Team Dayā Founder Jay Sears has been presented with a humanitarian service award by his alma mater Kenyon College. The award is given at the discretion of the college’s alumni council to members of the Kenyon family who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to humanitarian service. The previous winner of the award was former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

“On behalf of Kenyon, I congratulate Jay Sears for his Humanitarian Service Award,” said Kenyon College President Julie Kornfeld. “He joins other accomplished Kenyon graduates who take their Kenyon experience and use it to lift up others.”

“Thanks everybody for this recognition,” said Sears when accepting the award. “To do things like this, I often think it brings those of us who work on it as much or more joy than the communities that are our partners. And these are places that are deeply, deeply deserving. There are all sorts of ways to help the college, to help places like Team Dayā but the big message is just to do something, and there are so many ways that people can help.”

Sears founded the nonprofit Team Dayā, Inc., which works to fight poverty and illiteracy by funding and constructing primary schools in the developing world, in 2018. One of the inspirations was his experience studying abroad during his junior year in Nepal in 1988. Dayā means “kindness” in Nepali. 

The film Building Change, the Team Dayā Story details Team Dayā, its purpose, including its origin story back to Sears’ junior year in Nepal. Produced by Kathmandu based filmmaker Shyam Karki of Samson Film Productions, it was shot on location in two communities in the Western Terai of Nepal, Hardahani and Dhayapur. Both communities have schools funded by Team Dayā.

Team Dayā completed their first school groundbreaking in Nepal in October 2019. The group actively funds primary school construction projects in remote areas of Nepal, Senegal, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Later this June, the group will hold the groundbreaking for its 10th school —  in Malawi, East Africa.

If you are interested in joining a future school build, please contact our head of recruiting, Jaryd Knutsen.

Three Ways You Can Help

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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