Yellow Bridge Of Hope

In areas where building a bridge is feasible and the best solution to address the problem of children having to cross rivers with strong current, we build bridges to make it safe for children to go to school.

For us living within the comfort and accessibility of the city, we take bridges for granted. Bridges are not just simple pathways to go from one place to another; they give access to destinations where we can find opportunities to sustain our families. A bridge, more than the convenience it gives, can connect us to a brighter and better future.

Unfortunately, for some impoverished communities who live in far-flung islands such as the people of Sitio Tehemen in Maluso, Basilan, they do not have access to safe bridges. Although they have makeshift bridges, these are not stable enough for children to pass through safely. In the absence of makeshift bridges, children wade through the water to go to school; and in times of high tides when it is not safe for the children to wade through the water, they are forced to miss their classes.

Without concrete bridges to serve as safe access to other destinations, the people are not left with much choice but to remain within the confines of their community where, unfortunately, opportunity is scarce. This results in them being unable to acquire proper education and build sustainable livelihoods. For this reason, we build bridges for these kinds of communities to bridge the gap between poverty and opportunity – so that children can go to school to strengthen their self-identity; and give adults better livelihood opportunities by connecting their community to the mainland where opportunity is abundant.