1 Minute Update: Making a Difference

Dear Friends,

It is a new school year at Daylight and there are happy voices and the campus is once again a flurry of activity! We look forward to sharing more stories and highlights of our students. Below, some of our younger students were doing some painting recently. They are all very happy to be back at school again with their friends!

We would also like to introduce you to a couple more of our US Board Members. Daylight wouldn’t be the amazing school it is without the help of both our Kenyan and U.S. Board of Directors! Over the past twelve years many friends of Daylight have served for two or more years on the U.S. Board and every one of them has helped make a lasting impact for our students.  Our U.S. Board members have all gained a better understanding of how Daylight School functions and has become even more. 

Merv Miller, Board Chair

Merv is a Minnesota native and Realtor with Edina Realty. Merv has always had a passion for serving the less fortunate.  That passion has led him to lead several faith based mission trips to Haiti and rural Belize with the goal of empowering local communities in regards to health and food sustainability while serving the vision for those goals through indigenous leadership. 

Merv lives in Maplewood with his wife Lisa. Together they love hanging out with their 3 adult children and two grandchildren, enjoying the walking and biking paths in the area and travel to their favorite destination, southeastern Idaho. 

Why I am involved with Daylight School:

I learned about Daylight when I read the book Poor Millionaires about 7 years ago and had the opportunity to meet the Co-founder Michael Kimpur. My wife and I became sustaining supporters of Daylight because it met all the giving criteria that we value. It was justice driven, seeking to provide education and hope to one of Kenya’s poorest areas. Providing a home for orphaned children and playing a role in the betterment of the entire community. When I visited Daylight in January of 2020 I found the leadership to exceed my expectations. It is a working farm with full time gardeners and herdsman. The staff and volunteers work hard to make the most of every donation coming from the US. I feel that my gifts to Daylight are contributing to the bending of the moral arc of the universe toward justice.

Merv with students on his visit to Daylight School in Kenya in January of 2020

Lori Hart, Vice Chair

Lori Hart, a  US Daylight Center and School board member since 2018, is a Family Nurse Practitioner living in Minneapolis Minnesota.   Her areas of specialty are Pediatrics and International Travel and Tropical Medicine. Throughout her career she has enjoyed opportunities to practice in a variety of healthcare settings including volunteer work in Mexico, Haiti, Peru and Nepal. She has developed a passion for caring for and learning from her culturally diverse patients in the US and abroad.

Through her neighborhood church, Linden Hills United Church of Christ, Lori and her 2 daughters were introduced to Daylight Center and School in Kenya.  They saved spare change and donated towards bunkbeds for the school’s dorms. 

Eventually, in the summer of 2018, Lori and her daughters joined a team from LHUCC on a service trip to Daylight School. During the trip, Lori assessed and treated each of the 300 students plus many community members and school staff during a pop-up medical clinic located on the school campus. 

Lori with one of the students at the pop-up medical clinic.

Why I am involved with Daylight School:

I feel honored to serve on the Daylight Board.  I am very passionate about supporting and promoting the physical, mental and spiritual health of the students and the environment at Daylight so the children can reach their imagined potential. 

I am so grateful for the gifts from donors who help realize the goals of Daylight School and the dreams of each and every Daylight student. 

Thanks to all our supporters and Board Members over the past twelve years for making the dream of an education a reality for so many amazing students and future leaders! Please continue to keep the students and staff in your thoughts and prayers. 

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