night, our usual fun and games were also a bit bittersweet as we said our goodbyes to those we’d not necessarily see before our early Friday morning departure from the community.
As we departed Bambu 2 and made our way back to Managua, then onward to the U.S., I found myself reflecting on the things that truly connect us as humans across cultures and backgrounds:
- A desire for connection and shared understanding.
- A shared hope for a better future for our children and all children.
- The joy of working together toward a common goal.
- A mutual curiosity about the lives of people different from us.
Above all, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude—gratitude from the people of Bambu 2 for our fundraising and traveling to help build the school, and gratitude from our team for the warmth, generosity, and hospitality extended to us by the entire community and especially our wonderful host families who opened their homes and their lives to us.
Returning home brought the comfort of modern conveniences—electricity, plumbing, internet—but it also deepened my appreciation for the simple yet profound sense of community we had seen in Bambu 2. This trek was not just about constructing a school; it was about building relationships, understanding, and hope for today and in the future.
For anyone considering joining a trek with or supporting Team Dayā, I can say with certainty that the experience is powerful. Whether through participation or donation, your contribution will have a lasting impact—not only on the community receiving a new school but also on your own perspective of the world and our shared humanity.
Listen to Team Dayā member David Danziger explain why Building Change is important:
Your Support & The Team
Please consider supporting Team Dayā and our 2025 Nicaragua team. We cannot build these schools without your support. Example investment opportunities:
- $40,000 Fund an entire school
- $1,000 Paint for a school
- $500 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
- $250 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school
Three Ways You Can Help
- Make a Donation Online
- Example investment opportunities:
- $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 LinkedIn, X / 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 2025 Plans
We are now actively recruiting members for our 2025 groundbreakings. These builds represent our second schools in Nicaragua and Malawi and our third school in Nepal.
Our Team Dayā 2025 school building dates:
Nicaragua, Central America [groundbreaking completed]
Sunday, February 9, 2025 – Saturday, February 15, 2025
Malawi, East Africa
Sunday, June 22, 2025 – Saturday, June 28, 2025
Nepal, South Asia
Sunday October 26th, 2025 – Sunday, November 2nd, 2025
If you are curious to learn more about joining a build, please reach out to our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen. Not sure? Watch the documentary Building Change, the Team Dayā Story (8 minute run time), by Kathmandu based filmmaker Shyam Karki of Samson Film Productions.
Thanks again for your continued support,
All of us at Team Dayā
