(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.)
Team Dayā is pleased to announced its 2026 school building dates. For our supporters that want to bear witness to Building Change, and see for themselves the impact of primary school education in fighting poverty and illiteracy, consider joining us.
Curious? Have questions? Contact our Head of Recruiting Jaryd Knutsen. You can also contact any Team Dayā member and ask about her or his experience (scroll through our site). Each participant on a Team Dayā school build covers 100% of her own cost, and commits to raising money towards our school construction fund.
If you work in advertising or technology, there is almost certainly someone you know among our team members and supporters! Read the first person accounts of school building and listen to some of our Team Dayā members, just below. We also welcome others who are not able to travel but still want to joining a team and help us raise funds.
Team Dayā 2026 School Project Dates:
Guatemala 2026
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
Sunday, June 28, 2026 – Saturday, July 4, 2026
Arrival by 2pm on first day, departure after 10am on last day
(PHOTO: A community member signs with covenant supporting the Team Dayā school in Lambwe, Malawi on Monday, June 23, 2025. He is signing with his thumbprint because he does not know how to write.)
Today we celebrate the groundbreaking of our 10th Team Dayā school. On Monday, June 23, 2025, our group worked with the community of Lambwe in the Dowa district of Malawi to break ground on a new school.
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Jay Sears and Michael Benedek with community members from Lambwe, Malawi on the school worksite on Thursday, June 26, 2025. It was the 10th project funded by Team Dayā.)
Our 10th school is only possible because of our myriad of supporters in the United States and around the world that support our work with financial donations and various expertise including marketing, technology, financial planning and legal assistance.
Our 2025 Malawi team of Michael Benedek, Serge Matta and his son Gabe, Andy Srubias and Jay Sears merit special thanks for all their fundraising work.
Lambwe, Malawi
Our 10th school is in the village of Lambwe, Malawi. With a population of approximately 1,609, Lambwe is an agricultural community dependent on farming – mainly corn, tobacco, soya and peanuts.
The community operates an existing school for grades 1st – 8th with 603 students (298 boys and 305 girls). The children are taught by seven teachers.
(VIDEO: The “day two” tour of the Team Dayā school groundbreaking in Lambwe, Malawi on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.)
The existing school is in poor condition, including one school block (a block is a building with classrooms) that has no roof at all. Team Dayā is funding a new school building with two classrooms as well as a new boys and new girls latrine. It is expected the school will be completed in approximately two months.
Visit to the 2023 M’mbula School
(PHOTO: Team Dayā members Jay Sears and Michael Benedek with students inside the M’mbula school Team Dayā funded back in 2023. The visit to the completed school took place on Friday, June 27, 2025.)
We’ll write about our visit in a subsequent post, but suffice it to say it is always a special day when you see one of our completed schools filled with learners. Wow!
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.)
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.)
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.)
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. 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.)
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
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 [school completed] Sunday, February 9, 2025 – Saturday, February 15, 2025
Malawi, East Africa [groundbreaking completed] Sunday, June 22, 2025 – Saturday, June 28, 2025
Nepal, South Asia Sunday October 26th, 2025 – Sunday, November 2nd, 2025
2026 Project Dates [available after October 1, 2025]
(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.)
On Monday, June 23, 2025, our group will groundbreak on a school in the community of Lambwe in the Dowa district north of the capital of Lilongwe in the Central Region of Malawi (see location). The village, with a population of approximately 1,609, is an agricultural community dependent on farming – mainly corn, tobacco, soya and peanuts.
School Project
(PHOTO: Team Dayā will groundbreak on a new school building in Lambwe, Malawi in June 2025. Part of the Mkuyu school is missing a roof. Contributed.)
The community operates an existing school for grades 1st – 8th with 603 students (298 boys and 305 girls). The children are taught by seven teachers.
1st grade – 134 students (70 boys, 64 girls)
2nd grade – 87 students (37 boys, 50 girls)
3rd grade – 89 students (40 boys, 49 girls)
4th grade – 68 students (38 boys, 30 girls)
5th grade – 92 students (50 boys, 42 girls)
6th grade – 75 students (36 boys, 39 girls)
7th grade – 40 students (17 boys, 23 girls)
8th grade – 18 students (10 boys, 8 girls)
The existing school is in poor condition, including one school block (a block is a building with classrooms) that has no roof at all. Team Dayā will be funding a new school building as well as a new boys and new girls latrine.
Visiting the M’mbula School
(PHOTO: The Team Dayā school in Nchetana, Malawi, constructed in 2023. Named M’mbula, this building serves serve one hundred fifth and sixth graders.)
“[The new school] will help us motivate learners who dropped out of the school due to the learning environment which was poor to them,” said Head Teacher Mathias Saka in 2023 as he stood in front of the old building made of grass and sticks. “Because of this new block, the learners will come in large number.”
Malawi ’25 Team
(PHOTO: Students working hard. Team Dayā will groundbreak on a new school building in Lambwe, Malawi in June 2025. Part of the Mkuyu school is missing a roof. Contributed.)
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.)
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.)
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.)
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. 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.)
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
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
