This June three of our staff members traveled to Kenya for Daystar University's graduation. We met with our overseas coworkers, heard the stories of our scholarship students, and tried some interesting foods. We are extremely grateful we had the opportunity to travel across the world and see the impact our donors in the U.S. are making in East Africa.
We had lots of meetings with our Daystar University coworkers, who we work with on a daily basis from 8,000 miles away. It was nice to sit down across the table and share coffee, ideas, and laughs with them.
We attended the 2016 Daystar graduation ceremony where approximately 850 students graduated. The scope of the event was huge, with an estimated 10,000 people attending. It was beautiful to see whole villages celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of their graduate.
Evariste and his wife Gertrude are both Daystar alumni. The Daystar U.S. office supported both of their educations with scholarships. To show their gratitude they presented us with this homemade basket that reads, “Daystar US murakoze”. Murakoze means thank you in Burundi.
Because Kenya is in the southern hemisphere we were there during their winter season, which tends to be pretty rainy. We were told this year was especially cold and rainy and because of that Daystar’s campus was green and blossoming, more than most years. It was beautiful!
Our Executive Director, Kathy, walked with other dignitaries at the graduation ceremony. Kathy is a seasoned traveler to Kenya; this was the 5th graduation ceremony she attended!
Alan Cooke, our Assistant Director, with his good friend Evariste at graduation.
Katie, our Marketing Administrator, spent countless hours videoing and photographing students, graduates, and alumni. It was often overwhelming to hear all of the amazing stories they had to share.
We tried some traditional Kenyan food: ugali, a dish made of cornmeal cooked in boiling liquid to a dough-like consistency, and sukuma wiki, a kale-like green.
It wasn’t all hard work! We got to take a few hours to shop at Amani Ya Juu, a socioeconomic enterprise that employs women refugees in Kenya to give them a reliable income. They have beautiful products and we were able to buy a few souvenirs for our friends back home.
Getting the opportunity to celebrate with these hardworking students was a priceless experience and one we will remember and cherish forever.