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Our Story

One child. One family. One promise to do more.

Y Philippine Education Project began with a trip to the Philippines, a story shared by a guide named Silo, and the belief that young people can turn compassion into action.

During the summer of 2026, Yonas traveled to the Philippines with his family. The trip was full of beautiful places, new experiences, and time spent visiting different islands and communities, including Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, and Manila.

But the part of the trip that stayed with him most was not only the scenery. It was seeing, up close, how many children and families face daily challenges that can make education difficult. For some children, the problem is not tuition, because public primary school can be free. The problem is everything around school — notebooks, supplies, uniforms, shoes, transportation, school activities, PTA fees, projects, and the pressure these costs place on families.

In Manila, Yonas saw communities where families were living with very little, yet children still carried hopes for school, opportunity, and a better future. Those experiences made the idea of helping feel personal. It was no longer just something to think about from far away.

Then, while visiting Bohol, the family met a local guide named Silo. Silo shared a story that changed how Yonas thought about kindness.

What stayed with Yonas was the idea that a meaningful act does not have to be huge. Helping one person, one student, or one family can matter. And if more people choose to help, those small acts can grow into something much bigger.

That idea became the beginning of Y Philippine Education Project — a youth-founded effort to help remove practical barriers that can stand between a child and an education.

The organization is built around Kapwa, a Filipino concept centered on shared humanity and our connection to one another. For YPEP, Kapwa means recognizing that another person’s future matters to all of us — and then doing something practical about it.

YPEP plans to work with trusted schools, educators, and local partners to identify real educational needs. Whenever practical, support will be paid directly to verified schools, vendors, transportation providers, or other approved third parties, with records kept for each award.

The goal is intentionally simple: stay volunteer-led, keep overhead low, operate transparently, and direct as much support as reasonably possible toward children and schools in the Philippines.