Paglaum sa Badjao
Hope and dignity for the Badjao community of Alaska, Mambaling — uplifting 1,620 lives through education, nutrition, and healthcare while honoring their seafaring heritage.
Along the shores of Alaska, Mambaling in Cebu City lives a proud Badjao community whose maritime way of life and cultural heritage are increasingly threatened by the pressures of modernization. Paglaum sa Badjao — Cebuano for "hope for the Badjao" — is JCI Mandaue's answer to that need: a holistic, long-term partnership rooted in respect rather than charity.
Rather than impose change from the outside, the Merry Men of JCI Mandaue work alongside the community to weave together education, nutrition, and healthcare — three threads of one effort to keep families healthy, children learning, and traditions alive. Every activity is shaped by the Badjao's own voice, so that progress never comes at the cost of who they are.
Since its establishment in 2024, Paglaum sa Badjao has reached 1,620 direct and indirect members of the community and generated ₱870,000 in funds to sustain its programs. For us, this is service to humanity at its most meaningful — a brotherhood with purpose, standing with a people the world too often overlooks, and helping them carry their heritage proudly into the future.
