In a remote village in Sorsogon, getting a high school diploma takes a determination to conquer the sea and mountains.

Every day, before dawn breaks, 10-year-old Jer John and other children in his neighborhood prepare for a difficult trip to school. Their village lies on a small island surrounded by mountains. The fastest route to school requires them to wade across the sea. The sea is capricious; sometimes meeting them in a calm and nurturing embrace, other times pushing them in cold and violent waves. And their misery doesn’t end there. With their clothes dripping wet from the swim, they take a two-hour trek up the mountain before finally reaching school. Despite the exhaustion and hunger, they try their best to absorb their lessons. For all of them, education is the only way to get their families out of poverty, and to a better future.

After risking their lives, the children are met with a shortage of classrooms and textbooks. On days when they arrive late, they even get a scolding from their teachers. Despite the odds, however, these children’s determination never wanes.
The province’s rugged mountainous terrain and scattered settlements mean that construction of bridges and roads is expensive and challenging. A bridge was promised to them once, but it was never built. As if written on the water, these promises were repeatedly washed away by the sea.

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