Daylight office gets an upgrade!

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As you may recall, our 8th graders took their National Tests earlier this spring. As they go off to Secondary school in July, we wanted to highlight that their high tests scores ranked Daylight School as the 4th highest scores in Pokot County! Please keep these amazing new high school students in your thoughts and prayers as they embark on another step in their education journey.

Meanwhile, back at the school, our office space has gotten a lovely make over! As you can imagine over time and great use, our buildings need upkeep and repair. Our staff has been hard at work updating the floors in the offices and they look great!


Before/after photos

Our offices are used by our incredible staff every day to run the school. They have to keep track of all the students, purchasing food, school books, and other equipment, class curriculum, meetings for planning and communications with the U.S. Board, among many other things. If you haven’t, please check out our website page about our Daylight Kenya staff. We are so thankful for their hard work, compassion and dedication to our students.

Thank you to all our supporters for making the dream of an education a reality for so many amazing students and future leaders!

Daylight Center and School’s 2020 Report

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“Kenya and Daylight School feel so much closer now.”

The quote above is from a long time Daylight School enthusiast in the USA. The comment captures how the shared experience of a pandemic in 2020 made for closer ties between the Daylight School community and its supporters in the USA. Hardship and worry have been our common bond. But so is a closer relationship forged by the ways we have been required, in our respective homelands, to care for loved ones and to keep children engaged while away from school. Throughout 2020 Daylight students, staff and leaders in Kenya have drawn upon their tireless spirit to continue Daylight’s mission. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the effort to provide high quality education, a safe and engaging campus, nutritious meals, and a breadth of experiences continued. The goal of empowering students to imagine and create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the people of West Pokot was not lost to the pandemic. Our Daylight Family – in Kenya and in the USA continued its work.

If you would like to view Daylight Center & School’s 2020 Annual Report, please click HERE to view or download the PDF.

Thanks to your support and donations, Daylight is able to provide essential items such as mats for the younger students for resting, lots of beans to feed hungry bellies and firewood for cooking

A Daylight farewell!

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On Saturday, May 8th, we celebrated the 13-year anniversary of the first day students attended class at Daylight School! What was once just open land has become a bustling hive of activity, laughter, learning, hard work and love.

We held our U.S. Board Summit that day and celebrated all that has been accomplished by Daylight leaders, staff, donors, board members, trip participants and communities, both here and in Kenya. We talked about how we here in the US can continue to support the staff and students at Daylight, what the hopes and dreams are of those running the school and how we can help make those dreams come true. And we celebrated a new beginning for Daylight’s US Director, Nathan Roberts.

CELEBRATING NATHAN!

So many children have had the opportunity to attend Daylight School and many of our first students are on the way college. We have just begun to see the outcome of the impact Daylight has on their future! They will go on to be doctors and lawyers and pilots and teachers, and none of this would have been possible without the vision, passion and dedication of Nathan. If you don’t know the story of how Daylight Center and School came to be, we encourage you to read the book Poor Millionaires or watch this TED Talk with Daylight Founders Michael Kimpur and Nathan.

We know that you join us in gratitude for the blessings that Nathan has given to all of us and all of our friends at Daylight School these many years. Here is a note from Nathan as he departs to new opportunities and adventures:

“Today was my last meeting as the US Director of Daylight School in Kenya.

It felt right that 13 years ago today, we had our first class of Kindergarteners meet in a church classroom in rural Kenya. They were the first kids in their families to ever go to school.

We were all starting something new.

We had a lot of help from so many friends, family, students and parents in Kenya and America.

We made mistakes, learned, failed, tried again, and finally we built a school on our own property.

We have over 300 kids and 40 staff in Kenya and so many amazing friends and supporters cheering them on. We wrote a book and did a TED talk! We built friendships that will last forever.

And this year our FIRST KINDERGARTENERS ARE GOING TO COLLEGE!!!!

Today I am so confident as I pass the torch to a passionate and very capable board of directors. I am so confident in the team we have to lead us into the future.

I also want to say a special thank you to my Mom and Dad and my wife Emilie.

All these years I worked 10+ hours a week, and spent most of my vacation time in Kenya. I was able to volunteer all my time. And I believe none of this would have been possible if my parents and Emilie had not believed in this dream and supported it.

Thank you to everyone who ever gave, stayed up late talking over some issue with me. We did this together.”

VEAP March Drive results and future opportunities

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We asked and you delivered! Our annual March Food & Fund Drive was a wonderful success, bringing together hundreds of community members in the fight against food insecurity. Collectively, VEAP received a total of 148,252 pounds of food, nearly twice our original goal of 75,000 pounds! We also raised $322,591, fifty percent more than we were expecting. Truly wonderful support for our community members in need.

Ten different faith communities officially registered their drives with us and and we know many more of you supported us without formally registering. I want to say thank you for your commitment to our mission. Because of you all, VEAP’s Food Pantry will be well-stocked into the warmer months of the year. Truly a win!

I would also like to share with you some upcoming opportunities at VEAP:

  • Faith Community Connection – an invitation to join us: The Mission Partner Team and VEAP staff invite you to join us for the first Faith Community Connection Zoom meeting on Wednesday, May 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  The purpose of the Faith Community Connection is to inform and engage our valued supporters in the faith communities of Edina, Richfield, Bloomington and South Minneapolis.  We will recap VEAP’s first quarter, share information about upcoming events and hear from VEAP’s Volunteer Department, with time left to address any questions that you may have.  Please watch for an email, from VEAP, with information about the Zoom meeting and how to get connected on May 12th.  If you have any questions, please email Tom Russett, Mission Partner Team Chair at tom.russett@gmail.com.  We hope to see you there.
  • Future Light high school volunteer program. Calling all young people! VEAP is launching a summer program for students entering 9th-12th grade in Fall 2021. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer and learn about their community and issues affecting those who access VEAP services. This program will include 24-26 hours of volunteering total (breaks included) plus 4 educational sessions related to VEAP and the community, covering topics such as non-profit work, poverty, food insecurity, and housing insecurity. See session dates and application process here.
  • Four AmeriCorps Emergency Response Members: now recruiting! To continue to meet growing demand at our pantry, VEAP has applied for and been awarded four additional summer-time staff members though the AmeriCorps program. These individuals will work 35 hours/week from June 7th through August 14th. Service members will receive a stipend regularly for their term of service, totaling $3,750. We are seeking one candidate for each of the following areas: basic needs, food pantry intake, admin support and marketing. This is a great opportunity for recent college graduates looking for a summer gig. Please share! More information here.

Reflection from EMC Winter Book Group

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Spiritual Life – A Reflection on what I learned through the My Grandmother’s Hands book group

“What does God require of you but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8.

Over the last few years, EMC has offered opportunities to learn more about the racial justice discussion going on in our world.  The most recent one was two groups facilitated by Conie Borchardt working through the book My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem. I was privileged to participate in one of these groups. This was challenging, but full of rewards. I wanted to share with the larger church community some of the things I learned.

Resmaa Menakem is a trauma counselor who focuses on body-centered awareness to address trauma. He teaches methods to recognize how your body reacts to triggers, and how to respond by slowing down and taking conscious control of your reaction. The book addresses experiences and reactions of black bodies, white bodies and police bodies. Everyone in our society has automatic, subconscious responses to race. If we can recognize and heal this subconscious response, we become more aware of unspoken messages we might be sending. Being more self-aware also helps to empathize with others who have different experiences.

Learning about race in our society is a journey. Like knowing myself, knowing society more deeply takes time, effort and attention. Being something of a history buff, I have been shocked by how much I don’t know about institutional racism, it’s historical establishment and on-going enforcement — and how much I unwittingly benefit by it. White-colored people who want to help end racism need to start by learning more about how racism works and healing our own issues surrounding race. Just as you wouldn’t ask an abused spouse to educate his or her abuser, we white-colored people shouldn’t ask people of other colors to do the work of educating us. But if we make an effort, with patience and forgiveness for ourselves and each other, we can contribute to creating a more just society.

Reflection provided by EMC Member Sonja Martens

Daylight: Good Luck and Farewell to our 8th graders!

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Jambo, Daylight Partners! – Good Luck and Farewell 8th Graders!

On Monday, March 22nd, our 8th grade students will be taking their National Exams. These yearly exams, taken by all 8th grade students, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The exams are usually given in the fall.

The staff held a party to say farewell and wish them luck on their exams and we hope that you will keep them in your thoughts as well.

The National Exams in Kenya are very important. They are educational exams that test core competencies in Math, Science, Reading, and English. Students’ test scores qualify them for high school scholarships and determine what caliber of high school they will attend!

It also determines Daylight School’s district ranking. We are currently the only top performing school in West Pokot County that accepts so many students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our students and staff are very proud of this!

March Food and Fund Drive for VEAP

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VEAP Food and Fund Drive – March 1 – April 11

VEAP is having a Food and Fund Drive in conjunction with the annual Minnesota FoodShare Campaign. Their goal this year is to raise $175,000 and 75,000 lbs of food. That’s quite a lot but there is a big need!  In 2020 VEAP distributed 4,663,551 lbs of food (up 7.5% from 2019) to 26,630 people (up 9.5%).

For each of the next 5 weeks EMC will have a “Drive by and Donate” day when there will be volunteers outside EMC to take your donations. We will be requesting some of VEAP’s most-needed items. If you can’t get there at the designated time, you can bring your items to church during office hours. OR you can always make a monetary donation to VEAP. (If you donate directly to VEAP on their website, note in the comments box that you are an Edina Morningside Community Church member.)

Our first Drive by and Donate day will be Wednesday, March 3 from 4 pm to 6 pm. We are looking for laundry detergent (“liquid gold”, according to one VEAP volunteer) or personal care and household items – shampoo, toothpaste, soap, shaving cream, toiletries.

TPT documentary viewing with Morningside Neighborhood Association

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All are welcome to join a free Zoom viewing and facilitated discussion of the Twin Cities Public Television original documentary Jim Crow of the North. The film shows how racial covenants, redlining, and other forms of systematic racism in the Twin Cities created disparities in housing opportunities for white and Black people that persist and are some of the largest in the U.S.

The MNA will host this free event on Monday, 3/08/21, from 7 to 9 PM via Zoom. The film will start promptly at 7pm with the (optional) discussion to follow.

Here is how to get the Zoom link:
● If you are a Morningside resident and on the MNA email list, you will receive the link in an MNA email before the event.
● If you are a Morningside resident and not on the MNA email list, please sign up atedina.morningside@gmail.com 
● If you are not a Morningside resident, please register for the event by email to edina.morningside@gmail.com by Friday, March 5. The Zoom link will be sent to the email address in your RSVP.

Questions about the discussion format or how to use Zoom? Contact edina.morningside@gmail.com
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The MNA was formed in 2003 and incorporated as a nonprofit in 2005. The purpose of the MNA is to promote a better community through group action, to promote involvement in decisions made by local government, and to represent the interests of all residents and property owners in Morningside. For more information see edinamorningside.org .

Latest news from Daylight!

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Jambo! Daylight Partners!  A New Beginning!

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. To the right, 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.

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.

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!

Support Simpson Housing Services in February

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Each month, Edina Morningside Church partners with a different community ministry to raise awareness and funds. We call it our “Second Offering”, and in February we are supporting Simpson Housing Services in Minneapolis. Originally a ministry of Simpson United Methodist Church, this shelter-and-more for people who are experiencing homelessness now serves thousands every year. Its pioneering “Housing First” model operates on the principle that safe shelter is required for health and success in the other areas of life. Edina Morningside Church has financially supported Simpson for several years, as well as making meals for shelter guests. 

During February, we encourage all who worship with us to make a “second offering” donation to Simpson Housing Services here. Another Simpson supporter, Minneapolis resident Rebecca Skoler, has also designed special cards and yard signs for sale. They say “I Can’t Wait to Hug You”, and can be purchased in numerous locations throughout Linden Hills and Edina. You can read more about the “I Can’t Wait to Hug You” fundraiser here, and thank you for joining us in supporting Simpson in February!