Louella’s Story

When we began helping sea-dwelling children, every year we received unexpected news that a Badjao child had died from a preventable cause. Each death was startling and tragic. Moreover, it sometimes caught us financially unprepared to assist the family through the emergency or bereavement. 

When Louella, a ten-year old child, died in 2017, it was particularly devastating for me—she was one of the children I had gotten to know well after her father had died in an unfortunate fishing accident. Not long after his death, Louella succumbed to acute meningitis and, without access to medical care, died in just a few days. We had no fund to meet her medical or burial expenses. The same was true for five-year-old Pia who drowned one night walking in the dark on planks over the ocean.

Louella’s tragic death spurred us to prepare for unexpected life events that strike our vulnerable community. We want to be able to comfort and help the children and their families, not only during happy days of school and activities, but to be prepared when tragedies strike.

Louella’s Fund serves as our education, building, and care fund as well as an emergency fund to assist children through sudden illness or death. This fund provides infrastructure, education, and emergency care so that the Badjao tribes can become self-sustaining in the face of systemic oppression.

Thank you for helping Badjao children live long and healthy lives.

Dan Johanson, Founder, Executive Director