The Philippines is known to be a culturally vibrant country. It is home to an estimated 17 million indigenous people (IPs) who belong to more than 100 ethnolinguistic groups. Some of them may be living in the modern era, but most of them are development-deprived, living in far-flung communities around the archipelago.
Thousands of these people are still unreached. Non-profit organizations and various social-religious groups try to create opportunities for these minorities to experience prosperity.
Jasper Ivan Iturriaga is just one of the many individuals who are passionate about reaching the unreached. He is a missionary, pastor, landscape photographer, filmmaker, and content creator. He goes around the world capturing great moments and imparting inspiration through the content he shares.
The pandemic almost stopped the world from spinning. The economy went down, people got sick, families were broken, life was uncertain. Amid this landscape of global fear and loneliness, Iturriaga purposed to make a difference in people’s lives and encourage change.
In mid-2021, Iturriaga boarded a plane for the United States to work on a church film project. He traveled more than 16 hours from Manila only to be denied entry. He was sent back to the Philippines.
“It was heartbreaking, but life has to move on,” Iturriaga said. “I do believe though that God opens doors, so if I’m not supposed to be in the US, God wanted me somewhere else.”
Undecided as to what to do next, Iturriaga thought of dropping by Brooke’s Point, Palawan, to visit some missionary friends who work for the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS), which is an independent ministry that supports the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In particular, it extends medical help to people living in remote communities in the Philippines.
After spending a few days in the mission field, immersing himself in the culture, and connecting with families and kids, Iturriaga realized the great need for education in the community. It was then that the idea of building a jungle school funded entirely by social media hit him.
“The reality I saw and experienced in the jungle hit me big time, and this impressed me with the idea that these kids need a school; they need a future,” Iturriaga expressed. “I was thinking that there needs to be a way to make school accessible and closer to the community. That’s when the idea of building a jungle school came in.”
Iturriaga worked on this dream with the PAMAS team. Together, they conceived what seemed to be an impossible feat. To present this idea to his audience, Iturriaga started filming all the work done by PAMAS in the jungle, from medical missions and volunteer teachers teaching kids under the trees to doing medical evacuation for those who needed immediate health assistance. All of these went straight to Iturriaga’s social media account, where they sparked curiosity among his audience.
“We walked through the mountains; we crossed rivers;. we got all muddy here and there; but the experience was all worth it,” Iturriaga excitedly shared his story. “Filming the story of these people, their simple way of life, how they manage to keep a genuine smile on their faces despite the difficulties—these are very rare moments—they made me feel that I was more blessed than they were having a school.”
A day after launching the jungle school initiative, Iturriaga and the team were surprised to know they already surpassed their goal of needed support. People in the cyber world got excited to help kids and families in the jungle to have their school and take their first steps towards change and development.
“This was truly out of our hands. This was God working, and we had the best seat in the house to watch it unfold before us,” Daniel expressed. “Who could have imagined that in 24 hours, a dream to have a jungle school is now a reality. We are so thankful to God for leading us here and for those people who extended their help to make this a reality.”
As soon as the funds started arriving, Iturriaga and the PAMAS team started working on the design and planning how to transport the materials from the city to the jungle. PAMAS airlifted the construction materials, fathers worked together at the school site, mothers prepared food—everyone played a role in building the school. In three months, the school was established. It has two volunteer teachers teaching parents and kids in the community. They were expecting only 30 students at first, but now they have more than 100 enrollees.
The jungle school is now up and running. For the community, it’s not just a school but a place where they can grow and build hope for themselves and their families. PAMAS plans to build more schools as it continues to discover more communities in the jungle.
To know more about the jungle schools in Palawan, you can visit @pstrjasper on IG.
This article was originally published on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division’s news site