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