Filipinos in Hawaiʻi have always sent money home. This Foundation wants to send something that lasts.
/HONOLULU, HAWAIʻI — A new nonprofit organization headquartered in Honolulu has launched with a long-term, multi-million-dollar commitment to help transform education in the Philippines
— and its founders say they chose Hawaiʻi deliberately. Malaya Initiative Foundation, incorporated in late 2025 as a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity, is building what it calls a ten-year, evidence-based investment in developing critical thinking, communication, and civic engagement skills among Filipino youth.
The foundation was established by Tim Mobley, founder of Connext Global Solutions, a global talent solutions company with operations across the Philippines servicing clients in Hawai’i and other parts of the United States. Its inaugural Executive Director is Andrea Caymo-Kauhanen, a former Filipino diplomat who brings organizational development and cross-cultural leadership expertise to the foundation’s mission.
The foundation takes its name from malaya — the Filipino word for freedom. It is a deliberate choice. For generations, Filipino families have sent children to school not merely to learn, but to escape: poverty, limitation, the ceiling that circumstance builds over a life. Every Filipino family that ever worked double shifts in Honolulu, Daly City, or Dubai to pay school fees back home already understands what Malaya Initiative Foundation is built on: that education is the most durable form of freedom there is.
Education is the one inheritance that cannot be taken away, the one investment that compounds across generations. It outlasts remittances. It cannot be repossessed. It does not depend on a visa.
That belief lives in the foundation's guiding principle: Ang edukasyon ay kalayaan — Education is freedom.
THE CRISIS BEHIND THE MISSION
The Philippines is in the grip of a documented learning emergency — and Malaya Initiative Foundation was built to respond to it. The numbers paint a stark picture:
91% of Filipino ten-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple text (World Bank Learning Poverty Index)
0.40% of Grade 12 students achieve minimum proficiency (EDCOM II Report, January 2026)
77th of 81 countries in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) global education rankings (OECD)
Bottom 4 globally in creative thinking — the skill most resistant to AI automation (PISA 2022)
The report by the Philippines’ Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) released in January 2026 confirmed what education advocates have long observed: Filipino students are an estimated five to six years behind global learning benchmarks, and the gap is widening. While the Philippine government’s MATATAG curriculum reform is a step forward, Malaya argues that private, focused investment in higher-order skills is urgently needed to complement public efforts.
“Working with Filipino teams over the years has been a privilege, and it’s made clear just how much talent and potential there is. The challenge isn’t ability — it’s making sure young people are encouraged to think, question, and grow in the right ways. We’re grateful for the chance to play a small role in that.”
— Tim Mobley, Founder, Malaya Initiative Foundation & Connext Global Solutions
WHY HAWAIʻI — AND WHY NOW
There is a reason why Malaya Initiative chose Hawai’i. The State is home to one of the largest Filipino-American communities in the United States numbering close to half a million, with deep generational ties to the Philippines. This is a place where 120 years ago, Filipino hands built the sugarcane fields, stocked the hospital wards, and raised the next generation — often while sending a portion of every paycheck back to a country thousands of miles away. Hawaiʻi's Filipino community did not just survive the distance between here and the Philippines. It built bridges across it.
Malaya Initiative Foundation is one more bridge. Headquartered blocks from offices of major Filipino civic organizations and media that anchor this community, the foundation believes that Hawaiʻi's diaspora is not simply a donor base — it is a stakeholder in the Philippines' future, with a lived understanding of what education can mean for a family, a community, a nation.
“The Filipino community in Hawaiʻi understands what it means to work hard and build something from nothing. We want to channel that spirit directly into the classrooms of the Philippines — not as charity, but as a long-term investment in our shared future.”
— Andrea Caymo-Kauhanen, Executive Director, Malaya Initiative Foundation
The foundation's Honolulu address allows U.S. donors to give tax-deductibly, while all programmatic work is concentrated in the Philippines. For the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in Hawaiʻi who have long wanted to do more for their homeland — but weren't sure where to start, who to trust, or how to make giving count — Malaya exists to close that gap.
A PARTNERSHIP-FIRST, EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH
Malaya Initiative Foundation is not rushing to build programs. Its first phase — through 2027 — is explicitly a listening and learning period: conducting educational needs assessments, forming partnerships with schools, government agencies, and the private sector, and ensuring that every dollar is guided by evidence and shaped by the communities it serves.
The foundation has already begun forming partnerships with established Philippine organizations, including a co-investment in the CENTEX Digital Education pilot with Ayala Foundation, Inc. — a program that has produced striking early results: students doubling their math scores from 27% to 56% proficiency in just 12 weeks, equivalent to roughly seven months of learning gains.
“We are not here to prescribe solutions. We are here to listen, to learn, and to invest in what works. The Philippines deserves partners who take that responsibility seriously.”
— Tim Mobley, Founder, Malaya Initiative Foundation
Beginning in 2027, the foundation will launch pilot programs in critical thinking and communication, along with teacher training initiatives. By 2029, it plans to transition to full program delivery — whether through launching a new school, partnering with an existing institution, or acquiring and transforming one. Its ten-year vision: Filipino graduates who are globally-competitive critical thinkers, strong communicators, and engaged citizens.
HOW THE HAWAIʻI COMMUNITY CAN ENGAGE
Malaya Initiative Foundation invites Hawaiʻi’s Filipino-American community and global philanthropists — and all those who believe in the power of education to transform lives — to join its mission. Donations are tax-deductible (EIN: 41-2664655) to the extent allowed under
U.S. federal law. Interested stakeholders can subscribe to its bi-monthly updates and blogs which keep donors and advocates informed of the education landscape in the Philippines’ and the organization’s progress.
Malaya’s leadership is also available for community speaking engagements, interviews, and partnership conversations with media, Hawaiian civic organizations, schools, and Filipino community groups.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Research & Reports
EDCOM II Final Report — “Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform” (January 2026) edcom2.gov.ph — Full Report (PDF)
edcom2.gov.ph — Official EDCOM II Website
Malaya Initiative Foundation Blog
Data-driven research and analysis on Philippine education reform: Why 91% of Filipino Children Can’t Read: A Data Deep Dive What is EDCOM II? The Report Reshaping Philippine Education Philippines vs. PISA: What 77th Place Really Means for Our Kids
How to Help Filipino Students from Overseas: A Diaspora Giving Guide How the Philippines Education Crisis Threatens the $38B BPO Industry Bottom 4 in Creative Thinking: The Skill Gap No One Is Talking About Full blog: malaya.org/blog
MEDIA CONTACT
Andrea Caymo-Kauhanen
Executive Director, Malaya Initiative Foundation
Address: 770 Kapiolani Blvd, Suite 602 • Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: +1 (808) 498-9704
Website: malaya.org
Facebook: facebook.com/themalayainitiative
Instagram: @themalayainitiative
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/malaya-initiative-foundation
ABOUT MALAYA INITIATIVE FOUNDATION
Malaya Initiative Foundation is a Honolulu, Hawaiʻi-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to education reform in the Philippines. Founded in 2025, the foundation invests in programs that develop critical thinking, communication, and civic engagement skills among Filipino youth. Its name derives from malaya, the Filipino word for freedom. EIN: 41-2664655. Tax-deductible donations accepted. Visit malaya.org for more information.
