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Our Story

The Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation is a non-profit organization in the Philippines that helps children in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) access education, starting with something as basic yet life-changing as a boat ride to school.

Our journey began in 2010, when a group of friends learned about children in a coastal village in Zamboanga who had to swim just to get to class. Touched by their story, they donated a single yellow boat so the children could travel to school safely and with dignity. The bright yellow color was inspired by city school buses, an everyday symbol of access to education, and became our symbol of hope, since yellow is the color of hope.

Since then, that one act of kindness has turned into a movement. We’ve expanded our reach across the Philippines, providing over 5,500 boats to communities where children would otherwise have no safe way to reach school. But our mission has grown far beyond the water. We now build classrooms, dormitories, bridges, and e-learning hubs—essential structures that make education more accessible and sustainable for students in last-mile areas.

The road hasn’t been easy. We’ve faced challenges, from delivering boats to the most remote islands to raising funds for our growing programs, but our resolve has never wavered. Through partnerships with individuals, schools, private groups, and public agencies, we’ve built a community of changemakers who believe that no Filipino kid should be left behind.

Our work is rooted in one core belief: education is the key to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Every project—whether it’s a school boat, scholarship, feeding initiative, or livelihood support—is designed to remove barriers to learning and help children stay in school, thrive, and dream bigger.

To date, our efforts have reached more than 170 adopted schools and more than 120 communities across the country, touching the lives of thousands of Filipino children and their families. And we’re just getting started.

Our philosophy is best described by this quote:

“The great thing a little lamp can do which the big sun cannot do is to give light at night. It shows no one is superior by the size but by purpose. If we cannot do great things, we can do small things in a great way. Little things make a big difference to God.”

The Reason Behind Our Mission

One of our missions is to leave a lasting impact to the world by helping every child gain access to excellent education.

These children are our future, and it is our responsibility as one nation to develop them into outstanding members of our society so they can uplift the lives of their families and impoverished communities, and ultimately to contribute to the improvement of our country.

We can end poverty and all its underlying problems through education. For this reason, we bring education to those who don’t easily have easy access to it – those living in geographically isolated and often neglected areas.

problem statement

POVERTY

Because of poverty, children are deprived of their basic rights to education, healthcare, and decent standard of living. Our primary focus is to give children easy access to education because we believe that it is their key to escape poverty.

But alongside addressing lack of education, we cultivate communities so they can thrive into self-sustaining societies. To make this possible, we must address the main problems poverty has inflicted to these communities:

Lack of Access to Education

LACK OF ACCESS TO EDUCATION

In reality, opportunity is not equally distributed amongst people. Those who have easy access to education have higher chances of having a better life. While those who don’t, they are forced to succumb into poverty. And the cycle keeps going.

This is what we are trying to change. If education is equally given to all, everyone has a chance to a better life – and this levels the playing field.

We strive towards this goal through our numerous programs revolving around child education and making it sustainable:

Yellow School Boat
Yellow School of Hope
Yellow Dorm of Hope
Yellow Bridge of Hope
Teach Anywhere
Educational Hubs
Scholarships

CHILD LABOR

We provide livelihood programs to communities so that parents of school children can work to support their children’s studies, and don’t have to rely on their children to earn a living.

We strive towards this goal through our following programs:

Adopt-a-Fisherman
Yellow Boat Adventures

MALNUTRITION AND LACK OF HEALTHCARE

To alleviate hunger in some of our communities where there is difficult access to nutritional food, providing our communities with vegetable seeds that they can consume when harvested. Our goal is to make sure that no Filipino children are left stunted or malnourished.

We strive towards this goal through our program:

Seeds of Hope
Feeding Program

We also conduct medical and dental missions to these communities to bring healthcare closer to people who can’t afford it, or don’t have easy access to it.

Founders' story

Every child has the right to dream, but not all are given the chance. Many grow up in poverty, forced to work instead of going to school. Without education, children are left without the skills, opportunities, and hope they need to change their future.

At Yellow Boat of Hope, we believe that access to education can break this cycle. But we also know it takes more than just classrooms to get children into school. That’s why we support entire communities — addressing barriers like transportation, hunger, and lack of livelihood, so that families are empowered to keep their children in school.

With the help of volunteers, partners, and kind-hearted supporters, we bring real solutions to places long left behind. Because when even one child gets the chance to finish school, they can lift their entire community with them.

Mission & Vision

Mission

To ensure access to quality education in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) in the Philippines.

Vision

A Philippines where no kid is left behind and every child has access to quality education and opportunities to break the cycles of poverty and succeed in life.