The children of the Bajau Laut community face the following (not limited to) four problems:

1. No proper documents hence unable to attend school;
2. Stuck in an inter-generational cycle of poverty and frequently engaged in begging;
3. Social stigma;
4. Glue-sniffing habit to overcome their worries.

The word “Iskul” means “School” in Bajau Laut language.

Iskul uses community participatory methodology to engage little teachers aged 12 to 15 (known as the “Mastal Arikik”) in its formation.They teach basic Bahasa Malaysia, simple arithmetic and art classes.

Most decisions related to Iskul are made collectively with the Mastal Arikik, the Board of Trustees, headmistress and, hopefully the students too in the near future. For sustainability, each Mastal Arikik is given an allowance as an incentive.

In addition to providing basic literacy to the Bajau Laut children, Iskul also encourages our Mastal Arikik to make decisions, while learning to teach and care for and also learn from their less fortunate friends.