From the words of Mike Libecki:
This particular story started in 2011 when a lifelong goal and dream came true for my daughter Lilliana Libecki. She had finally completed a ski expedition to Antarctica, cosponsored by Goal Zero. She was only 11 years old at the time, and had trained for years to prepare. After that trip, her obsession for adventure grew like wildfire. Little did she know it would lead to a passion for humanitarian work and giving back to our global community in hopes of making the world a better place.
Just a few months after skiing with penguins, she came home from school one day and said with absolute confidence, “Dad, I am going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro when I am twelve years old next year.” That sounded great to me, and we started our training. With help from Goal Zero, we eventually summited Mt. Kilimanjaro as the sunrise crested over the horizon. But on this trip, I had also planned a humanitarian project partnered with Goal Zero to bring power and light to local orphanages, churches, and schools in Tanzania.
One evening before leaving Africa, Lilliana told me, “Dad, these adventures are great and all, but more importantly, I want to keep helping people like we are doing now. What are we doing to give back? How can we help more people like this?”
Just a few months later, the Joyineering Fund (501c3 nonprofit) was born from Lilliana’s commitment to try and give back. Over the next few years and with the support of Goal Zero, we brought solar energy, lights, computer education, built schools, provided clean water, and much more to communities in Africa, Nepal, Peru, India, the Philippines, and our local community in Utah.
Our most recent project with Goal Zero’s support was in Bolivia in August 2022.
We all have a responsibility to give back to our global community and take care of our Mother Earth. We are committed to doing our part. The time is now. It is not only life, but the quality of life. – Mike Libecki, co-founder, the Joyineering Fund.
From the words of Lilliana Libecki:
In a world where we can be and do anything, be kind and do good!
I am the co-founder of the Joyineering Fund, and our organization aspires to live up to the interconnectedness of our global community and help those in need with our very best intention and effort. We are learning along the way in the hope of truly making a positive impact on our world and global community. One of the ways we do this is by partnering with Goal Zero and Dell Technologies to bring solar panels, solar generators, lights, and new computers for education.
We just returned from our most recent project in Bolivia after a 2.5-year delay due to COVID-19. Our team of 14 people (Goal Zero, Dell, Joyineering Fund, Choice Humanitarian Bolivia) made it to the villages of El Tigre and Puerto Ruso to continue our efforts to make the world a better place. When we arrived in the first village, El Tigre, we were welcomed with a beautiful ceremony with local musicians, flowers, traditional dancing, fruit, coconut water, poems, songs, and big smiles.
Let the work begin – teamwork, hard work, dream work!
We woke up early with the sun every day, painting the new school building, installing solar panels, and hanging new lights while working with the local community. During the first few evenings, we had cultural exchanges with the community as a whole as we danced for hours and ate the local food of chicken and vegetable stews, bread, and rice. The days were long and exhausting, but some of the best and most rewarding days of my life. We took breaks while working so we had time to play soccer, hike in the Amazon forest and connect in different ways with the community. We felt at home here, and all I felt was immense gratitude.
By the end of the first week, we finished installing the solar panels, solar batteries, and computers in the new school and had taught them about this new technology and education. One of the teachers told me he would never have imagined that in their small corner of the world, anyone would care to help their community.
After leaving this community, we traveled to another remote village, Puerto Ruso, to start a similar project, which we completed successfully with more amazing locals. These communities now had reliable solar power, lights, and computers. They had never used computers before. This technology and education will bring comfort and educational opportunities for them and all their generations to come.
We stay in touch with these communities, follow up, and ensure the new solar power and computers are working and have continued support. Sustainability is of the utmost importance on these projects. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be part of the teamwork to bring this kind of joy to those in need. I want to learn more about what we can do for others and how we can continue to improve in the ways we do it. The key is effort, intention, and actions.
How can we all make an effort to give back? How can we make the world a better place? We need to ask these questions, have these discussions and take action!
In a world where we can be and do anything, be kind and do good. We must put in the effort and have the intention to make the world a better place any way we can. – Lilliana Libecki, co-founder and CEO of the Joyineering Fund.