MANILA, Philippines — In 2011, ordinary people leading extraordinary lives found their way into the limelight with their simple, but life-changing feats and heroic deeds.

Their stories of hope, perseverance, intelligence, passion for their vocation, and mission to help the poor and marginalized have made them worthy role models in their communities.

The Students and Campuses Bulletin lists down 10 inspiring people of 2011 who made the impossible happen with their faith, talent, and determination.

Changing the world one boat at a time, Jay Jaboneta

It all started with one compelling Facebook status that 29 year-old blogger and former government official Jay Michael Jaboneta posted. It was about a story of kids swimming two kilometers through chest-deep water from their village in Zamboanga to the shore, and walking for another kilometer to reach their school.

They would hold in one hand a plastic bag containing their uniform, and books, and pray hard that these would not get wet.

Inspired by the positive and challenging comments of his friends, Jaboneta began a fundraising campaign to build a school boat for them.

The reaction of his friends and even strangers who learned of his little project was overwhelming that in just a week, they were able to raise P70,000. Less than a year later, the first yellow boat, christened Bagong Pag-asa, was turned over to the residents of Layag-Layag.

To date, 20 more boats have been given to the community, all acquired through Jaboneta’s leadership and the incredible Bayanihan spirit among his friends. Many boats have also been donated to kids in the same situation in Masbate.

Apart from putting up three organizations (Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids, Masbate Funds for Little Kids and Philippine Funds for Little Kids) that were borne out of this noble initiative, Jaboneta and his friends were also able to construct a makeshift school, an ambulance boat, and installed water pipes in Masbate. In Zamboanga, the boats and a livelihood project are restoring hope and rebuilding lives in this tribal community.

A mission not so impossible, Project Pearls/Photo Kalye

No matter how poor, dirty or hungry these children living in Tondo, Manila are, Peegee Silo and Melissa Villa kiss, hug, and consider them as their own.

Since their discovery of the place and of the plight of the kids in the charcoal factory, these two kindhearted philanthropists and their friends have made the Smokey Mountain dumpsite their second home.

Through their respective organizations Photo Kalye and Project PEARLS, the two spearheaded various charitable activities for the children such as free preschool education, weekly feeding programs, quarterly medical missions and birthday parties. They even built a daycare center for nursery and kindergarten students. Donors who help fund the programs come from as far as Switzerland and Paris.

While there are still so much to be done to transform the lives of the children, Silo and Villa vow to continue their mission. “My dream is to get them out of here. Breaking the cycle of poverty is almost impossible for these people who are barely surviving it. But poverty doesn’t have to be permanent. Through the gift of education, I believe we are giving them a lifeline out of poverty,” says Villa.

After the flood, Dr. Alfredo Lagmay

A day after super typhoon Ondoy struck Metro Manila and Luzon on Sept 26, 2009, Dr. Alfredo Lagmay immediately began finding a way to prevent another massive devastation.

With the help of the University of the Philippines Volcano Tectonics laboratory, this volcanologist and associate professor at the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences created the site Nababaha.com. With tools like remote sensing, and geographic information systems used for researches on earthquakes and faults, the citizens-based interactive flood map can determine actual height measurements of flooding in every part of the metropolis. The website which holds a record of flood heights in various areas can also be used as gauge to measure past and future floods and has a list of places to avoid during storms.

Dr. Lagmay hopes this initiative on disaster mitigation will inspire the government to follow suit and create an even better flood forecasting tool for everyone to use and learn from.

Teacher of the tribe, Anabel Ungcad

Mobile teacher Anabel Ponce Ungcad is the first ever Bagobo Tagabawa to have graduated from college. She strived to finish her education and become a teacher not just to uplift her family from poverty, but to help fellow Bagobos improve their lives.

Ungcad developed the resolve to overcome illiteracy after losing her siblings due to her parents’ inability to take care of them. She would also see her fellow Bagobos being taken advantage of during elections because they could not read or write. Ungcad used simple yet effective strategies to lure elders, women, and out-of-school youth to attend her classes. Apart from giving basic literacy and livelihood programs, she also translated the DepEd Alternative Learning System modules into their dialect. She also assisted learners in securing birth and marriage certificates, and in finding jobs.

The passion and dedication she gives to teaching have earned her the respect of her clan and outstanding teacher awards. But her real reward is when she sees her learners turning into independent and successful professionals.

The complete package, Concepcion Tababa

For many years, teacher Concepcion Tadifa Tababa has been risking her life and that of her entire family’s to pursue her chosen vocation. Her husband, a retired police officer, used to be on the hit list of the New People’s Army in Tubungan, Iloilo. His participation in military and police operations against the rebels had not only gotten him shot and stabbed several times but had also endangered the lives of his own family many times.

But Tababa continued her mission as a mobile teacher and bravely used education as a weapon to fight illiteracy, poverty and attain peace in her hometown. First she taught her learners how to read using modules on cleaning the surroundings and taking care of children, food recipes, books, and board games – all encased in a wooden box or a baul. The baul would be transferred from one household to another. Tababa would then convince them to take the Accreditation and Equivalency test, and undergo skills training. Later on, she helped them find jobs not just locally, but abroad.

To date, Tababa has sent about 400 people from their place in Tubungan and other areas in Iloilo to work as construction workers, masons, plumbers and welders in the Middle East and Singapore.

The award-winning teacher feels that her role in the surrender of several rebels in their place and the close relationship that has developed between the military, police and the people are her most valuable accomplishments.

The global teacher and his Math inventions, Buenaventura Luces

Not once in his simple, rural life in Quezon did high school teacher Buenaventura D. Luces imagine he would go to the United States, spend time with US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr., and earn an award. But his hard work, innovations and ardent desire to help his school made all these happen.

As a math teacher, Luces made the subject interesting and understandable to students in the lower sections by creating games and reference materials. As a result, his students improved their comprehension skills and competed in contests, even beating students in the top sections. His accomplishments enabled him to qualify as a scholar of the International Leaders in Education program and go to the U.S. to share best practices with other teachers.

This inspired Luces to develop programs that opened up his school and students to the world. He also managed to bring Amb. Thomas and an American teacher to his school. Their visits made history for his province and the institution. More importantly, it motivated his co-teachers and students to think global and strive for excellence. It also drew him closer to his goal of producing world-class teachers and globally competitive students.

A beautiful mind, John Gabriel Pelias

Summa cum laude graduate John Gabriel Pelias made history as the first University of the Philippines (UP) student to have garnered a general weighted average of 1.016. Likewise, he is the only one to have attained the second highest GWA in U.P..

This BS Math graduate who mostly got a grade of straight 1.0 in all his subjects, is indeed a genius. Pelias’ distinct traits, his professors said, are his thoroughness and analytical skills. “His unique thesis on Linked Circles and Qubits: The Hopf Fibration in Topology, Geometry and Quantum Mechanics tackled the versatility of the mathematical object in the different areas of math and physics. Students like him are really of a different breed,” said his adviser Dr. Joey Balmaceda.

Yet to be on top of the class was not his plan at all. Pelias only studied hard and reviewed his math lessons during summer, just so he wouldn’t get a low grade. In spite of a seemingly rigid academic life, he is like any normal student who was often the class clown. His love for numbers inspired him to return to UP as a professor determined to help students find the beauty in Math.

Poor boy takes the UN, Arnel Alipao

Youth leader Arnel Alipao lost in the last Sangguniang Kabataan elections because he was poor. But while poverty hindered him from getting elected into office, it opened up doors of opportunities and enabled him to enter the global stage.

Poverty and a disaster risk reduction (DRR) program brought Alipao to New York where he delivered a presentation at the United Nations General Assembly. Handpicked from over 112,000 World Vision-sponsored children, Alipao spoke on the youth’s perspective on disasters and stressed the need to tap their capacities and potentials in achieving a DRR program. At the end of the dialogue, he was not only able to voice out the sentiments of the Filipino youth but also earned the respect and commitment of the international community.

After New York, things started to change for Arnel. People became kinder and looked up to him as a role model. But while all these attention and newfound influence are rewarding for him, Alipao says he chooses to remain humble and focused on his goal of contributing to the development of his province, in his own little way.

When there is hope..., Rjay and Jayjay Lizarondo

When evangelist Rjay Lizarondo first stepped foot on the mountains of San Mateo, Rizal, his mission was initally to establish a church and spread the Word of God. Later on though, he was compelled to help the Dumagat community address its need for education and the basic necessities.

Together with his brother Jayjay, they established HOP-E (Helping People Overcome Poverty thru Education) and built a preschool in the area. On weekdays, kids would study at the chapels-turned-learning centers while on Sundays, Rjay would hold Bible service for them and their families at the same venue. Eventually, HOP-E resorted to organic farming to provide a sustainable source of livelihood for the residents, and to help fund the growing demands of the learning centers. A farm for Moringa leaves, Chia seeds and other vegetables was established. The organization is now looking for investors to purchase raw agricultural materials being produced by the Dumagat farmers.

With spiritual entrepreneurship as their model, Rjay believes that his dream of improving the lives of the Dumagats will soon be realized.

Teacher scavenger, Alfredo Manuel

A 61-year-old scavenger in Manila became an instant celebrity on TV after Lasallian students featured him in a school project and posted his video on YouTube.

At first glance, Tatay Alfredo Manuel seems like a typical scavenger, collecting leftover food and used plastic bottles and selling them to fund his newspaper business. Yet, he turns out to be a licensed teacher, a bookworm, and was once a model employee. Despite dropping out of college due to poverty, Tatay Fred continued to develop himself by reading books on a variety of topics. While working as a janitor at a public school, Tatay Fred also resumed his studies and took the licensure exam for teachers.

A sudden twist of fate however shattered his dreams. Tatay Fred was accused of stealing school funds and was kicked out of his job. Worse, he couldn’t even practice his profession because of his supposedly bad record. Everything was going downhill for him until he was given the chance to teach preschool kids in his community. One of his students is now a Computer Science professor at UP Manila. Tatay Fred, meanwhile, no longer dreams of teaching because of his dire situation and physical defects. Yet, the kindhearted old man continues to nurture his love of learning, shares whatever he has with street children, and is an inspiration to the people he meets.