Tilly’s Summer Sale for Daylight

Meet Tilly. She’s nine years old, starting 4th grade, and lives in Minnesota.

Last week, she came up to me before church and held up a brown paper lunch bag that had “Tilly’s Summer Sale for Daylight” scrawled on the front in black permanent marker. In the paper bag was over $350!

The Duct Tape club Tilly started has been busy for a good part of this year making coffee cup cozies, decorating note cards, and repurposing oatmeal canisters into piggy banks.

On the morning of August 17th, they set up a table to display the duct tape crafts and information about Daylight. To top it off, they mixed up some lemonade, including exotic flavors of mint, and purple basil pink.

Tilly’s Summer Sale was open for business that single day from 10am until 5pm. She sold out of one of the lemonade flavors and most of the duct tape crafts. Her father told me “The only thing I would amend would be her estimation of how many people came to her stand,” (Tilly surmised about 50), “It was a hot day and by the end of it more than a hundred had stopped by.”

When I asked Tilly why she chose to give her Summer Sale money to Daylight, she said: “Because Daylight has taken [in] kids that can’t move parts of their bodies, or orphaned and displaced kids.” She explained that she has heard about other programs, but that those programs already have many people supporting them.

Tilly has decided to use the Summer Sale money to buy 1 bunk bed ($200) for Daylight’s new dormitory, and the rest she wants to go toward food for Daylight students. There is enough to cover the cost of meals for 2 students for an entire year!

I am so inspired and encouraged by Tilly! I hope you are too.

Rachel Finsaas
U.S. Director of Operations

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Answered prayer: we have reached our $5,500 goal for the Phase 1 classroom! Construction will begin this week. Special thanks to First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater.

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Grace is excited to move into the dorm

Grace is a Daylight student that is very close to our hearts.

Her Pokot name is Kakuko. I met Kakuko in 2011 standing next to a hut made of sticks and mud. She had a scarf tied around her head; hidden beneath was the worst ear growth I had ever seen. So we took her to Daylight and a doctor.

After taking antibiotics, her ear infection was gone! She can fully hear again and there is no more pain. She had many new experiences at Daylight: from using an outhouse, washing her hands, even entering other peoples’ homes without an invitation, Kakuko has a lot to learn about living in a town!

But after her ear was healed, her stepfather came to bring her back to the desert. She spent the next year panning for gold in the stream by her stepfather’s hut. But earlier this year, Michael Kimpur and Nathan Roberts were able to convince the stepfather to allow Kakuko to go back to school. She is now back studying at Daylight!

Soon, she will be staying in the dormitory instead of sleeping on a mattress in the Kimpur’s living room. However, there are still a few steps before she can move into the dorm! Currently, our 4th and 5th grade classes are studying in the dormitory until a new Phase 1 corrugated tin classroom can be built ($5,500).

Within the last week, supporters have donated $3,000 toward the Phase 1 classroom! This is a great start! We still need $2,500 to build the classroom. Then bunk beds with mattresses, sheets, blankets and mosquito nets must be purchased ($4,000). We also need an additional $300 per month pledged toward operating expenses to provide the necessary food and staff for overnight care of Grace and 39 other students to stay in the dormitory.

Please continue praying for the students, the necessary funds to be given, and health of the workers throughout this process. And thank God for Daylight!

Lauren Soderstrom
Daylight U.S. Board Member

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Dormitory Complete and Final Steps before Students

Last November, a missions team from Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester, MN went to Daylight to help build a dormitory for 40 orphaned students from the desert. The team fundraised for the construction of the dormitory and spent 10 days in Kenya roofing, building desks, sharing stories and studying the Bible with the staff and builders at Daylight.

The project was set to be completed in early spring, but as with many things, malaria got in the way. The Kenyan builder, David, spent a month in bed with malaria in March, then a few weeks in May, and again in July. But when he was strong enough to work, he faithfully returned to the property to finish the work he had been paid to do.

However, there are still a few steps before the students can move in! Currently, our 4th and 5th grade classes are studying in the dormitory until a new Phase 1 corrugated tin classroom can be built ($5,500). Then bunk beds with mattresses, sheets, blankets and mosquito nets must be purchased ($4,000). We also need an additional $300 per month pledged toward operating expenses to provide the necessary food and staff for overnight care of the 40 students to stay in the dormitory.

Please be praying for the children, the necessary funds to be given, and continued health of the workers as we continue this process.

Nathan Roberts
US Director

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Walk for Water Quenches Thirst

We did it! As of this last week, we finally have the funds to build a water supply and purification system onsite at Daylight, and ensure clean water to Daylight students and staff!

We simply could not have achieved this without the help of Rachel Topazian of Rochester, MN and her family. They organized and advertised this 5k Walk for Water that included water facts along the route; such as “6k = average distance walked for water in Africa” and “5 gallons of water weighs 40 pounds.” Volunteers also set out containers filled with water that participants were encouraged to carry.

Walk 4 Water We needed $5,250 to build the water supply and purification system. The walk event brought in over $6,000! We plan to use the extra funds to hire an assessor to survey the best option for a water supply out in the Daylight outpost villages where both children and adults attend introductory classes.

A big thank you to the Topazians, and the many volunteers and participants that helped make this possible!

Rachel Finsaas
US Director of Operations

 

The next big project? Phase 1 Classroom.
Last year, a team fundraised for the construction of a dormitory and spent 10 days in Kenya roofing, building desks, sharing stories and studying the Bible with the staff and builders at Daylight.

But there are still a few steps before the students can move in! Currently, our 4th and 5th grade classes are studying in the dormitory space until a Phase 1 corrugated tin classroom can be built ($5,500). Then bunk beds must be purchased ($4,000), and an additional $300 per month pledged toward operating expenses to provide the necessary food and staff for overnight care of the 40 students to stay in the dormitory.

Have an idea or interested in organizing an event for this project? Contact info@daylightcenter.org.

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