Category Archives: Malawi

group photo of the Gule Wamkulu

Chiosya Village Celebrates Groundbreaking of Its First School

people working on the foundation of the new school
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Noah Sears works on the new school in Chiosya, a small village of 200 people in the Ntchisi district in the central region Malawi. July 2, 2026.)

Please consider supporting  Team Dayā. We cannot build these schools without your support. Example investment opportunities:

  • $50,000 Fund an entire school
  • $1,250 Paint for a school
  • $625 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  • $312.50 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school

Team Dayā held a successful groundbreaking for its newest school on Monday, June 29, 2026 in Chiosya Village, Malawi. This is our 13th school overall and the third school being funded in Malawi.

This project would not be possible without the funding efforts of board member Nicolle Pangis and team member Serge Matta. A fundraiser created by Matta at the POSSIBLE conference in late April raised over $40,000, putting our funding efforts for school #13 over goal. Any and all additional funds go directly into our building fund for future schools.

Chiosya Village

group photo of the Gule Wamkulu
(PHOTO: Team Dayā with the Gule Wamkulu, “the great dance” – a sacred ritual masquerade practiced by the Chewa people. The dance celebrated the groundbreaking of the new school. Monday, June 29, 2026.)

Chiosya, a small village of 200 people in the Ntchisi district in the central region Malawi (see location) north of the capital Lilongwe, will now have its very first school. The current nearest school is 5 kilometers away, and the nearest main road is 20 kilometers away from the village. Most people are farmers growing maize (corn), peanuts, tobacco and soya.

The classrooms in the new school will cater to Grade 1 and Grade 2, eliminating the long walk to school for these students. During rainy season in particular, the walk to school can be unsafe due to river crossings and higher water.

The eight local chiefs project as many as 350 – 400 children from the greater catchment area will register for Grades 1 and 2 once the school is complete (this is far greater than the capacity but will create an additional push for more support and resources).

The government has agreed to provide at least two teachers once the school is completed, and the community has agreed to host or find housing for the teachers.

Mkuyu Primary School Visit

Team Dayā visited the Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi it funded in the summer of 2025. Read: Completion of Mkuyu Primary School in Lambwe, Malawi.

The new Team Dayā school building houses first and second graders who were previously learning outside. Charles Jefta, headmaster of the Mkuyu Primary School, said 110 first graders use one classroom and 78 second graders use the second classroom. Overall, the attendance of the entire school is up to 609 from 588. The school has also re-enrolled 30 out of school students since January, and ten of the thirty have already been mainstreamed.

“I’m very happy to know that the money we raised helped the community,” said Team Dayā member Serge Matta in prepared comments that were read to the community on Friday, July 3, 2026. “Having grown up in East Africa, namely Kenya, I know first-hand how important it is to have a safe place for kids to go and get an education. I wish you all the best of luck and we will be cheering and supporting you in the years to come.”

group photo
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members with the headmaster and teachers in the second grade classroom of the Mkuyu Primary School in Lambwe, Malawi on July 3, 2026.)
students in a classroom
(PHOTO: The first grade classroom of the Mkuyu Primary School in Lambwe, Malawi on July 3, 2026.)
(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)

Your Support & The Team

Please consider supporting  Team Dayā. We cannot build these schools without your support. Example investment opportunities:

  • $50,000 Fund an entire school
  • $1,250 Paint for a school
  • $625 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  • $312.50 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school

Three Ways You Can Help

  1. Make a Donation Online
    • Example investment opportunities:
      • $50,000 Fund an entire school
      • $1,250 Paint for a school
      • $625 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
      • $312.50 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the 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 LinkedInX / TwitterFacebook and Instagram
  3. Join the Team & Travel on a School Build

Team Dayā 2026 School Project Dates:

We are now actively recruiting members for our 2026 groundbreakings. 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.

Guatemala 2026 (no longer available)

  • Sunday, March 22, 2026 – Saturday, March 28, 2026 
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA-La Aurora Intl.)

Malawi 2026 (no longer available)

  • Sunday, June 28, 2026 – Saturday, July 4, 2026
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Lilongwe, Malawi (LLW-Kamuzu Intl.)

Senegal 2026 (available)

  • Sunday, November 29, 2026 – Saturday, December 5, 2026
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Dakar, Senegal (DSS-Blaise Diagne Intl.)

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

community meeting

New Team Dayā School in Chiosya Village, Malawi Breaking Ground

community meeting
(PHOTO: A new Team Dayā school will breakground in Chiosya Village, Malawi on Monday, June 29, 2026. Residents held a community meeting on May 15, 2026 to plan for the new school. Contributed.)

Please consider supporting  Team Dayā. We cannot build these schools without your support. Example investment opportunities:

  • $50,000 Fund an entire school
  • $1,250 Paint for a school
  • $625 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  • $312.50 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school

A new Team Dayā school will breakground in Chiosya Village, Malawi on Monday, June 29, 2026. This is our 13th school overall and the third school being funded in Malawi.

This project would not be possible without the funding efforts of board member Nicolle Pangis and team member Serge Matta. A fundraiser created by Matta at the POSSIBLE conference in late April raised over $40,000, putting our funding efforts for school #13 at and over goal. All additional funds go directly into our building fund for future schools.

Chiosya Village

Chiosya, a small village of 200 people in the Ntchisi district in the central region Malawi (see location) north of the capital Lilongwe, will be building its first school. The current nearest school is 5 kilometers away, and the nearest main road is 20 kilometers away from the village. Most people are farmers growing maize (corn), peanuts, tobacco and soya.

The classrooms in the new school will cater to Grade 1 and Grade 2, eliminating the long walk to school for these students. The eight local chiefs project as many as 350 – 400 children from the greater catchment area will register for Grades 1 and 2 once the school is complete (this is far greater than the capacity but will create an additional push for more support and resources).

The government has agreed to provide at least two teachers once the school is completed, and the community has agreed to host or find housing for the teachers. Ahead of the the groundbreaking, the community has already mobilized quarrystones and bricks to be used in the construction of the school.

field filled with hundreds of bricks
(PHOTO: A new Team Dayā school will breakground in Chiosya Village, Malawi on Monday, June 29, 2026. Bricks have been prepared ahead of the groundbreaking. Contributed.)

Team Dayā will also be visiting the Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi it funded in the summer of 2025. Read: Completion of Mkuyu Primary School in Lambwe, Malawi.

(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)

Your Support & The Team

Please consider supporting  Team Dayā. We cannot build these schools without your support. Example investment opportunities:

  • $50,000 Fund an entire school
  • $1,250 Paint for a school
  • $625 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
  • $312.50 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the school

Three Ways You Can Help

  1. Make a Donation Online
    • Example investment opportunities:
      • $50,000 Fund an entire school
      • $1,250 Paint for a school
      • $625 In-country mason during the entire construction of the school
      • $312.50 All the nails, nuts, and bolts to build a roof for the 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 LinkedInX / TwitterFacebook and Instagram
  3. Join the Team & Travel on a School Build

Team Dayā 2026 School Project Dates:

We are now actively recruiting members for our 2026 groundbreakings. 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.

Guatemala 2026 (no longer available)

  • Sunday, March 22, 2026 – Saturday, March 28, 2026 
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA-La Aurora Intl.)

Malawi 2026 (no longer available)

  • Sunday, June 28, 2026 – Saturday, July 4, 2026
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Lilongwe, Malawi (LLW-Kamuzu Intl.)

Senegal 2026 (available)

  • Sunday, November 29, 2026 – Saturday, December 5, 2026
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Dakar, Senegal (DSS-Blaise Diagne Intl.)

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)

Completion of Mkuyu Primary School in Lambwe, Malawi

(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Students at the new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)

The Team Dayā school in Lambwe, Malawi is complete.

The Mkuyu Primary School (also spelled Nkuyu) is the tenth school funded by Team Dayā overall. It is our group’s second school funded in Malawi, with a third school being funded in Malawi this summer.

Please consider a donation to the group or to one of our team members. All funds go towards school construction. Team Dayā funded its first school (named M’mbula) in the country in 2023 in the community of Nchetana in the Kasungu region of Malawi.

(PHOTO: Tiyamike Jefita is an 11 year old student enrolled in grade 4 Mkuyu Primary School Lambwe, Malawi. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Tiyamike Jefita is an 11 year old student enrolled in grade 4 Mkuyu Primary School Lambwe, Malawi. Contributed.)

“Now I enjoy learning,” said Tiyamike Jefita, an 11 year old student enrolled in grade 4. “I concentrate better and I will work hard to become a teacher. This school block has made me like school again.”

On Monday, June 23, 2025, our group broke ground on the project. The community of Lambwe in the Dowa district north of the capital of Lilongwe in the Central Region of Malawi (see location) has a population of approximately 1,609. It is an agricultural community dependent on farming – mainly corn, tobacco, soya and peanuts.

School Project

(PHOTO: The new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: The new Mkuyu Primary School building in Lambwe, Malawi funded by Team Dayā. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: One of the seven local teachers delivering instruction in a Mkuyu school classroom that is missing a roof. Team Dayā will groundbreak on a new school building in Lambwe, Malawi in June 2025. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: One of the seven local teachers delivering instruction in an old Mkuyu school classroom that is missing a roof. Contributed.)

“[Previously, the] children learned in kitchens, outside under trees, or inside dangerous, dilapidated classroom structures that put their lives at risk,” said Hardwell Kennedy, one of the seven teachers. ”The environment was not conducive to learning, which made education extremely difficult for both teachers and students.”

With the new building, “the school’s face has completely transformed into one that is clean, attractive, and safe,” continued Kennedy.

The community continues to operate an existing school for grades 1st – 8th with 603 students (298 boys and 305 girls). Officials are now working to enroll additional out of school children and they report attendance has increased. The children are taught by seven teachers.

(PHOTO: Bernadetta Banda, a mother of two and farmer, who sends her children to the new Mkuyu Primary School Lambwe, Malawi. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Bernadetta Banda, a mother of two and farmer, who sends her children to the new Mkuyu Primary School Lambwe, Malawi. Contributed.)

Bernadetta Banda (pictured above), a mother of two and farmer, shared how emotionally significant this development has been for her family. She explained that her children now go to school regularly and are able to concentrate because, in her words, “the environment is comfortable and motivating.” Her greatest hope is for her children to pass their Standard 8 Exams and transition to strong secondary schools, demonstrating how this new investment opens doors for the next generation.

A dedicated local Project Leadership Committee, made up of six men and six women, was chosen to guide the construction process. This group gathered supplies and coordinated 4,199 volunteer workdays for the school project.

Listen to Charles Jefta, headmaster of the Mkuyu Primary School in Lambwe, Malawi:

Malawi ’25 Team

Meet our Malawi ‘25 team and please consider supporting them. All contributions go directly to our school building fund. Team members pay all their own travel costs.

(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Mike Benedek tamping down the a foundation footing on a 2023 project in Guatemala.)
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Mike Benedek tamping down the a foundation footing on a 2023 project in Guatemala.)

Benedek. Mike “The Bricklayer” Benedek joined the team during the depths of the pandemic and immediately started fundraising. The Malawi project will be his fourth Team Dayā school. Beyond being an inveterate travel and supporter of our efforts, Mike is president and CEO of the data marketplace Datonics. Read his first person account from one of our Guatemala projects Mike Benedek on Building Change in Caserío Sector Los Castro. Donate.

(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Gabe Matta. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Gabe Matta. Contributed.)

Matta. Gabe is a rising senior at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., where he plays on their nationally ranked varsity rugby team and is a member of the National Honor Society. Outside of school, he enjoys working with kids by coaching youth football, teaching Catholic Faith Formation classes and volunteering with the Young Men’s Service League and the Downs Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia. Donate.

(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Serge Matta. Contributed.)
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Serge Matta. Contributed.)

Matta. Serge is the president, Global Ad Sales at LG Ad Solutions. His expertise lies in leading sales teams across industries to meet revenue goals and creating strategic, symbiotic partnerships. Prior to joining LG Ad Solutions, Serge held multiple leadership positions at different companies – he was the CEO at comScore, president of global sales and marketing at GroundTruth, and CEO at video audience and content intelligence provider ICX Media. Donate.

(PHOTO: Team Dayā founder Jay Sears at the groundbreaking for the school in Aldea Santo Tomas Xacalta, Guatemala.)
(PHOTO: Team Dayā founder Jay Sears at the groundbreaking for the school in Aldea Santo Tomas Xacalta, Guatemala. December 2024.)

Sears. Jay is the founder and CEO of Team Dayā, Inc. He also operates the local community news site MyRye.com in his hometown. He spent over 25 years at media and technology companies including mastercard, Rubicon Project, Pulsepoint, ContextWeb, EDGAR Online and Wolff New Media. Donate.

(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Andy Sriubas.)
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Andy Sriubas.)

Sriubas. Andy was Chief Commercial Officer of OUTFRONT Media (NYSE: OUT) until January 2025. Prior to media, he spent 25 years in the investment banking industry. Andy held Managing Director roles at JPMorgan, UBS, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he provided strategic advice to, and raised capital for, technology, media & telecommunications industry clients. Donate.

Your Support & The Team

Please consider supporting  Team Dayā. 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

  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 LinkedInX / TwitterFacebook and Instagram
  3. Join the Team & Travel on a School Build

Team Dayā 2026 Plans

We are now actively recruiting members for our 2026 groundbreakings:

Guatemala 2026

  • Sunday, March 22, 2026 – Saturday, March 28, 2026 [Deadline Passed.]

Malawi 2026

  • Sunday, June 28, 2026 – Saturday, July 4, 2026
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Lilongwe, Malawi (LLW-Kamuzu Intl.)

Senegal 2026

  • Sunday, November 29, 2026 – Saturday, December 5, 2026
  • Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
  • Arrive & depart: Dakar, Senegal (DSS-Blaise Diagne Intl.)

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

Logo of Team Dayā featuring stylized houses and the slogan 'Building Change'.