Tag Archives: Malawi

Groundbreaking a New School in Lambwe, Malawi

(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.)

Team Dayā is heading to Malawi to build its tenth school overall and its second school in Malawi. Please consider a donation to the group or to one of our team members headed to Malawi. 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.

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.)

On Friday, June 27, 2025, Team Dayā plans to visit the M’mbula school it funded back in 2023. One hundred fifth and sixth graders utilize that school building each day. Team members Riley Jacobson, Davina Kent, Chevan Nanayakkara, Kerri Olson, Nicolle Pangis, Vib Prasad, Lauren Rosen and Jay Sears all worked to raise funds and groundbreak the project.

“[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.) — (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.

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

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
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
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

Building Schools in Malawi: Team Dayā’s 2025 Team

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Our Malawi ‘25 team is composed of five individuals whose work will make a difference to girls and boys, their families and their community in a rural community in Malawi. This will be Team Dayā’s second project in Malawi and its the 10th school overall. The group funded its first school in the country in 2023 in the community of Nchetana in the Kasungu region of Malawi.

Malawi, often referred to as the “Warm Heart of Africa,” is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. Malawi’s economy is predominantly agricultural and the population is impacted by high poverty and illiteracy rates.

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

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.

Our 2023 Malawi Project

In 2023, Team Dayā worked alongside members of the community of Nchetana, Malawi to break ground on a school building to serve one hundred fifth and sixth graders. The school, named M’mbula, built classrooms in 2019 and 2021 to serve the first, second, third and fourth graders.

Now one hundred fifth and sixth graders have proper classrooms and latrines to use. Until this construction, they were using a classroom built from grass.

Construction workers painting the exterior of a school building in Malawi, with several people using ladders and scaffolding while surrounded by paint buckets.

A new school building in a rural community in Malawi, featuring a modern design with red brick walls, large windows, and a paved walkway.

(VIDEO: School parent and worksite volunteer Lusiyi Anderson.)

“It (the new school) will be safe for (my) kids to learn in,” said school parent and worksite volunteer Lusiyi Anderson in Nchetana, Malawi.

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

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

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
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
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

Thanks again for your continued support,

All of us at Team Dayā

Team Dayā School in Malawi is Complete

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The Team Dayā school in Nchetana, Malawi, where construction began on July 3rd, is now complete. It is another great example of what can be done in partnership with local communities and our supporters.

Zikomo! (thank you in Chichewa language)

Your support is needed to continue our school building.

Team Dayā worked alongside members of the community of Nchetana to break ground on a school building to serve one hundred fifth and sixth graders. The school, named M’mbula, built classrooms in 2019 and 2021 to serve the first, second, third and fourth graders.

Now one hundred fifth and sixth graders will have proper classrooms and latrines to use. Until this construction, they were using a classroom built from grass.

Before the construction of this school building, total enrollment for grades 1 – 6 was 418 (215 boys and 203 girls). Now, enrollment is at 466 (237 boys and 229 girls) – 48 more students! The school is still registering students to start grade 1 for this fall.

Construction on the new school was completed August 24th and the students starting using the building on Monday, September 11th, the first day of the school year. For now, the school is using the old stick and straw classroom as a temporary office until they solidify plans for adding grades 7 and 8 to M’Bula school.

“[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 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.”

“This school being built here is very important in this community because the children were learning in that shelter that was not conducive for learning, especially during the rainy season,” said Deputy Chair of the School Committee Sofileti Zabuloni. “It was difficult for students to have their studies.”

(VIDEO: Member of the Leadership Committee Chifundo Wilson.)

“The students were learning in the shelter or sometimes outside under a tree and it was a distraction for them …,” said Member of the Leadership Committee Chifundo Wilson. After the school building is completed “They will be learning in a conducive environment … this new school block is very important to the school.”

(VIDEO: School parent and worksite volunteer Lusiyi Anderson.)

“It (the new school) will be safe for (my) kids to learn in,” said school parent and worksite volunteer Lusiyi Anderson in Nchetana, Malawi.

Our team members – Riley Jacobson, Davina Kent, Chevan Nanayakkara, Kerri Olson, Nicolle Pangis, Vib Prasad, Lauren Rosen and Jay Sears – worked, danced, sang and celebrated with community members as we broke ground on the new school back in early July.

If you are interested in joining a future school build, please contact our head of recruiting, Jaryd Knutsen. Next up, Team Dayā has a November 19th school start in Nicaragua. We are now recruiting for 2024 when we will be building schools in Nepal, Senegal and Guatemala. Our Nepal construction will start on March 17th, 2024.

“It has been an amazing experience,” said Team Dayā member Nicolle Pangis. “I just urge anyone that is interested in potentially joining a future trek – absolutely do it. We are getting more out of this – I promise you – than the community that we are serving.”

Your support is needed to continue our school building.