(PHOTO: School children outside their current, temporary classroom in Boof Louloum, Senegal. Team Dayā supporters are funding the construction of the community’s first permanent school building.)
Team Dayā will be groundbreaking a new school in Boof Louloum, Senegal on Monday, November 30, 2026. This is our third school project in Senegal and our fourteenth school project overall.
Our work is only possible with the support of people who join us for school builds and our supporters, over 1,500 strong.
Team Dayā’s first two school projects in Senegal were completed in 2022 and in 2024, both in the community of Nguiddine Keur Sara.
(PHOTO: The existing Team Dayā funded school in Nguiddine Keur Sara, Senegal in 2022 (on the left) was be complemented with the new school building seen rising from its foundation (to the right) in June 2024.)
“If we had the word that expressed more than thank you, we would use that,” said Chief Khokhan Nolong at a closing ceremony with Team Dayā and Nguiddine Keur Sara community members in 2022. “We pray for you, the way you come in peace here. May you also go in peace in your country.”
(PHOTO: Chief Khokhan Nolong of Nguiddine Keur Sara, Senegal with Team Dayā members Jeff Green and Jay Sears during the welcome ceremony on June 24, 2024.)
“We thank Team Dayā,” said Nguiddine Keur Sara School Principal Coumba Sanou Diouf in 2024. “As a professional in the educational system, if we had more like Team Dayā, we would have got good things in Senegal. I have been teaching for twenty years, but I have never seen a team like Team Dayā work, helping kids have a school.”
The Community of Boof Louloum, Senegal
The community of Boof Louloum is in the Fatick Region, approximately three hours to the east-southeast of the capital of Dakar. The estimated population is 800 including the hamlets of Mbine Coly and Keur Diogoye. The primary economy is subsistence agriculture including millet, peanut, beans, hibiscus, and cattle. Residents are primarily of the Serer ethnic group, speak Serer and Wolof languages and most practice Christianity.
(PHOTO: Students inside their current, temporary classroom in Boof Louloum, Senegal. It is constructed of sticks and sheet metal with a dirt floor, which means that, during the four-month rainy season, the students can’t go to school. Team Dayā supporters are funding the construction of the community’s first permanent school building.)
A school serving grades 1 – 3 with 61 students and two teachers was established in 2025. The grade and gender breakdown is:
Grade 1:
Girls 8
Boys 13
Total 21
Grade 2 :
Girls 8
Boys 9
Total 17
Grade 3:
Girls 13
Boys 9
Total 23
The school now uses temporary structures only: one classroom built from millet stalks and pieces of sheet metal, and a second classroom in a grain bank building where the community stores its harvests. Students in grades 4 + walk to Boof Poupouye, a nearby community.
(PHOTO: All smiles. School children outside their current, temporary classroom in Boof Louloum, Senegal. Team Dayā supporters are funding the construction of the community’s first permanent school building.)
2026 Senegal Team Members
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Heather Carver McWilliams.)
Heather Carver McWilliams. Heather Carver is chief customer officer at tvScientific by Pinterest and a board member of The Women in Programmatic Network (TWIPN), where she supports its mission to increase women’s pay, power and parity in advertising technology. Her commitment to creating opportunities extends beyond work, from running to support the MS Support Foundation in honor of her mother to joining Team Dayā to help build a school in Senegal. Married for 11 years and a mom to two boys, ages 6 and 9, Heather hopes to lead by example, mentoring others and showing her children the value of showing up, giving back and turning purpose into action. “As a former colleague, I’ve watched Jay Sears go from being a highly respected adtech executive to intentionally using his relationships, credibility, and platform to create real, lasting impact by helping build schools and expand access to education. That evolution has been incredibly motivating to me and has challenged me to think more deeply about how I can give back in a meaningful way. Team Dayā represents a rare opportunity to move beyond writing checks and instead show up, contribute directly, and be part of something tangible. Education is foundational to breaking cycles of poverty, and being able to help build a school alongside a committed community feels like a powerful way to align purpose with action. This project allows me to use my network and energy for good while supporting long-term change where it matters most.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Jordan Mitchell on Friday, October 31, 2025 in Shripur Domilla, Nepal.)
Jordan Mitchell. Jordan is a founding member of Team Dayā, Inc. and an alumnus of multiple school building projects. He has spent his career across ad tech including as an SVP at IAB Tech Lab (head of consumer privacy, identity and data), VP product at Rubicon Project and founder, chairman and CEO at Others Online. “I think about the legacy I want to leave. I understand that after I’m gone, it’s not the things I have (or had) that matter; rather, it’s the respect I’ve built for myself in my community and the lives I’ve touched.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Marco Sabbi.)
Marco Sabbi. Marco was introduced to Team Dayā when Isabella, his partner, joined the organization as its first executive director. He works in logistics, but his passion is global politics. “I feel touched and humbled to be able to travel halfway around the world to stand with people who are building their futures. This is something that brings us together as humanity.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā Executive Director Isabella Winkler.)
Isabella Winkler. Isabella is excited to join the team going to build the first permanent school in Boof Louloum as Team Dayā’s first executive director. A former educator with experience in international advocacy, she knows that the most important first step to opportunity for children and the broader community is having a school. “There is something special happening here. By connecting the adtech world to a remote community in Senegal that shares the same values of education, resilience, and hard work, Team Dayā is proving that collaboration can spark generational change.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā Founder Jay Sears working on the site of the new school in Nguiddine Keur Sara, Senegal. June 2024.)
Jay Sears. Team Dayā Founder Jay Sears started the group in 2018 with peers from the technology and advertising industries to fund the construction of primary schools in remote, rural communities in Africa, Asia and the Americas. In addition to running Team Dayā and the local community news site MyRye.com in his hometown, Jay has worked at mastercard, Rubicon Project, ContextWeb, EDGAR Online and Wolff New Media. “LET’S GO! 🧱🧱🧱” Donate.
Team Members from 2022 and 2024
Team members who worked on our Senegal projects in 2022 and 2024 include:
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.
I’ve just returned from Nepal where we broke ground on a new school at a small farming community in Shripur Domilla (location here). The experience (as it usually does) took us well outside of our comfort zones, and was as intensely rewarding as it was heart-warming. The community is incredibly grateful, and I was proud to represent your combined support. It’s always very difficult to capture the experience in words and images, but please allow me to try!
After a 12 hour redeye to Istanbul, a 7 hour layover, another 8 hour redeye flight to Kathmandu, a quick overnight stay, then a 2 hour flight to Dhangadhi (western Nepal, just 2km from the India border), we were finally in position for the drive to the community where we would be building our school.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Jay Sears, Sajal Patel, Thane Liffick and Jordan Mitchell visiting our very first school in Dhayapur, Nepal on Monday, October 27, 2025.)(PHOTO: The first Team Dayā school build in Dhayapur, Nepal, October 2019. Left to right: Jaryd Knutsen, Winnie Yang, Jay Sears, Hasan Arik, Jordan MItchell and Suman Chagarlamudi.)
But first, we would visit Dhayapur — the community where it all started back in 2019 during our first school build for Team Dayā! The first thing I noticed driving out of Dhangadhi in our small colorful bus was that the roads had been paved. What used to be dusty dirt roads filled with potholes, puddles and cows, was now quite smooth (though still filled with cows) … and the journey that took 2+ hours 6 years ago now only took about an hour.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Sajal Patel, Thane Liffick, Jordan Mitchell and Jay Sears visiting the school our donors funded in 2019 in Dhayapur, Nepal on Monday, October 27, 2025.)(PHOTO: The Team Dayā funded school in Dhayapur, Nepal on Monday, October 27, 2025.)(PHOTO: The Team Dayā funded school in Dhayapur, Nepal on Monday, October 27, 2025.)(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Sajal Patel, Jay Sears, Jordan Mitchell and Thane Liffick meeting with teachers and community members at the school our donors funded in 2019 in Dhayapur, Nepal on Monday, October 27, 2025.)
Memories and emotions flooded as we were warmly welcomed by the adults and children whose lives we touched (and who touched our own lives) six years ago. We met with the class in session at the school that we built, along with the teachers (that helped build the school with us), and the kids were eager to demonstrate their spelling and math skills. Then we met with the school board committee which, thanks to the gender diversity requirements within the covenant they signed, consisted of >50% women. They emphasized their gratitude for the school we built within their community, and it was incredible to hear how they’d parlayed our support into more books and supplies from the government and more education programs for the entire community (adults and children). The power of education was palpable; I could literally SEE the difference made within the community as a result of the school we built. What a wonderful feeling of accomplishment … which you ALL helped make happen!!
The next day, we drove a couple more hours to arrive at Shripur Domilla located within the “terai” — the fertile farmlands near the foothills of the Himalayas. Access to the community was challenging; once we left the 2-lane highway, it was 45 minutes of rough dirt road over half-built bridges and through dry river beds that flood during monsoon season. We saw no other cars or buses, only farmland and an occasional tractor or moped. It felt wonderfully remote.
The community was lined up to welcome us with music and dance, with everyone struggling to catch the first peek of the foreigners from a distant land who had for some reason raised enough money to build them a school, without even knowing them! They were nervous and shy (we were too!), but it didn’t long for the ice to break … our awkward introductions (we introduced ourselves in Nepali) and attempts to join in their cultural dances quickly elicited warm smiles, eye contact and laughter — which connected us as humans despite the cultural and communication gaps.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā being welcomed to Shripur Domilla on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.)(PHOTO: Team Dayā being welcomed to Shripur Domilla on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.)(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Thane Liffick, Jordan Mitchell and Sajal Patel at the dedication of the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
The opening celebration was elaborate and joyful, and the entire community took part — in speeches, cultural presentations, dancing, drumming, cheers, chants and song. All the adults in the community lined up to sign the covenant committing their support for the school, including their important commitment that at least 50% of the students and school board committee are female. From there we concluded the ground-breaking ceremony where the ground was blessed and the first dirt shoveled, then it was back to a final dance involving everyone in a circle. We had no idea what we were doing, but they sure didn’t seem to mind!
During these school builds, the team stays with host families within the community. Our build team consisted of four — two male friends whom I’ve known for some time, and a wonderful woman named Sajal from Chicago recruited by a very good friend of mine. Us three guys shared a small room with a lovely host family just a short walk (through farmland) from the school build site, and Sajal was not far away. Just about every home here is multi-generational, sometimes up to 4 generations (as ours was). They don’t have a lot of space, or a lot of food, so it’s exceedingly generous for a family to make room for us. A lot of their cooking is still done on small fires within huts made of sticks, mud and cow dung. They eat with their right hand, sitting on the ground. The dinners they made for us were simple and excellent.
We noticed the host mom laying outside on a bed structure not speaking to us, and learned that she was menstruating and therefore not allowed to take part in social activities, or be in the kitchen. This is standard practice there we learned, and typically the women are moved to “menstruation huts” (if they have one); otherwise it’s outside. During their cycle, someone else in the household does the cooking and brings them food and water.
For the next several days, we’d wake up at 5:30am and walk to the school build site for morning sunrise yoga from 6 until 7am. (Yoga is a part of Nepal school builds only, given its cultural importance / significance to the region.) Then we’d have breakfast, and work on the build site from 8 until noon, rotating between digging dirt, bending/tying rebar columns and bases, moving rocks, and shuttling sand or cement via a bucket line. The entire community took part in digging out and forming the foundation for the school, and with the use of translators, we engaged with community members as we joined them in the hard physical labor. The initial connections formed on day 1 became deeper throughout the week as we worked and sweated together. After lunch, we’d join the community again for cultural learning. One day it was a gender discussion where all the men got together and talked, as did the women. Another day we learned how to make roti over an open fire, and sesame chutney hand-crushed between stones. By 4pm each day, we’d return to our host families, take a bucket bath at the well, and then play games with the kids that seemed to always be milling about, curious as to our every move. By 8pm each day, exhausted from the day’s activities and sore from the physical labor, we’d collapse on our sleeping bags — thankful for the respite from the day’s heat.
VIDEO: 60 second tour of the school construction on day #4:
buildOn, the group that organizes the school builds, was exceptional at keeping us healthy, well-fed, organized, culturally aware and immersed within the community. They made sure we were as comfortable as possible, had clean water (we can’t drink the local water) and clean hands before every meal, and encouraged/helped us to communicate (and connect) with the locals. They also secured all the school build materials, skilled labor, and engineering for the school.
By the end of the week, we’d dug the full foundation and cemented in the primary rebar columns for the school. I daresay it was the most progress I’ve ever seen on a school build (in that amount of time) and I credit the community for that. Everyone from young children to the teachers/principal to the eldest men/women from the community worked so hard. It was incredible to see, if not a bit intimidating. Their sheer energy and work ethic made us work even harder, and it was hard to keep up!
(PHOTO: The worksite at the Team Dayā funded school in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)(PHOTO: The worksite at the Team Dayā funded school in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)(PHOTO: The worksite at the Team Dayā funded school in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)(PHOTO: The worksite at the Team Dayā funded school in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Jordan Mitchell digging out one of the footings for the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
This journey and experience left a few key impressions on me that I’d like to share:
Happiness is not bought. It’s humbling to leave behind all the creature comforts that we so often take for granted, and connect to a community where poverty, strife and subsistence living is the norm. These experiences remind me that (so long as basic needs are met) happiness is not about the things we own, our “accomplishments” or social status — indeed, the privileged communities we live in certainly don’t seem any “happier” than the communities where we build schools. It’s comforting for me to know I can be happy with very little.
People are essentially the same the world over. During the gender discussion (all men) I asked the men in the community what their biggest concern was … overwhelmingly, their answer was for their children (and grandchildren) to have more advantages in life than they did. Despite vast cultural differences, or whatever divisive rhetoric you may hear, we’re all humans in this world. We want to work, put food on the table, love, be part of a community and above all we ALL want the best for our children. For most of us though, education is “standard issue”… a basic provision afforded to every child. For them however, education is truly a privilege … and the single greatest advantage they can provide their children. CHILDREN are our legacy, and here are just a few of the children we helped.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā visiting an existing classroom in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
Technology is the great equalizer. In the midst of remote, western Nepal there was this surreal juxtaposition of new and old. Women are ostracized to menstruation huts. The vast majority of marriages are arranged (not “love marriages”). Cement is mixed by hand. Cooking is done in mud huts over an open fire. Yet broadband internet was being installed in houses, teenagers all over the work site were doing Tik Tok videos and the adults were glued to Facebook. There are no banks or financial services … they skipped that whole “era” and now use apps to transact. Smartphones and broadband internet may be the single greatest enabler of the developing world.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Sajal Patel being welcomed to Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
Lastly, I want to call out and thank Sajal Patel for joining us on her first school build. These are not easy trips. It’s so INCREDIBLY important to have women on these school builds, casting critical imprints among future generations of women, and I was so proud to be working alongside her. Not only is she a wonderful human being to have on the team, but she developed a massive fan base among the women in the community. There’s no doubt in my mind that as a kind, strong and empowered woman herself, Sajal made an important and powerful impact on the community that is sure to pay dividends forward for many generations.
Thank you all again for your generous donations to support this school build, and others like it. I want you to know that YOU made an impact, and hope you feel as good about that as I do!!
Team Dayā is planning more school builds for 2026 now (I’m tentatively planning on Senegal in late November), so please let us know if you’re interested in joining … I guarantee you an experience of a lifetime!
Jordan
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Jordan Mitchell on Friday, October 31, 2025 in Shripur Domilla, Nepal.)(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Jay Sears, Sajal Patel, Thane Liffick and Jordan Mitchell with community members on the site for the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
Our 2025 Nepal Team
Two of the six team members did not travel to the school building project, but fundraised with their own activities. One ran a half marathon in Malibu, California and the other spoke about the importance of Building Change while raising funds for his own ad tech start up.
“Not everyone has the time to make a trip around the world, but everyone can still make a contribution to Building Change,” said Team Dayā Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen. If you have the time and inclination to travel with us to bear witness, great – but if you are already doing something remarkable in your professional or personal life you can still deliver a big impact as a Team Dayā member.”
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
Our Nepal ‘25 Team
Meet our Nepal ‘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 Thane Liffick breaking ground for the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
Liffick. Thane is the founder and CEO of Signal North Advisory, where he works with early stage, high growth companies. He spent over 20 years at Slalom Consulting as managing director and created the firm’s healthcare practice area. Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Jordan Mitchell hauling cement for the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
Mitchell. Jordan is a founding member of Team Dayā, Inc. and an alumnus of multiple school building projects. He has spent his career across ad tech including as an SVP at IAB Tech Lab (head of consumer privacy, identity and data), VP product at Rubicon Project and founder, chairman and CEO at Others Online. “I think about the legacy I want to leave. I understand that after I’m gone, it’s not the things I have (or had) that matter; rather, it’s the respect I’ve built for myself in my community and the lives I’ve touched.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Sajal Patel speaking to the community during the welcome ceremony for the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
Patel. Sajal is the director of partnerships & business development at Nextdoor. She has also worked at TransUnion, Turn, Razorfish and VivaKi. “As a first-generation Indian American woman, I was taught about the power of education and the difference it can make in one’s life—not just as knowledge gained, but as freedom earned.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Mano Pillai. Contributed.)
Pillai. Mano is co-founder at AI Agent management platform Hypermindz.ai. He was previously chief product officer at Liveintent, CEO at Nikaza and has held product-engineering roles at Neustar, AddThis and AOL. “I grew up in a family of educators, and from an early age, I understood that education is so much more than just reading and writing—it’s a transformative force that can change lives and uplift entire communities.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā member Melodey Sepsey. Contributed.)
Sepsey. Melodey is the director of enterprise partnerships at Nexxen. She has also worked at Amobee, Turn and Starcom Mediavest Group. “Having an adopted brother from Guatemala and understanding what the daily living conditions there are, I really was drawn to the mission of providing support through education to low-income countries.” Donate.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā in in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
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.
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.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Jay Sears, Sajal Patel, Thane Liffick and Jordan Mitchell on the site for the new school building in Shripur Domilla, Nepal October 2025.)
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. Our current scheduled 2024 school building dates are: Sunday, March 17, 2024 – Nepal (arrive Kathmandu), Sunday, June 23, 2024 – Senegal (arrive Dakar) and Sunday, December 1, 2024 – Guatemala (arrive Guatemala City).
By Team Dayā Founding Partner Jordan Mitchell
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Hasan Arik, Kristy Quagliariello and Jordan Mitchell being welcomed in Arenales #2.)
I’ve just returned from Nicaragua where we broke ground on a new Team Dayā school. They are immensely grateful, and I was proud to represent your combined support. It was an amazing experience, and while difficult to put into words please allow me to try …
After 14 hours of air travel and nine hours in a “chicken bus”, along with an overnight hotel stay, we arrived at 2pm to Arenales #2 – a small remote village in the mountains of north central Nicaragua, within sight of Honduras. The last hour of driving was particularly adventurous, taking us up to an elevation of over 1000m via a road requiring 4wd vehicles. The landscape was stunning: vast, rolling hills and valleys which alternated between thick green jungle, flowing rivers, fields of grazing cattle and horses, and coffee plantations.
The community had already gathered to welcome us, and our hearts swelled with the warmth of their reception – involving cultural dance, song, local flowers, fruit and coffee, and words of gratitude. We had an entire row of kids behind us, cheering, beating drums and blaring toy horns after every sentence as if their lives depended on it. This was my third school build, and it’s always so touching and humbling. It’s beyond VIP treatment; these communities are in such dire need of a school for their children, and they’ve been working towards a school for so long, that we’re treated almost like celebrities.
The mayor of the municipality (representing about 26,000 constituents over 278 square kilometers) was there, as was the local director of Nicaragua’s Ministry of Education. The mayor promptly handed me a folder with printouts of five other “shacks” in his region that currently serve as makeshift schools, thanking us repeatedly for the school we were about to build while emphasizing the need for many more.
The culmination of the welcoming ceremony was the signing of the covenant, where all community stakeholders agree to support gender equality in all aspects of the school – not only with the adult leaders (must be 50/50 male/female), but also the students so that every girl has the opportunity to learn to read and write. The entire community lines up to sign this covenant, and those that don’t know who to read/write sign with their thumbprint. This process always touches my heart and highlights for me the true value of what we do – seeing mothers signing with their children, excited teenagers waiting patiently in line to sign, and especially the different age groups and genders signing with a thumbprint.
After the welcome ceremony, we were introduced to our homestay family. Several of us on the trip stayed with Rosa (a teacher within the community), her husband Herman (a community leader and coffee farmer), and their family. Their home was surrounded by coffee plants, orange trees and jungle – along with many turkeys, roosters and chickens, and several friendly dogs that guarded the homestead day and night. Cots and mosquito nets were set up for us in a single room with an electrical outlet and light bulb to share. The kids followed us everywhere, joyfully curious about everything we did, said and had with us. They hung on our every word (which required translation through Hiro, our interpreter). A neighbor saw that we were curious about the jungle and coffee plants, and happily took us on a long walk in his coffee forest – a brief and welcome respite to our new-found attention and moment to connect with mother nature. Coffee was plentiful and delicious throughout the week.
For the next several days we’d wake up at 5:15am, enjoy breakfast and coffee as a team, then get to the worksite before 7am. The beginning of every work day started with a community circle and introductions, since every day involved new community members (half men, half women, children too!) joining us to work on the build. Then we’d get to work – digging the full perimeter of the school’s foundation and moving the heavy dirt, bending and tying rebar for the columns, sifting dirt and blending cement while the sun beat down on us. Sweat poured down our aching backs, and blisters formed on my hands despite leather work gloves. Progress felt slow, but the manual work brought us together; there was music, laughter and discussion as we worked together. After the work was done each day, it was time for a brief “bucket bath” to clean off the sweat and grim, then a cultural exchange, and playing games with the kids.
The community is extremely poor and has little in the way of material items. They help each other out, share with each other, and re-use even the simplest of items. They cook everything using firewood in a clay oven, where they’d used an old motorcycle sprocket as a surface built into the clay for their kettle to make hot water. Every morning Rosa was up early, making fresh coffee for the team before grinding dried corn with water to make masa for the day’s tortillas – which she taught us how to make.
By the end of the week, it was time to say goodbye and begin what was to be an 11 hour drive back to the Managua airport. Everyone came out to see us off, and there were many hugs. Rosa and Herman said a prayer for us, wishing us safety on our journey. Random gifts were exchanged: one of the men I worked with carved a fish out of a small rock with his machete and gave it to me. Another brought us fresh cilantro that he’d picked that morning. And many of us received coffee beans that had been harvested, dried and roasted that week. All wanted to know if we’d be back to see the finished school. It made us sad that we probably wouldn’t see them again.
This journey has reinforced a few key takeaways for me that I’d like to share with you:
No matter how different we seem to be, we’re all humans that want the best for our children and our communities. Prior to this, the community had not seen white people (except on the internet). We talked about our beliefs, our lives and our families, laughed and joked, and they remarked that the similarities between us outweighed the differences.
Gender equity and poverty continues to be a struggle everywhere, and the key is in education … investing in the new generation. It’s unfortunate that so many families in these developing regions must choose between subsistence and education. Supporting young women is especially important!
We are all so fortunate to have what we have, and to be able to help others. But the material things we own do not define us, rather it’s how we treat others that defines our legacy, and there are many opportunities to touch someone’s life with kindness … like you’ve all done. The adults in this community all wondered why we would do this … why would Team Dayā help people we’d never met!? Well we all have our own answers, but I can assure you that we’ve made a positive impact on their lives and opened their childrens’ eyes. Our collective kindness will be paid forward, of that I’m sure!
Thank you all again for your generous donations to support this school build, and others like it. I want you to know that YOU made an impact, and hope you feel as good about that as I do!!
Lastly, I want to call out and thank Kristy Quagliariello for joining us on her first school build. These are not easy trips. It’s so INCREDIBLY important to have women on these school builds, casting critical imprints among future generations of women, and I was so proud to have her working alongside us. Not only was she delightful to have on the team, but she developed the largest fan base among the kids within the community.
We are planning more school builds for 2024 now, so please let us know if you’re interested in joining … I guarantee you an experience of a lifetime!
🙏
Jordan
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. Our current scheduled 2024 school building dates are: Sunday, March 17, 2024 – Nepal (arrive Kathmandu), Sunday, June 23, 2024 – Senegal (arrive Dakar) and Sunday, December 1, 2024 – Guatemala (arrive Guatemala City).
