Daystar U.S. Newsletter

Summer 2022

Celebrate Progress

Alan Cooke, Executive Director, Daystar U.S.

Do you ever look at something and only think about the improvement needed? I tend to see what needs to be done, sometimes missing the recognition and celebration of something accomplished. Recently my children and I were preparing the garden for planting and after hours of work I felt pretty good about what we had accomplished and said, “Well, that was a good start!” (as we still had about ¾ of the garden to plant). My 11-year-old son said, “That is one of the most discouraging things I have ever heard.” He saw what we had done – lots of work, I saw what was left to finish. With Daystar University there is much to recognize and celebrate! Please take time to read through this newsletter and read about all of the progress! As we are celebrating things accomplished, let’s also celebrate lives transformed through Christ-centered education, which is why Daystar exists. We celebrate the successes and transformation together, as you are part of Daystar! Please know that I recognize you and the work we have accomplished together. Thank you for all you have done and all you are doing!

How can we pray for you and your family? We take prayer seriously and we pray for every request we receive.

Please share your prayer requests, my email is: Alan@DaystarUS.org.

Below are a few more photos of the children in the garden. Left to right: Zoe and Lily picking zucchini squash, Abby picking rasberries, Joshua looking serious near the tomatoes, Sophie in front of the cucumbers.

Daystar University Back to Pre-Covid Numbers

Prof. Laban Ayiro, President, Daystar University

Construction Has Begun for Phase One of Nursing Complex

Eloise-Marie Loeffler, M.D., Daystar U.S. Board, Development Committee Chair

Nursing in Kenya is critically important because there are fewer physicians, thus nurses function more as nurse practitioners. The School of Nursing is the fastest growing program at Daystar University because of its fine reputation in the field, the high level of integrity and work ethic, and students demonstrating the Christian values further instilled in them during their training. Experienced nurses in Kenya have noted that “the Daystar nurses are different.” Although most graduates remain in Kenya, they are highly regarded throughout Africa and worldwide.

“In 2014 I had the opportunity to attend the first graduation of 7 nursing students from Daystar University. That program has now become the School of Nursing, graduating 29 students this year.”

Since the first class of seven nursing students graduated in 2014, the School of Nursing has experienced enormous growth. Currently, there are 498 students enrolled. This growth is truly a miracle of God’s grace. With this growth, the program has outgrown its facilities. A three-phase expansion is planned for the School of Nursing at the Athi River campus. Groundbreaking for the Phase One building was held recently. The plans are beautiful and include classrooms, laboratories, and office space for faculty. Phase One is anticipated to be completed and the nursing skills labs fully furnished with new equipment by the end of the year. Phase One is being built with private funding in addition to funding from Daystar University. Total cost of the building is $880,000, of which $838,000 has been committed, leaving only $42,000 to complete this phase of the project. This is an exciting opportunity for you to be involved. Please prayerfully consider a gift to help us meet this goal for these deserving students. Thank you to our friends who have already donated. We appreciate you very much!

New Nursing Equipment Is On Its Way!

Thank you to the many supporters who gave generously toward the $125,000 needed to obtain and ship equipment for the new nursing skills lab - the equipment arrived in March! This equipment will provide great momentum for the future of the School of Nursing at Daystar University!

We were also blessed with the opportunity to obtain a second container of nursing equipment. It was shipped and is currently on a cargo ship in the Atlantic. This equipment was provided through a grant received by Matter, a local non-profit organization that specializes in medical equipment. The container and shipping cost were covered by friends of Daystar. This second container should arrive in the coast city of Mombasa in August and will be shipped via rail to Nairobi and trucked to Athi River Campus.

Below are photos of Dr. Susan Njuguna (Dean of the School of Nursing), along with students in the Nairobi nursing equipment skills lab

Record-Breaking Graduation

In spite of the challenges and difficulties of the ongoing pandemic, Daystar University held its 44th graduation on November 12, 2021, with a total of 1,398 graduates – the largest graduating class yet! Among the graduates were 37 scholarship students supported by Daystar U.S. donors. Daystar University is built upon decades of prayer and advocacy from so many – “destiny helpers” who have chosen to step out in faith and get behind the mission of raising up Christian Servant Leaders. Because of this, we can rejoice and declare victory with each of these students who accomplished so much! We look forward to more records being broken, more Christian Servant Leaders being raised up, and more declarations of victory.

Below are some of the scholarship students who graduated. These students are very thankful for so many friends in the U.S. who supported them - their dream is now a reality! Thank you!

Left to right: Graduation keynote speaker, Al Cureton, president of University of Northwestern, St. Paul, MN, Jason Sharp, Executive Vice President of Radio and Media at University of Northwestern and KTIS, MacMillan Kiiru, former chairman of the Daystar University Trustees, and Daystar University President Laban Ayiro.

Scholarships Change Lives

Scholarships are an investment in individuals. It is a chance to rewrite their life stories. In the last school year, 206 students were helped through full or partial scholarships because of your generosity.

Berth Assani Muamba | Kenyan

Major: International Relations and Security Studies

My name is Berth Muamba Assani and I am the last born of a family of six children. I have three older brothers and two older sisters. My father is a pastor at a local church and a teacher back in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). My mother does not work due to the economic instability in the country. I am originally from DRC, but in the late 90’s my family had evacuated from DRC due to the war that occurred in the eastern part of the country that claimed the lives of many. I found myself in Kenya when I was three years old and by the grace of God I was privileged to have done my primary education here in Kenya as my Dad was able to get a scholarship to help him pursue his pastoral studies and get a job after.

It was my prayer that I would pursue my University degree here in Kenya and at Daystar University to be precise. I had gone back home for my high school because the time had come for us to return to Congo. However, I wanted to come back to Kenya to join my dream University- Daystar. A very beautiful and amazing school it is. When I joined Daystar, I was excited and had hoped that all would go well as it did for my two elder sisters who graduated from Daystar in 2014 and 2017. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me.  In my very first semester, things went so bad for my parents that they could not support me anymore. Due to lack of school fees, I ended up missing so many exams, thus affecting my academic progress. In the spring semester of 2019, I received a letter from the registrar’s office that I had been discontinued from the university because of the large fee balance and the fact that I was making no progress academically. I was really broken and hopeless at that moment. I would shed tears as I prayed to God for strength to carry on.  I went and applied again and thank God I was accepted again. I rejoined and resumed classes in August 2019.

I remember one Sunday morning having totally given up because I did not know if I was even going to study due to the uncertainty of my financial status. However, for some reason that day, I felt the urge to attend a Daystar Chapel service. Surprisingly our residence Chaplain in his sermon, was sharing on the importance of trusting the Lord in the midst of a storm and to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Every word he spoke that day felt as though he was talking to me. I felt very encouraged and that was the beginning of a journey of hope. I started believing again in the power of God and believed that God had a plan for me. This brought me closer to God because my faith and hope in God were restored. I started being active in school activities and later joined the worship team and started serving the Lord there. By the grace of God, I am currently the chairperson of the worship team here in Athi River and I am grateful to God for this amazing privilege to serve Him. This scholarship has changed my life. This was the best news for any student to receive. It is like a dream.

Shanice Baraka Mutinda | Kenyan

Major: Education

I am the firstborn in a family of two with a younger brother. I come from a remote village in Embu County, Kenya. My parents left early on. My mom passed away when I was twelve and seven months later my dad passed on. It was at this moment that my life changed completely. I knew that everything will never be the same. The people I thought were family betrayed me and my siblings. They took the little my dad had left, sparing nothing for us. When things got out of control completely, my mom’s dad took us in.  My grandfather has been struggling so much; being unemployed and the fact that he has to take care of his grandchildren and also his children. He has been in debt with people so that he can provide for me and my brother. We have been farming but now that he is growing old and his health is not so good, the farming has been affected. We rarely produce as much as we used to. Because of this, we have been having challenges with finance. I have been applying for grants since I joined Daystar University, but I could not rely on them as they never come through for me. I then decided to apply for the Daystar University Financial Aid scholarship so that I won’t get stuck with my studies, while my brother is being taken care of by the little that my grandpa gets.

After losing both parents, I had no one to talk to and heal my weak soul. I remember spending most of my time crying and crying myself to sleep. I felt like no one wanted me. I was so lonely. At some point, I felt like blaming God for everything happening in my life. Then one day a friend invited me to a fellowship. People testified and that made me realize that there is one who can never abandon me no matter my situation. So that night I cried out to God and told Him to take away my burdens just like he did to those who had testified. I told Him to take charge of my life and that I just wanted to be happy. Since then, I have been trusting in the Lord. I have found peace in Him. I have faced tough moments, but He always comes through. In my home church, I am in the youth ministry as the secretary of our youth organization.

I chose to do Education at Daystar University because I want to be part of young people’s lives. I want them to learn from me. I want to give them hope and tell them that they should not give up no matter what happens. Daystar University has helped me grow spiritually, mentally, socially, and in every aspect of my life. It has brought out the best version of me. I have learned to be selfless and to serve others without any expectations. I always hope that my tomorrow will be better than today. I hope to further my studies and get a master’s degree or even a Ph.D. in one of the branches of physics. I want to be someone’s source of inspiration in the future and be a strong member of my church taking part in activities of the church. To Daystar University, I have so much to say to you but words seem to fail me. I am this person because of you. You have done so much for me. You have helped me grow. You have given me a life and you have come through when I was on the verge of giving up. Thank you so much.

We invite you to partner with Daystar in equipping students to transform Africa. One of the best ways you can do this is through the Scholarship Program. Daystar would like to continue to broaden its influence, and this means enabling many more students from low economic backgrounds to afford its tuition.

Good Stewardship

Our goal at Daystar U.S. is to strive to be good stewards of your gifts and to be sure the majority of your investment will be utilized at Daystar University. Beginning July 1, 2022, more of your donations will be going to Kenya. We will be lowering the Daystar Fund portion on all gifts from 16% to 10%. The Daystar Fund includes funding Scholarships, Special Projects and Capital Projects. Thank you again for your continued donations to support the mission of Daystar University.