About Youth & Nature Philippines

Who I Am

My name is Ray Clark. I am a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under two of the most respected figures in the global BJJ community: Jeff "IPPON" Lawson and the legendary Japanese champion Yuki Nakai. I have spent my adult life on the mats — training, competing, teaching, and pushing both my body and my mind to understand what is truly possible.

But it took years of grappling to understand that the mats were never really the point. What I found there was something far deeper: a sense that the smallest person, with the right technique and the right mindset, could overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. That persistence, respect, and humility could turn struggle into growth. That when you are pinned on your back with nowhere to go, you discover reserves of creativity and determination you never knew you had.

The more I understood what the martial arts had given me, the more I became haunted by a question: what about the children who will never step foot on a mat? What about those growing up in poverty, without access to the tools — physical, mental, emotional — that transformed my life?

I began spending extended time in the Philippines, working in rural communities, sitting with families, listening to their stories. I saw children with extraordinary potential — bright eyes, sharp minds, incredible spirit — constrained by circumstances they did nothing to deserve. I saw mothers and fathers working dawn to dusk for barely enough to survive. And I saw land that could feed communities, that could be restored, that could be the foundation for something entirely different — if someone believed in it and committed to it.

That realisation did not arrive as an abstract idea. It arrived as a weight. A responsibility. A calling. I realised that everything I had been given — my training, my education, my privilege, my health — could not be separated from an obligation to give back. Not out of guilt, but out of love. Out of a genuine belief that another child, somewhere across the world, deserves the chance I had.

Dr. Jane Goodall and the Roots & Shoots Philosophy

One of the greatest honours of my life has been connecting my work with the life and legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall. I worked personally alongside Jane for over 22 years, and she became not only a profound influence but a close and dear friend — to me and to my family. I am also a proud member of her Council of Hope within her Legacy, a recognition that I carry with the deepest sense of responsibility and gratitude. For over 60 years, Dr. Goodall has been one of the most powerful voices on the planet for compassion, environmental stewardship, and the transformative potential of young people.

Most people know her as the pioneering primatologist who revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees. But what moves me most about Dr. Goodall is not what she discovered in the forest — it is what she discovered about humanity. She realised that compassion is not a weakness. That our fate and the fate of all living beings are inseparable. And that the answer to our global crises lies not in despair, but in empowering the young to become guardians of their world.

This is the heart of Roots & Shoots, the global youth network Dr. Goodall founded, which now spans over 60 countries and reaches hundreds of thousands of young people. Roots & Shoots operates on a simple but revolutionary premise: that every individual matters, that every individual can make a difference, and that given the right tools and the right community, young people will choose compassion, sustainability, and positive change.

Youth and Nature Philippines is a proud member of the Roots & Shoots network. But it is more than a badge. It is a commitment to align everything we do — the disciplines we teach, the practices we build, the values we instil — with Dr. Goodall's vision of a generation of young people who understand that their actions matter, that they are capable of leadership, and that caring for the earth, for animals, and for each other is not optional. It is the only way forward.

When Dr. Goodall speaks about youth, there is a light in her eyes. She has given her life to the belief that if we invest in young people now — if we give them tools, knowledge, and hope — we can still change the trajectory of our world. That is exactly what I am trying to do in the Philippines. And to do it alongside her philosophy, and with the support of the Roots & Shoots community, is humbling beyond words.

Why This Matters to Me

This is not a project I started for recognition or to build an empire. It is something I started because I could no longer live with the distance between what I know is possible and what I was witnessing — children being told, through circumstance and poverty, that the world was not made for them.

I have sat with children who have never had an adult tell them they were capable of something. I have watched faces light up when they successfully landed a technique for the first time. I have seen parents cry when their child stood taller, spoke with more confidence, believed in themselves in a way they never did before. These moments are not sentimental. They are revolutionary. They are the moment a child's life trajectory changes.

And I have realised that this is not just about individual transformation. The Philippines is facing an environmental crisis. Forests are disappearing. Coastlines are under threat. Communities are desperate. And desperation drives destruction. When people have no other way to survive, the earth pays the price.

But if we can teach children — and their families — to grow food sustainably, to work with the land, to understand that their wellbeing and the wellbeing of nature are one and the same — then we begin to heal not just individual lives, but communities, and ultimately, the natural world itself. This is why I am so aligned with Dr. Goodall's work. She understands this interconnectedness. She has spent her life trying to bridge the gap between human and animal, between our present choices and our children's future.

That is what makes this happen for me. It is not charity. It is alignment. It is the recognition that building stronger children, stronger families, and stronger relationships with nature are all the same act of love and justice.

Youth & Nature believes that lasting change begins with trust. That's why we have established registered non-profit organizations in both the United States and the Philippines, allowing us to operate with transparency, accountability, and a genuine long-term commitment to the communities we serve.

Whether you're supporting us from the United States, the Philippines, or elsewhere in the world, you can be confident that your generosity is helping build a sustainable future for children, families, and the environment.