“What Sacrifice Can Do” – Interview with Laban Ayiro (Daystar University)

Abstract

In the twenty-fifth episode of the third season of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Laban Ayiro, the Vice Chancellor of Daystar University. Ayiro begins by exploring the exponential growth the Church is experiencing in sub-Saharan Africa and, in particular, in east African nations such as Kenya. As a frequent visitor to Europe and North America, Ayiro compares the spiritual climate of those two regions of the world with Kenya, the ways in which Christian commitments prove more fundamental to the identity of Kenyans, and thus why Christian discipleship is viewed as more compelling. He also details how the growth in Christianity has fueled the growth of universities such as Daystar, growth which Ayiro hopes he and his colleagues are meeting with a truly Christ-centered education. Ayiro then shifts to talk about how his own education in Canada, South Africa, Kenya, and the United States proved formative, gave him an expansive view of the world, and provided him with connections he draws upon when seeking to advance the efforts of his colleagues and students. Although the conditions Ayiro experienced prior to this appointment at Daystar were painful, he believes God was working through those conditions in order to lead him to Daystar and, upon arrival, have a vision for the university’s future. Ayiro shares that vision, one in which he has sought to meet considerable growth with incremental increases in academic quality as guided by the university’s Christian mission. He then closes by talking about the symbiotic relationship he believes the Church and Christian universities such as Daystar must share, recognizing they are dependent upon one another in several ways as they strive to meet the needs of the world in Christ’s name.