About Espoir
ESPOIR School Of Life is a non-profit organization that provides free education to underprivileged children at the heart of GK Village, Brgy. Lobogon, Del Carmen in the Philippines.
The first school is located on Siargao Island. The site is on a Gawad Kalinga (GK) resettlement area, whose community members were identified as landless persons living in danger zones who had little to no means to sustain themselves.
Espoir, “hope” in French, means hope for the children, hope for their families, and hope for their generations to come. Hope starts with the children, with the right education.
Our History
Espoir was founded by Frenchman Nicolas Gontard and his wife Bellce Gontard in 2016 with the help of its Directors Amy Dallison, Elizabeth and Martin Roces, Father Raphael Siapno and Pamela Arcangel.
The location of the school was decided after consulting the Department of Education. The local government of Siargao Island and the Gawad Kalinga (GK) NGO gave access to land to Espoir in the GK village of Lobogon to build the school.
Director Amy Dallison and Project Manager Joel Chamberlain spent a considerable of time pro bono in Siargao in 2016. Amy was in charge of establishing first contact with the local government and the DepEd, setting the curriculum, writing the school rules for students and the “sweat equity” program requiring parents to contribute time in exchange for a free education for the kids.
Joel was the Project Manager in charge of the construction of the first classroom and gardens, testing various design elements and eco-friendly products to establish a standard for future buildings.
The first classroom was called AMEL, a combination of their first names, in recognition for their unselfish contribution to ESPOIR.
The initial investment was made by Nicolas and Bellce Gontard to cover the construction of the first classroom and the first year of operations. The objective was to ensure that external funding and donations would only start once the project was well under way, with the NGO registered, the first classroom built, the first teacher hired and the first school year completed.
Nicolas and Bellce will continue to inject money every year, but due to the size of the project which will provide education from Kindergarten (K) to High School (Year 2) to potentially up to 300 students, donors and sponsors are needed for the long term sustainability of the project.
Our Mission
Create a culture of belonging through a community development model and deliver liberating programs and projects to provide inclusive education to underprivileged learners in a safe and healthy environment.
Our Vision
We envision a welcoming and inclusive community providing self-sustainable opportunities to improve quality of life through free quality education.
Our Core Values
We teach them life skills such as respect, team work, family, pride, love, tolerance, compassion, gender equality and environmental sustainability. Education is free of charge.
Our Work
Espoir School
The first school was established in the summer of 2016 in Siargao Island in the South of the Philippines with one classroom and a first class of 17 kids. ESPOIR will follow those kids all the way to high school (Year 12).
ESPOIR is approved by the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Philippines.
Our own hope, apart from making meaningful changes to those children and give them a future, is that one day some of those children will be successful, and will come back to develop their village/province.
The educational program is practical. It also gives children a set of skills and values that will be useful in everyday life and helpful to secure employment once their studies are completed. We teach them life skills such as respect, team work, family, pride, love, tolerance, compassion, gender equality and environmental sustainability.
Education is free of charge. However, parents of students commit to help in cooking, farming, teaching and maintenance. Parents’ involvement is crucial to the success of the project.
Espoir Community
Several parents are farmers or fishermen. With the help of farming parents, we were able to create a couple of gardens to grow fruits and vegetables and help feed the kids for lunch. Parents are involved either in farming, gardening or cooking and take pride in participating in the school project.
Kids also get a chance to participate and understand the importance of organic farming. As the school develops, each kid will be given the opportunity to manage a small garden.
In the project itself, we have used 2 large solar lights which are sufficient to supply natural light inside the classroom.
We used shutters which can be opened at different angles to supply the right level of natural ventilation.
We also collect rain water in a 2,000 liter tank to supply water for sinks, kitchen and farming, and use compost toilets to guarantee a minimal impact on the environment.
Meet Our Team
Nicolas Gontard
Founder
Jerlyn Rabaca
Program Director
Department Officers
Joana Marice Guilaran
Administrative Officer
.
Partnership Officer
Jomariefel Belarmino
OIC – Sustainability Officer
.
Finance Officer
Mary Jane Paredes
Bookkeeper/Registrar
Aris Medel Dausin
Operations In-charge
Shalom Faith Agutaya
IT/Graphic Designer
School Teachers
Nikka Mae Gorgolon
Nursery
Queenie Marie Oliva
Kindergarten
Rachel Anne Adriano
Grade 1
Mary Ann Pateño
Grade 2
Aiza Dela Cruz
Grade 3
Luzvim Blase
Grade 4
Ranelo Borja
Grade 5
.
Grade 6
Our Awards
Galing Pook Awards
ESPOIR SCHOOL OF LIFE is one of the finalists for the 2023 Galing Pook Citizenship Awards!
The Galing Pook Citizenship Awards is searching for civil society organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), social enterprises or private entities that contribute to building safe, sustainable, and smart (3S) communities.
FAFSA National Award 2024
Espoir School of Life received awards at the 26th Anniversary and Annual Convergence of the Federation of Associations for Private School Administrators, held on April 4 and 5 in Cebu City.
Espoir School of Life was represented by its Program Director, Ms. Jerlyn Rabaca, who was awarded in the category of school administrator. Meanwhile, Sir Nicolas Gontard, the founder of Espoir, was honored in the school founder category.