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 Steve Katelman, Team Dayā member

I have been going to the Cannes Lions festival for nearly 20 years straight.  Oftentimes, my colleagues and friends would continue from southern France to exotic places since they were already packed and far from home. Barcelona, Rome, Ibiza, Amalfi Coast, you name it. Out of all the destinations I don’t recall Senegal making the cut. Enter Team Dayā. 

I have been hearing about this organization for years as Jay Sears has always been somebody I’ve not only respected but have learned from in my 30 plus year advertising career. Then a few months ago my friend Jeff was giving me some grief about blowing him off on a post Cannes trip to Copenhagen. He mentioned that he and his family were considering going to build some schools with Jay in the middle of Africa after the festival. This sounded more up my alley.

“What do I need to do?”, I asked, figuring I would call his bluff. He said I just needed to get a bunch of shots so I wouldn’t get sick and show up in Dakar, Senegal after we had both fulfilled our “work” duties in Cannes.  I loved this idea (for the same reason I bring my out of shape carcass to Burning Man most years).  The thought of me and people I know in the height of summer in the middle of Africa doing physical labor honestly appealed to me. Who is gonna crack first I wondered.

Fast forward to arriving. Dakar was no Cannes. But there was Jay. That smile that welcomed me and reassured me that this was 100% where I/we needed to be. 

I was fortunate enough to share accommodations with Jay on my first night before we made the two hour trek to our school building site in the community of Nguiddine Keur Sara in the Fatick region of Senegal. The AC was broken so we woke up in a pool of sweat. Again, exactly how I would have written the script. We both took it in stride and were eager to begin. 

I have traveled the world and have seen poverty stricken areas often, and Senegal was no exception. Litter filled the streets but I couldn’t help but notice something was different. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I’m sure Jeff’s kids (three of them – all in their teens), who were all along for the school build, were thinking “what in the world did Dad get us into?”  I often think about how I would have been on that trip at their age. Their character blew me away, what troopers. 

Once we arrived at Nguiddine Keur Sara, the trip really began and what I experienced will stay with me forever. The people in this village were absolutely mind blowing. We drove into a human rainbow of color and smiles and dancing and pure humanness. Over 100 people were gathered playing music and waiting for our arrival to thank us for coming and offering to help better their community. They would have waited for hours in that heat for us to arrive.

The next couple of hours we danced together, gave speeches, signed declarations of our intent, hugged, high-fived and experienced each other’s presence. Pure joy. I loved it when I caught somebody’s eye and wondered what they must have been thinking. These people had nothing, yet they had everything. Love filled the arid plains.

I was then escorted to the home where I would be sleeping. I was shown my floor with a mat and a mosquito net. It was fine with me as I’ve slept in lesser accommodations. Then the magic happened. I was invited to have some tea with the family outside in their “chill spot.” A modest fire was built and we had some slabs of stone to sit on. We stared at each other for a bit and then just laughed and smiled. We all knew that this was a strange experience yet I knew we had an unspoken fondness for each other.

The tea made us all feel closer. They refilled my cup countless times as it was a way for them to welcome me. Jay again stayed with me and “our” family and he was wise enough to bring the game Jenga (a terrific way to transcend a language barrier) and we played for hours.

It was time to say “good night” which I butchered in their language but I could tell they appreciated.  I gave them hugs and the son (the man of the house) returned my squeeze harder than the one I gave him–we had bonded.

Early the next morning, the build started. The whole community met at the site and everyone participated in what was to be a new, second school building. The conditions weren’t ideal but well thought out. Some were making bricks, others were digging the foundation, while other teams were building rebar supports. People were doing whatever was needed and asked of them and doing so with an attitude I rarely see. Smiles were everywhere.  We were working as a team with one goal in common. My host family continually tracked me down to make sure I was doing OK. I remember thinking that was sweet but also made me feel more out of shape than I wanted to be. 

The progress that was made on a daily basis was astonishing. Team Dayā works with their local partner buildOn. They had their shit together. They made sure that we were all on the same page with the local entities. We also got together on a daily basis to discuss what we were experiencing. This was such an integral part of this whole experience. This is what made it mutually beneficial. 

Bottom line is I feel I got more out of this than the local community. I have never experienced a true community where people are really working together for the greater good. And I will never forget that wealth is not needed to find happiness.  

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Watch Steve talk about the importance of the school in Nguiddine Keur Sara:

Three Ways You Can Help

1. Make a Donation Online
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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) [groundbreaking completed]
• Sunday, December 1, 2024 – Guatemala (arrive Guatemala City) [limited availability]
• A 2025 schedule will be published by September 1st.

If you are curious to learn more about joining a build, please reach out to our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen. 

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā