Badjaos in Malitam island are 100% illiterate,The first we did is build a preparatory/literacy school on the island of Malitam. The school is named as "Shining Light Christian Academy".
We didn't have any teachers available at first, but through God's grace, He provided volunteers to help teach the children how to read and write. By the end of 2003, we had 19 children who graduated from the school. At the end of the following year 2004, we had 11 children who graduated from the same school. It took a lot of hardwork in the beginning, but this year we have few students who already made it to high school in Batangas City.
God has done a tremendous work among the children and at present, we have 7 students who are ready for promotion to high school and college.
The first school building was built on the island of Malitam, We had to re-erect the school a few times due to severe typhoons that often hit the island.
Further, the island have considerably eroded to the sea and we had to move to the main island of Batangas and rebuilt the school again. It is currently built on a 5,000 square meters of land lended by a kind land owner. However, the land will be soon sold to private investors and therefore, we have to find another place again to move, not just the school, but the whole community of Badjao.