Opening Doors Through Education
Imagine you’re studying for an exam. You’ve been working toward this moment for weeks, and you’re finally down to the last stretch. You just need one more push to finish strong.
Then, the power goes out.
The lights shut off. The fan stops. Your computer shuts down. Suddenly, all that momentum comes to a halt.
For too many students worldwide, this is everyday life. Without reliable electricity, students study by candlelight after dark. They sit through lessons in sweltering classrooms, making it harder to focus. Laptops go uncharged, collecting dust instead of opening doors to new skills and possibilities.
And yet, these barriers don’t dim their ambition.
Late into the night, students are poring over diagrams of bones and muscles by candlelight or studying blueprints of the machines they hope to build one day. Many dream of supporting their siblings and giving their hardworking parents a little more breathing room. Others are looking even further ahead, toward a future where the next generation starts with more opportunities and fewer barriers standing between them and their dreams.
GivePower is helping lay the foundation for students to take their ambitions even further.
Reliable electricity is keeping classrooms lit, fans running and computers humming. It gives students more time to study and more opportunities to get ahead.
To date, GivePower has helped 639,082 students across 2,480 schools and 25 countries.
This back-to-school season, there are still so many classrooms where reliable power could bring new possibilities. You can help flip the switch and set bold ideas in motion.
Learn how you can help give students the resources they need to keep learning and building their futures.
Sometimes, one person's encouragement can echo across generations.
For Josephine, that person was her aunt, Sarah.
Growing up, Josephine’s father loved her. But after one of her older sisters dropped out of school, he no longer believed educating his daughters was worth the investment. He pictured a different future for Josephine: marriage, not education.
Her future was being decided for her.
Then, Aunt Sarah did something that would change the course of her niece’s life: she enrolled Josephine in primary school. All the way through high school, Aunt Sarah remained firmly in her corner. She made sure Josephine had what she needed to keep learning.
Aunt Sarah saw what others had failed to recognize: a bright, gifted girl meant for more. And Josephine flourished. She became the top student at her school and ranked among the five best students in the county. Most importantly, Josephine began believing in herself.
By the time she finished high school, Josephine knew what she wanted to do with her life: fight for girls’ education. She founded Lositeti Primary School in Kenya to help young girls take hold of their own futures, just as Aunt Sarah once did for her.
16-year-old Faith is one of those girls. She’s always dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon. After losing her parents, Faith had to find her way without them. But she didn't have to walk it alone. Faith found strength in her older sister, whose encouragement helped keep her childhood dream alive.
“What has made me who I am is the courage my sister gives me to study so I can succeed in life,” Faith shared.
From the moment Faith first walked through the doors at Lositeti Primary, Josephine had a way of making Faith feel like someone had her back.
Josephine has stood by Faith through difficult seasons, reminding her again and again that she gets to define her future.
“When I see girls like Faith, I see my younger self,” Josephine reflected. “The girl who dreams, hopes and desires to become.”
Yet even with a fierce advocate like Josephine in their corner, Faith and her classmates faced a relentless daily challenge no amount of determination could solve: unreliable electricity. Without reliable power, students couldn't use digital learning tools and relied on flashlights to study after dark.
In 2024, GivePower and TriSmart Solar helped remove that barrier by bringing reliable solar power to the school’s classrooms and computer lab.
“It's not just about lights. [The girls] are better positioned to achieve their dreams.”
For Faith, a world of knowledge is now at her fingertips. She can watch videos that deepen her understanding of anatomy and concepts she’ll need to master. She can read the latest medical research from world-renowned doctors, hospitals and universities. She can connect with other aspiring medical students and feel part of a wider community.
Two years later, Faith’s story is still unfolding. Family challenges pulled her away from school as she returned home to support her loved ones. Through it all, Josephine’s belief in Faith never wavered. She’s supported Faith as she prepares to return to Grade 10.
Although Josephine has since moved on from Lositeti Primary School, she continues to be a fierce advocate for young girls. “I become their voice and remind them that their dreams have value. I know how powerful it is when someone believes in you. Today, I want to be that person. To be there for another girl.”
Years ago, Aunt Sarah was that person for Josephine. Now, Josephine hopes Faith will one day be that person for another girl.
You can be that person, too.
Millions of young girls like Josephine and Faith are eager to see just how far their drive can take them. Your support can help the next girl with a dream see a path forward, step onto it and keep fighting for a future no one else gets to define for her.
Zyrene’s island shop will one day be open for business.
At just 12 years old, Zyrene already knows exactly what she wants to do. She dreams of opening a shop on her island in the Philippines, selling everything from school supplies to fresh fish caught in the surrounding waters. She hopes to share the richness of her island with others while building a better future for her family.
Zyrene’s dream is rooted in something deeply personal. The third of four children in a close-knit family, Zyrene watched her parents work tirelessly to provide for them. Day after day, her father ventured out to sea, working hard to put food on the table. Some days, he returned with a good catch. Other days, strong winds kept his boat ashore. No catch meant less money for food and other necessities. Zyrene remembers meals being small, going to school without baon (allowance) and times when rice ran low and neighbors helped her family get by. Even as a little girl, she wished she had her own source of income so she could help her family whenever they needed something.
Zyrene’s mother knew fishing alone couldn’t secure their family’s future. Despite the challenges they faced, she decided to pursue further education and became a teacher. Watching her mother choose to study and work harder showed Zyrene the power of persistence. That quiet courage shaped her deeply. If her mother could strive for a better life, so could she.
“I see how hard my mother works for us every day. Even though it is difficult, she never gives up,” Zyrene shared. “I want to follow her example and repay her for all her sacrifices.”
Her mother’s courage has ignited a determination in Zyrene to forge her own path: becoming a businesswoman. Every time her family struggled to make ends meet, every sacrifice her parents made, every act of kindness from her neighbors has shaped her ambition. She dreams of building a business not simply to earn a living, but to stand on her own two feet, lift her family up and give back to the island that raised her.
A humble girl with big dreams, Zyrene is already working toward that future. Today, she attends Dinet Elementary School, where her mother teaches. Zyrene is an academic awardee and a natural leader who loves spending time with her classmates and teachers.
Yet the school hasn’t always had the resources to fully support ambitions like hers. In Dinet, days are hot and humid. Without electricity, classrooms had no fans to help students stay cool and focused. Teachers couldn't use multimedia tools to bring lessons to life. And when the sun went down, students had no reliable light to continue studying.
These barriers made it harder for the students to pursue the futures they envisioned.
This summer, when a team from NRG Energy stepped onto the shores of Dinet for a GivePower Trek, a new chapter began. The Trekkers rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Through the heat and humidity, with sweat on their brows and dirt on their clothes, they helped install a solar microgrid to power the school. By the end of the day, they were exhausted—but they knew every ounce of effort was helping create more opportunities for the students.
When the system powered up, so did new possibilities.
Fans began to spin. Classrooms filled with light. Students ran from room to room, taking it all in.
For Zyrene, reliable electricity means new opportunities to develop the skills she’ll need to run her business. “I would like to learn how to use a computer and keep track of the prices and goods,” she shared. “Thanks to electricity, it will be easier for me to study and prepare for the business I hope to have someday.”
And just as her mother’s determination inspired her, Zyrene hopes to one day become an example for other children in her community.
When she imagines what success will look like, she thinks of the people who have supported her along the way. She hopes to build a life defined not just by what she can achieve, but by what she can give.
“I will be able to help my parents so they won’t have to struggle anymore. I will also be able to give to our neighbors and the community. This is all for them.”
Zyrene’s story shows just how transformative a GivePower Trek can be. Education can change the trajectory of a student's life. For Zyrene and her classmates, reliable electricity is now opening doors to new skills, greater possibilities and the futures they’ve imagined.
With more GivePower Treks ahead, you have the power to help open that door for even more students around the world.
Every Trek Has a Story. Be Part of the Next One.
In Coahuila, Mexico, students are planting seeds for a future beyond coal.
For nearly 200 years, coal mining has shaped life in the region, providing jobs and supporting generations of families. But it’s come at a tremendous cost. Rivers and air have been polluted, and mountains of mineral waste scar the landscape. The impact is deeply personal, too. At a recent school workshop, all 100 students in the room said they’d lost a relative or someone close to them in a mining accident.
But this is not only a story of sacrifice. It is also one of resilience, unity and pride in the land these communities call home.
In Barroterán and Palaú, that unity is already taking root. Students, teachers and families have come together to create community gardens, turning their campuses into living classrooms. Parents and grandparents are passing down generations of agricultural wisdom, while students bring plants and seeds home to their families.
For Ana Sofía, a student in Palaú, what once seemed impossible has become a source of hope. “We are creating life, and that feels very good.”
Through the gardens, students are learning about science, climate and nutrition by planting, observing and caring for the land. In a region where generations have been taught the land’s greatest value lies beneath the surface, these gardens offer a different relationship with it: one rooted in care, nourishment and life.
Coal was long presented as Coahuila’s future. Now, communities are writing a different story. Students are excited about the opportunities solar can bring. It offers a way to give back to the land rather than take from it. They have the knowledge, determination and ideas to build a future beyond mining. What students need is sustained investment to help their talents and aspirations flourish.
There’s an opportunity for you to help build on this momentum.
Temperatures in Coahuila can top 120°F, making air conditioning essential in classrooms, and electricity is one of the school system’s largest expenses. With your support, GivePower can bring solar to campuses across Coahuila, lowering electricity costs and freeing up resources for educational materials, science equipment, technology, more comfortable classrooms and hands-on climate education.
This investment is about who gets to shape the region’s future. Young people in Coahuila have inherited the costs of an economy built around coal. The goal isn’t to prepare students for a transition designed by someone else. It’s to give them the knowledge, confidence and practical experience to help lead it themselves.
In 10 or 20 years, these students could be scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs and decision-makers helping write Coahuila's next chapter. They’re eager to restore land and water, build new local livelihoods and shape what development looks like in their own communities.
The people of Coahuila have already planted those seeds. As one community member put it, the desert can look harsh and unforgiving. But when rain finally comes, dormant seeds spring to life and flowers begin to bloom.
The same is true here. With the right opportunities, new possibilities take root. Your support can help provide that rain.
Something as simple as a cup of water can change a student’s entire future.
When water is unsafe to drink, the negative impacts add up quickly. Another lesson missed. Another day away from friends and teachers. Another day further from the future they dream of. As the days add up, a student’s health, education and dreams hang in the balance.
Now, we have the opportunity to turn the tide.
A new source of safe water is coming soon to Mazeras, Kenya.
GivePower’s newest Solar Water Farm will provide access to safe drinking water for more than 163,000 people across four communities. For kids, that means fewer days out sick and more time in the classroom—learning, growing and dreaming of new opportunities.
That’s just one part of the powerful ripple effect safe water can create.