GivePower
  • PROJECTS
  • PARTNER WITH US
  • CONTACT
  • NEWS
  • OUR TEAM
  • SHOP
  • |
  • DONATE
  • PROJECTS
  • PARTNER WITH US
  • CONTACT
  • NEWS
  • OUR TEAM
  • SHOP
  • |
  • DONATE
May 30, 2018  |  By Hayes Barnard

A Grateful Perspective: How the Treks Began

GivePower: Building a School in a Remote Mali Village

In late 2008, my executive team and I took a retreat that was anything but traditional. It wasn’t two nights in Hawaii, or a 5-star resort in Tulum. Instead, we ventured to Mali, where we volunteered to build a school in a remote village. It was a real roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-to-work kind of trip – a deeply rewarding experience that couldn’t provide greater contrast from the day-to-day grind of office life in America.

Hayes Barnard GivePower Trek

Of course, the intention was to create as big an impact as possible in this village, but in retrospect, I don’t know who felt a greater impact – the village, or my team and I. Witnessing young girls walking many miles for countless hours every day to secure clean water – instead of attending school – opened an emotional chasm in me that remains to this day.

It wasn’t right. And it cemented in all of us a grateful perspective – a deep feeling of appreciation for the life we are afforded, and the opportunities we have to make a difference for those who cannot enjoy the same.

hayes barnard givepower trek mali school

Hayes Barnard’s GivePower Mali Trek Experience: Life-Changing

That trip to Mali was the inspiration for what has become the trek experience with GivePower. Since 2015, we’ve led numerous team-building treks for mission-driven partners to Nepal, Colombia, Kenya, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and many more regions with areas that lack access to life’s basic needs.

Each trip has proven to be a life-changing experience and invaluable – both for those of us volunteering and the grateful people benefiting from the work.

hayes barnard givepower mali school building trek

We’d like to thank our donors, partners and you for making these opportunities possible. If you haven’t already, come “join the charge” – perhaps even take a trek with a team of your own – and help us make life better for those who need it most.

 

JOIN THE CHARGE

 

Read more stories from GivePower trek participants in this article: “Hear their stories”.

givepower mali trek Hayes Barnard GivePower Mali Trek hayes barnard givepower school building trek mali hayes barnard mali trek
Previous StoryReflecting on Virunga
Next StoryIntroducing The First GivePower Solar Water Farm

Archives

  • May 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • December 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018

Categories

Tags

clean water projects hayes barnard kenya Conservation Project in Congo's Virunga National Park give power b of a safe water grant givepower congo project give power foundation bank of america grant give power foundation news givepower mali trek GivePower Projects in Kenya GivePower Solar Water Farm Google hayes barnard hayes barnard communications systems project congo hayes barnard give power congo hayes barnard give power kenya project Hayes Barnard GivePower Mali Trek hayes barnard givepower school building trek mali hayes barnard kenya givepower hayes barnard mali trek hayes barnard solar water farm kenya elephant sanctuary give power Reteti Elephant Sanctuary GivePower Project Silfab

Who we are

We are a team of engineers, developers and clean energy thought leaders. We design, build and deploy renewable energy systems that provide food, water and light to those who need it most.

  facebook instagram
  • What We Do
  • Projects
  • Partner With Us
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Financials
  • Donate
Guidestar Transparency 2022
#JoinTheCharge
instagram facebook youtube twitter linkedin

© 2022 GivePower Foundation | 415 East St. Elmo, Suite #1-F1, Austin, TX 78745 | 501(c)(3) EIN: #47-1265705 | All donations tax-deductible where allowed by law