We climbed the mountain to teach the students other schools left behind.
Helping Hands sits 653 meters up the mountain, in Leon B. Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte. We came up here on purpose. We came for the students no one else was reaching.
Some of our students live too far up the mountain. Buses do not pass their door. Some come from families who cannot pay full tuition. Some would be the first person in their family to ever go to college.
When the people who started this work looked around our region, they did not look first for the easy students. They did not look for the ones who already had many choices. They asked a harder question. They asked, "Who would never write to a school like ours, because they have already decided the answer will be no?"
That one question shaped everything. It shaped every program we teach. It shaped every scholarship we offer. It shaped the Wellness Center we are still building. It shaped the campus farm and the bakery, where students can earn while they study.
We did not start a college and add scholarships later, when we had spare money. We did not add a Wellness Center because health is a trend. We are building both — under one roof — because the students we are here for need both.
So the classroom and the clinic share the same land. They share the same calendar. That is on purpose. Our students cannot afford a school that forgets their health. They cannot afford a clinic that forgets their family's chance to study.
If you read this far, something on this page found you. The next step is small. Tell us your name. We will write back within two working days. There is no fee to ask. You do not have to sign anything yet.