- Our Mission
Educate
Empower
Experience
- Our Vision
Empower local communities,
especially those engaged in surf tourism, by strategically expanding job opportunities and elevating household incomes.
Our Impact
After just 2 years, Our Ocean School is already changing lives across the Mentawai Islands.
- Funds Donated So Far
We’re run by donations and this is how much money we need to keep running for 1 year
- Total donation so far
- Total yearly cost required
- *Total amounts are in AUD
What changes for our students
Employment pathways
Students gain the English and practical skills needed to access jobs in the rapidly growing Mentawai tourism industry — surf tourism, hospitality, guiding — instead of being displaced by foreign workers.
Confidence & voice
With 120+ international volunteers in our classrooms, students don’t just learn English — they gain the confidence to use it, speaking with people from around the world every week.
Household & community impact
As students move into employment, household incomes rise, gender equality strengthens (75% female participation), and Mentawai families become active participants in their own economy — not spectators.
How Our Model Works
A community-led, after-school program that students choose to attend — because they want to.
Students attend after school
Free, voluntary classes outside the regular school system. Students come because they want to learn.
English + practical skills
Daily English education plus practical training designed for the local tourism economy.
Pathway into tourism work
Graduates move into surf tourism, hospitality, and guiding roles — jobs that would otherwise be filled by outsiders.
Community-led expansion
Multiple villages are now requesting OOS schools of their own — growth driven by community demand.
Why this matters: 90% of the Mentawai population can't speak basic English, and a new international airport is bringing 50,000+ tourists a year. Without OOS, locals are at risk of being shut out of their own economy.
Building Our Vision Into Employment
Empower local communities, especially those engaged in surf tourism, by strategically expanding job opportunities and elevating household incomes.
Expanding Local
Employment
Creating pathways into tourism, hospitality, guiding, and local business opportunities across the Mentawai Islands.
Statistic:
500+
Strengthening Household
Incomes
In Mentawai culture, income earned by one family member often supports the wider household. By helping students access English-dependent tourism opportunities, OOS aims to create long-term pathways that can strengthen household income and expand opportunity for families across the region.
Statistic:
50,000+
Annual visitors driving local opportunity
What's Next for Our Ocean School
We’ve outgrown our current shed classroom. After being asked to leave our original rental last year, we secured a 20-year lease on a piece of land that will become the permanent home of Our Ocean School. We now need to build it.
Over the next 1–3 years, our goal is to expand sustainably so more Mentawai communities can access these opportunities — including schools in 5 villages, training and employing local teachers, and reaching 5,000+ students.
Total Immediate Growth Investment
$135,000 AUD
$70,000
New School Building
A permanent classroom facility on our long-term land.
$20,000
Social Impact Café
Ongoing income for OOS + a real-world English training hub for students, plus local jobs.
$30,000
Volunteer Bungalows (3 units)
Accommodation so skilled volunteer teachers can stay longer than 4 weeks.
$15,000
Secure School Land (final payment)
Final payment on the 20-year land agreement.
Recognised & trusted by
Our Ocean School is a registered Australian charity (ACNC & ASIC), operating with formal governance and board oversight. We are also in the process of securing tax-deductible (DGR) status in Australia.
- Social feeds
We want to say a big thankyou specifically to these very special people who have made a standout financial contribution to Our Ocean School since opening. You are all incredibly generous and we would LITERALLY not be open today if it wasn’t for you all.
Forever apart of our school now 🩵🙏🏼
Community builds community!!
An UPDATE after 10 months open! 🌟
•
Big thanks to our incredible teachers who work tirelessly and give their all to OOS!!
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST 🤙🏽
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What an exciting 2 weeks we have had enjoying our swimming programme with our amazing volunteer Emilie!!
Lessons delivered in English to broaden our English vocabulary in a fun and exciting way, whilst also LEARNING HOW TO SWIM 😍🏊🏼♀️
Believe it or not, even though most of these kids literally live on the beach.. they don’t know how to swim to SURVIVE! An essential life skill for all kids and community in our area.. and we hope this will be the first of many courses we deliver at Our Ocean School!
Thankyou again to our volunteer @egg_._ for providing your time and skills to our school.. we are very grateful 🌺🙏🏼
MEET MISS SEPTIN ❤️🔥
We did some fun interview questions with one of our amazing teachers, Miss Septin, so you could get to know her a little better!
@dvnmentawai
We are incredibly grateful to @tjayliffe, @jaalalila, @backhouseoscar, @rosatheow, and @gracebradley_ for your generous donations to Our Ocean School. Thanks to your kindness, we can now cover the cost of rent for our school building next year in the Mentawai Islands! 🙌
On behalf of all the students, the community, and our OOS staff, we want to say a heartfelt thank you. Your support means the world to us and makes a direct impact on the future of these amazing kids.
You are all a part of the OOS family, and together, we’re creating positive change!
With gratitude,
Janiece, Rani & the OOS Team 🌊💙
#OurOceanSchool #Gratitude #MentawaiIslands #CommunitySupport
Meet our co-founder and head teacher at Our Ocean School.. RANI 🌟
We did some fun interview questions with her so you could get to know her a little more 🫶🏽
@ment_maharani
We have been playing a lot of kahoot this week - an educational online quiz game to test students learning - with our donated iPads/laptops/handphones.. it’s been so much fun!!
But also very competitive 🫣 hahaha
Thankyou to everyone who has very generously donated these IT items.. not only are students learning English, they are learning the basics of how to use IT !!
