Education & Learning
Learning that travels
Scholarships, community learning hubs and practical skills — from digital literacy to the trades — so a child’s talent is never limited by the island they were born on.
One seed can carry a whole archipelago forward.
CJF Philippines invests in the people who lift everyone around them — the student who becomes the barangay’s first engineer, the mother whose sari-sari store employs her neighbours, the young leader who keeps a coastal town ready for the next typhoon.
Help one. Save many.
What we believe
We don’t arrive with answers. We arrive to listen — and then we invest in the one person whose rise will carry a family, a barangay, an island. Because the measure of giving is not what we provide, but what becomes possible.
Help one, save many
How one life becomes many.
A scholarship is never just for one student. A small loan is never just for one store. Scroll to watch a single seed of opportunity ripple outward — the way it does in real life.
- Isa One person gains a skill, a loan, a chance.
- Pamilya Their household gains income and stability.
- Barangay Neighbours are hired, taught and inspired.
- Bayan A town’s economy and leadership grow stronger.
- Kapuluan Island by island, the archipelago rises.
Our work in the Philippines
Four ways a seed takes root.
The Foundation’s four global pillars, shaped for Filipino realities — from typhoon belts to start-up corridors.
Entrepreneurship & Economic Independence
Enterprise from the ground up
Microfinance, start-up capital and patient mentoring for the sari-sari stores, carinderias, farms and fishing ventures that keep local economies breathing.
Youth & Community Development
Kabataan, leading
Confidence, networks and real responsibility for young Filipinos who want to build where they are from — in the spirit of the Foundation’s original Durham Youth Alliance.
Community Resilience & Opportunity
Ready for the storm
Clean water, essential goods and preparedness, so when typhoons, floods or lean seasons arrive, communities bend instead of break — and recover on their own terms.
7,641 islands · one direction
Island by island, partner by partner.
No two islands share the same story. A fishing community in the Visayas, a farming town in Mindanao and a crowded neighbourhood in Metro Manila each need something different — and each already holds people with the answers.
So we grow the way seeds do: carried between communities by trusted local partners — cooperatives, schools, parishes, small businesses and local government — who know the ground better than anyone.
- LuzonCordillera to megacity
- VisayasCoasts & island towns
- MindanaoFarmlands & frontier cities
Bayanihan, reimagined
The four movements of a seed.
Makinig
Listen
We begin in the community, not in a boardroom. We learn its culture, its leaders, its priorities — and what already works.
Mamuhunan
Invest
We put resources behind people: tuition, start-up capital, tools, mentoring. Access first, so ideas can become action.
Lumago
Grow
We walk alongside — patiently — while skills deepen, businesses steady and confidence takes root.
Dumami
Multiply
Then we step back. The person we helped hires, teaches and mentors the next. One seed becomes a field.
Support designed to end the need for itself.
Read our approachRooted here · connected everywhere
Bayanihan isn’t a programme. It’s who we already are.
CJF Philippines brings the reach of a global foundation to the oldest Filipino tradition there is — neighbours lifting together.
The network behind us
We grow from proven ground.
CJF Philippines inherits the playbook of a foundation that has already put these results on the board across the CJF network.
18,000+
children and young people served each year by three CJF education hubs in Bangladesh
2,500+
women entrepreneurs supported in Bangladesh since 2020
14,000
students in a trauma-informed education model in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province
29
rural communities in Mozambique reached with clean-water infrastructure
Figures are self-reported by the Courtney Jordan Foundation network (April 2025) and describe work outside the Philippines. CJF Philippines will publish its own results here as they are verified.
“The best way to break the cycle of need is to replace it with a cycle of empowerment.”
Leadership
Maria Lourdes Santos
President, Philippines Operations
Maria Lourdes Santos leads CJF Philippines, bringing the Foundation’s mission of sustainable independence home to Filipino communities. She also serves as Director of Global Growth and Strategy for Neyius, connecting local ambition with global networks.
Meet the team behind the missionFrom the field
Stories on the wind.
Why we start by listening
Before a single peso moves, we sit down with the people who know the community best. Here is why “culture first” is the first rule of CJF Philippines.
Why we start by listening
Before a single peso moves, we sit down with the people who know the community best. Here is why “culture first” is the first rule of CJF Philippines.
CJF Philippines Launches the Guiuan Resilience & Livelihoods Pilot
CJF Philippines is launching the Guiuan Resilience & Livelihoods Pilot in Eastern Samar, focused on food stabilization, livelihood repair for fisherfolk and farmers, solar micro-irrigation, and community-led mangrove restoration. We are not seeking donations. We are mobilizing volunteers, professionals, students, and community partners ready to serve on the ground. This is not charity. It is resilience built through action.
Questions, answered
Good to know.
Can’t find what you need? Ask us directly.
What is CJF Philippines?
CJF Philippines is the Philippine branch of the Courtney Jordan Foundation, a global poverty-prevention foundation founded by Courtney Jordan in 2011 with offices in London and Dhaka. We carry the Foundation’s mission of sustainable independence to communities across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Who leads CJF Philippines?
CJF Philippines is led by Maria Lourdes Santos, President, Philippines Operations, working alongside the Courtney Jordan Foundation’s global leadership.
What does “Help One, Save Many” mean?
It is the Foundation’s motto. When one person gains the skills, capital or confidence to stand on their own, the benefit spreads to their family, their barangay and beyond — the way one dandelion seed becomes a whole field.
Can I donate online?
The Courtney Jordan Foundation is not accepting individual online donations at present. You can support the work by partnering with us, volunteering, giving goods, or attending Foundation events.
How can my organisation partner with CJF Philippines?
Email hello@courtneyjordan.org with a short introduction to your organisation and what you would like to build together. A member of the team will reply by email or phone.
How do I volunteer?
Send your CV and a short cover letter to reese@courtneyjordan.org, telling us where you are based and what skills you would like to share.
Can I donate clothes, books or other goods?
Yes. Email a list of the items to shaon@courtneyjordan.org and you will receive a shipping label in reply.