The second performance of Shade In A Parched Land is scheduled for February 23 at 4pm at Como Park Lutheran Church located at 1376 Hoyt Avenue West in St. Paul.

The piece is for organ, African percussion instruments and spoken poems, on a African theme. The arc of the piece in 5 movements is the emotional experience of an American educator/technician, from know-it-all to a realization that the one being helped is himself, working at a school for orphans and very poor children in rural Kenya. All are invited. Free-will offerings accepted. This event will last approximately one hour.

Below is one of the poems that will be included in the performance. 

Building A Classroom In Rural Kenya

Would you rather be
The mattock that disturbs
Dirt and clay,
Asleep in the ground
These many years,
Or the shovel that removes
Dirt and clods of clay
And creates a thing
Known for its absence – a hole?
Would you rather be
The brick that, with help from its brothers,
Defines the brick wall,
Or the mortar that binds brothers together
To make the strong wall?
In America, machines
Build everything.
Gian claws rip the ground
And trucks pour
Concrete for the foundation.
But in Kenya,
People are the machines.
They dig foundations
And build walls.
In Kenya,
The classroom
Is made of bricks and mortar,
And sweat and tears,
And hope.
So, you choose.
Would you rather be
The hammer that directs
The nail into its proper place,
Or the nail that holds
Things together
Long after the hammer
Lies asleep in the tool shed.

Maurine is Daylight’s class president of 2020 and she is excited for a great year of school. She is in 8th grade and is our top student in the exams and her classes.

Maurine is excited to encourage her fellow students to work hard and excel in their studies. She is from a family that really values education. Her mother is a primary school teacher, and her father used to be a runner in competitions around the world. He is now a vegetable and fruit farmer.

Maurine wants to be a surgeon when she grows up. She wants to help women in childbirth, because many people cannot get to a hospital. So she wants to go to the villages and homes to help them.

The sun was shining on the new 2020 class of Daylight during the first school Assembly in the ball field. Our students sang, danced, heard encouraging speeches from their teachers and headmaster, and then headed to class.

Our pre-school students and teachers are excited to begin learning their ABC’s. They moved across the campus to their permanent brick classroom. It’s still needs to be painted, but they are excited to have their section of the campus with a play area outside.

After the festivities it was back to class and our teachers and students got to work on their lessons. Thank you for helping make this school possible. Your support gives our students like Maurine the chance to fulfill their dreams of building a strong future for their community.

A special thank you to the Autumn Ridge Team and local builders for building the pre-school classroom and to Mike and Pat Roberts for making a generous contribution towards construction materials.

After a great holiday break with family and friends our students are jumping with excitement to get back to Daylight school!

Our students are riding, walking, skipping, and jumping their way back to school.

It is the start of a new school year because Kenyan schools begin their new year in January. School Manager Reuben has been hard at work making sure the classrooms are stocked with chalk and school uniforms are ready for the new students.

Students are telling their fellow classmates all the fun family and friends that they saw on holiday break. Then it is time to get back to lessons!

Edgar is excited to start 7th grade. He’s the oldest of six children and his parents live on a small farm in the village of Alale. His mom and dad are elementary school teachers in the village. His parents really value education and they wanted Edgar to go to a top performing middle school. They chose to send Edgar to Daylight because as Edgar says, “Daylight is a good school for older students preparing for the national exams.” They were able to contribute to pay for a portion of Edgar’s education, but with six children living on village teacher’s wages, their family needed help, so Edgar’s education was made possible by a Daylight scholarship.

Edgar loves studying biology and learning about farming. “I like to learn about food.” He smiles. Daylight is a great place for hands on biology classes because Daylight has a working farm with lots of cows, chickens, geese, goats, gardens, and corn.

When Edgar grows up he wants to be a pilot. He likes watching planes fly overhead during the recess. “I have never flown but I want to fly to visit another country.”

“Thank you for your support because without your support we could not have Daylight. I’m am going to achieve my goals and someday fly a plane!”

Thank you for supporting Edgar’s new school year and for supporting all 400 students at Daylight! Your gifts help young people realize their dreams.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Daylight Kenya!

After a great 2019 school year, our Daylight students are home for the Holiday break. Many of our students are going home to spend time with family. For many of our students this is a joyous time of reconnecting with relatives and neighbors. But for some it can be a painful time where they miss family members who have died. Please keep all our students in your thoughts and prayers, especially our 8th graders who said goodbye to great friends and teachers. We send them with our love as they prepare for High School at other schools.

Our 8th graders are a caring, hilarious, and a super smart class of students. They have been amazing mentors for the younger kids to look up to and we are so grateful for all the memories.

We are so proud of them and we can’t wait to see how they will change our world for the better!

We also want to give a special thank you to the House of Mercy Lutheran Church who donated the proceeds from their Church Christmas Market to Daylight!

Daylight partner Peter Losenguria took his daughter Joy to the hospital because Joy was very sick with Malaria.

Their family lives and 8 hour drive deep into the Rift Valley desert. So they traveled by bus and then spent the weekend at the hospital.

Joy was a brave patient and she’s still smiling after three blood transfusions. Please keep Joy and the Losenguria family in your prayers.

We are so grateful for Daylight supporters who supported her recovery. Your support saves lives of hundreds of children like Joy.

And thank you to The Aldrich Tattoo Parlor in Minneapolis for donating the proceeds from several tattoo’s this month to support Daylight School!