Our Vision
We envision a welcoming and inclusive community providing self-sustainable opportunities to improve quality of life through free quality education.
Our Mission
Create a culture of belonging through a community development model and deliver liberating programs and projects to provide inclusive education to underprivileged learners in a safe and healthy environment.
The first school was established in the summer of 2016 in Siargao Island in the South of the Philippines with one classroom and a first class of 17 kids. ESPOIR will follow those kids all the way to high school (Year 12).
ESPOIR is approved by the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Philippines.
Our own hope, apart from making meaningful changes to those children and give them a future, is that one day some of those children will be successful, and will come back to develop their village/province.
The educational program is practical. It also gives children a set of skills and values that will be useful in everyday life and helpful to secure employment once their studies are completed. We teach them life skills such as respect, team work, family, pride, love, tolerance, compassion, gender equality and environmental sustainability.
Education is free of charge. However, parents of students commit to help in cooking, farming, teaching and maintenance. Parents' involvement is crucial to the success of the project.
Several parents are farmers or fishermen. With the help of farming parents, we were able to create a couple of gardens to grow fruits and vegetables and help feed the kids for lunch. Parents are involved either in farming, gardening or cooking and take pride in participating in the school project.
Kids also get a chance to participate and understand the importance of organic farming. As the school develops, each kid will be given the opportunity to manage a small garden.
In the project itself, we have used 2 large solar lights which are sufficient to supply natural light inside the classroom.
We used shutters which can be opened at different angles to supply the right level of natural ventilation.
We also collect rain water in a 2,000 liter tank to supply water for sinks, kitchen and farming, and use compost toilets to guarantee a minimal impact on the environment.