Daystar U.S. Newsletter

Summer 2021

Recently I was able to visit Daystar University for the first time since before Covid. It was wonderful to be back with our Daystar University family. It was also a great joy to travel with my wife, Sheila – this was her first time traveling to Kenya since 2003! Inside this newsletter are updates from Daystar University, including photos and updates from our trip. Find out what is happening at Daystar University!
Alan Cooke, Executive Director, Daystar U.S

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 to Alan@DaystarUS.org.

A Hopeful Future for Daystar Students

From Laban Ayiro, President, Daystar University

Greetings to the Daystar family, friends and partners from us here at Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya. We wish you safety in the U.S. and may God protect you as we also pray for God’s grace upon us here in Kenya.

Kenya has had two major closures because of Covid. We still have a curfew at 10pm. We have been forced to adopt blended learning where about 50% of our students are online totally and the other 50% have a blended approach. The challenge at Daystar is also the connectivity and affordability of internet access for our students.

This semester, however, is exciting in terms of admissions. We already have over 500 new students for this current semester. We are just thankful to God and pray that God continues to help us make this university attractive to enable us to attract more students and, therefore, become more financially viable as an institution.

On behalf of the Daystar community, we are thankful for the support we have received from Daystar supporters in the U.S. I would like to appeal and pray that the Daystar scholarship program should never cease, but should flourish. It has helped hundreds of students who would never have had an education if not for the generosity of Daystar U.S. supporters. So, I am praying to God that He continues to provide for you, so that you in turn can support our students. We thank God for you and pray that you continue to stand in for us under these very difficult circumstances.

We Are Family

From Alan Cooke, Executive Director of Daystar U.S.

You are a vital part of the Daystar legacy. I love to hear the multitude of stories of how each of you joined the Daystar family. I joined 25 years ago. Some of you are new to Daystar and some have been part of the family even longer than me!

There is family in Kenya and family in the U.S. There are also different generations. Dr. Donald and Faye Smith who started Daystar Communications, which later became Daystar University, were the first generation of Daystar leaders. The next generation included leaders such as Dr. Stephen Talitwala. Other generations have followed – all with the same idea and vision – Christian servant leadership for Africa’s future.

During my June visit to Kenya I was able to meet with both Dr. Smith and Dr. Talitwala.

We have been through a difficult time with Covid, but it has been much more difficult in Kenya (as President Laban mentions above). Romans 15:5 says, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other...” Please know you are a great encouragement!

Sweet Family Reunion

A Daystar U.S. team was finally able to travel to Kenya and be reunited in person with our brothers and sisters at Daystar University! Daystar U.S. Executive Director, Alan Cooke, his wife Sheila, and Daystar U.S. Development Manager, Walt Avra, visited in early June. They traveled with the contingency from University of Northwestern, bringing new communications equipment to Daystar. While at Daystar, they were able to meet with colleagues, attend the dedication ceremony for the new communications and radio studios, and try out fitness equipment at Daystar’s new Jack and Camie Eugster Fitness Center.

It was worth the wait to see the Daystar University family for the first time since the pandemic began.

Communication and Radio Upgrades Come
to Daystar

Thanks to a generous donation and a lot of perseverance from University of Northwestern in St Paul, Minnesota, newly renovated studios with upto-date equipment for communications studies are now installed at Daystar University, giving students the best learning experience possible. Daystar’s radio station, Shine FM, now has the most modern radio equipment available to broadcast high-quality Christian programs and music to the surrounding area.

A Northwestern Media team, led by Jason Sharp, visited Daystar in January of 2020 with a fresh commitment to fill the newly-constructed studios with modern communications equipment. UNW purchased the equipment with a plan to deliver and install it in April of 2020. Then the worldwide Covid pandemic closed international travel!

After four canceled trips, a group from the University of Northwestern, led by Scott Jones, Assistant Vice President – Business Operations and Technology, and Mark Seignious, Communications Department, traveled with the Daystar U.S. team and arrived in early June. Going through customs with 27 bags of equipment was interesting! They thank the Lord for His favor in getting through.

Thank you to the University of Northwestern for their investment in Daystar students and the perseverance to make this a reality!

Nursing School Sees Tremendous Growth

The Daystar Nursing School was the only nursing program open in all of Kenya during the Covid shutdown! There are now close to 300 future nurses in the program, including an amazing increase of 158 new students for this current year! All of last year’s graduates were able to receive immediate internships and are vital in hospitals throughout Kenya. They are bringing hope to so many struggling in hospitals during the pandemic.

President Laban has shared that Daystar predicts another larger class in the next semester. Daystar is in dire need of facilities to educate so many future Christ-centered leaders serving in hospitals. The university has plans to expand the Nursing School to accommodate the growth. The first step is to procure and ship equipment to arrive as soon as possible for new student labs. The total cost for this is $125,000. Of this amount, $75,000 has already been committed. There is an immediate need for the remaining $50,000. Update: We have reached our goal and we will share an update soon!

Daystar Students Now Enjoy One of the Best Fitness Centers in All of Africa

A grand opening for the Jack and Camie Eugster Fitness Center was celebrated at Daystar University in March. The fitness center was made possible by a generous gift from Jack and Camie, and it is now being enjoyed by Daystar University students.

Thank you so much, Jack and Camie!!!

Daystar Grieves Covid Loss

The Covid pandemic has not spared Daystar University. It has been hit at a very personal level in losing one of its outstanding faculty members – Dr. Solomon Nzuko, the Director of Daystar Leadership and Professional Development Institute (DLPDI).

At the Memorial Ceremony for Dr. Nzuko, President Laban shared these reflections, “…it has been a very deep emotional low for our university considering whom Solomon was to our community. A staunch man of faith, a conscientious worker, and a soldier for Daystar. At a personal level he was my confidant and my prayer partner whom I would call at 4am when occasionally I felt overwhelmed by the burdens of leadership among other issues and we would meet in my office at 6am to pray. We shall miss him dearly.” This is not the only Covid loss that has greatly affected the Daystar University community. Yet, even in our grief, we still thank God that He continues to shield us as a university.

Daystar Timeline: Covid, One Year Later

March 2020
Daystar fully closed on-campus learning and moved all learning online. 800 Daystar students had to drop out which led to many stories of personal uncertainty. Lost tuition created a large budget deficit for the university. Over two million Kenyans lost their jobs including many Daystar parents. Because of this and other losses of revenue, the Daystar management team went through many rounds of cost cutting, including a 30% salary reduction for the leadership team and a 20% reduction for the rest of the staff and faculty members.

October 2020
The Kenyan Department of Education made an announcement that campuses would be able to be partially in-person, beginning on October 19th. The campus had been closed since March with 13 international students allowed to live on campus, as they were not able to return to their home countries. Daystar made preparations to fulfill all of the Covid-19 protocols to open both campuses.

November 2020
Daystar University had their first ever virtual graduation with 936 graduates, including 46 nursing grads!

January 2021
Life had begun to normalize with schools opening and restrictions lifted.

April 2021
In a surprise announcement the president of Kenya ordered the “cessation of movement” in the five counties in and around Nairobi, after an increase in cases of Covid. As part of this order, he ordered an immediate suspension of all on-going physical learning in all education institutions including universities.

May 2021
Many Daystar students returned to campus for the beginning of the May semester, including students from last year and 612 new students! June 2021 University enrollment has surpassed 6,000 students – up from a low of about 3,700 students at the beginning of the pandemic.

Schefers Start the Servant Leadership
Loan Program

“A loan made for an education can be one of the best investments you can make, if done wisely.” ELMER SCHEFERS

Elmer and Barb Schefers know loan can make in a life. El received a small student loan which enabled him to complete his university business degree. With this degree, El spent over 40 years working in a successful insurance business while Barb was a full-time care giver to their four children.

The Schefers want to give this same opportunity to Daystar University students. In 2020, they gave generous gifts totaling $250,000 to begin the Schefers Servant Leadership Loan Program. This program provides an opportunity for U.S. donors to support Daystar University students who would otherwise not be able to attend. Over the years, the Schefers have supported over 40 students and started this program with the hopes it would grow over time to be their legacy of assisting students for years to come.

The demand for higher education has increased tremendously in Kenya. Though Daystar’s annual tuition of $6,000 is low compared to U.S. standards, 300-400 bright young people are turned away every year because they cannot raise the tuition. Government grants, loans, and scholarships are not readily available in Kenya.

The Schefers Servant Leadership Loan Program stipulates that the original $250,000 will only be available for student loans when matched, with the goal of reaching an initial $500,000. All interest from the loans will go back into the fund to support more students over time.

The maximum amount awarded is $900 per semester.

Loans will be available to qualified Daystar students who are:

• Are close to completing their academic program.
• Exhibit a strong Christian character.
• Have demonstrated a financial need.
• Possess above average academic achievement (CUM GPA of at least 3.0 for postgraduate students and 2.50 for undergraduate students).
• Demonstrate mature behavior in all areas of university life.

If you are interested in more information about this program please send an email to Alan Cooke at Alan@DaystarUS.org.

Christian Ministries Offer Support

The Daystar University Chaplaincy team supported students and families struggling with Covid loss and isolation.

• Weekly Online Chapels had the themes of “Built on Christ, our Firm Foundation” based on 1 Corinthians 3:11 and “Jesus Christ: our Living Hope” based on Romans 15:13.

• Dorcas Pantry ministry was very active due to challenges brought about by the pandemic.

• Life Ministry Kenya provided virtual discipleship training to Daystar students.

• Weekly virtual prayer meetings included members from both Daystar campuses.