Covid- One Year Later
March 16, 2021
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!"
Psalm 118:1 (ESV)
Covid, one year later! Can you imagine that more than a year has gone by since this all started? Do you remember the plans you had for the past year? Many difficult things have happened, but sometimes we grow the most during trying times. We are commanded in Scripture to give thanks in all things and God is always there to help us through tough times and to guide our growth. We need to remember that God is good and has our best interest in mind.
Over the next few emails, we are going to share some outcomes at Daystar after this difficult year; these are reasons to be thankful at Daystar, difficult times but also times of growth.
Enrollment dropped suddenly last year, mainly because so many families lost their sources of income (with millions of people losing jobs in Kenya and around Africa). This was very difficult for Daystar, but it did prompt many growth areas, such as deciding which classes to keep and which to discontinue and to take those remaining classes and move them to online learning.
We mentioned another area of growth, which is the School of Nursing. The growth has been amazing with numbers doubling to around 300 students!
Enrollment numbers are coming back to pre-Covid levels, with 4,600 students now registered! This is a huge praise that Daystar has been able to assure parents and students of the safety at Daystar. Please pray that the students and their families will be able to cover all of their fees. Hopefully this will move Daystar back to operations being sustained with tuition.
We look forward to sharing more next week - thanks for following along!
Blessings,
Alan
P.S. Would you prayerfully consider making a special gift to support our students who are struggling? It is encouraging to hear good news from Daystar University, though in Kenya many are still out of work. If you are like many of us, you may have recently received a stimulus check from the IRS – this may be a great time to share with someone who does not have that type of support. In Kenya there is not any financial/stimulus payments from the government – we may be their only assistance during this difficult time.
Covid-19 Support
One-time Scholarship Grants.
U.S. partners were able to assist 141 students with one-time grants during the January semester (average grant amount was $387)
Internet data.
U.S. supporters were able to assist with internet data for 4,293 students who were able to attend online classes.
International Student Support.
Support for international students who had to remain living on the Daystar campus because they could not return to their home countries.
Gym Equipment
A generous Daystar supporter took on the challenge of funding new gym equipment for the Daystar main campus. All of the funds have been given and the brand new equipment has arrived at the Athi River campus. The new gym was inaugurated on March 4th. This state of the art fitness center is probably the best in all of Kenya.
Communications Equipment
Through the University of Northwestern St. Paul (UNWSP) partnership we are in the process of assisting with over $100,000 of communications equipment.This equipment has been purchased, set-up, tested and packed for transport.A team of engineers from UNWSP are also ready to travel to Daystar for installing and training. We hope this will happen in January with the lifting of some travel restrictions.The majority of the equipment will equip the updated communication studios which were completed last year with U.S. partner support.
Scholarship Support
In academic year 2019-2020, you were able to assist 192 students with full or partial scholarships, many of whom are the first in their family to attend university.
Daystar Loan Program
Another Daystar U.S friend has given funds to create an internal loan program at Daystar University. This program is designed to assist students with small, low-interest loans and the funds they pay back would help other Daystar students. The Financial Aid/Finance Department has worked closely with President Laban to create a model for this unique program.
The donor’s requirement is that the funds not be used unless they were matched. The original donation was for $120,000 (plus an additional $130,000) and so far we have received $22,400 towards the match, so at this time $44,800 can be used for this program. Our colleagues in the Finance Department at Daystar have been working on the logistics and the program started with eight students last semester. They are hoping to expand the program this semester.
Security Wall Support
A large gift was given from the estate of a Daystar U.S. friend who passed away. These funds were used to start construction on the main campus perimeter wall.
