Dedicated to their mission of providing quality education, school principals often go beyond normal duties to reach those who could benefit from learning. But Tekemau Ribabaiti may truly be in a class all his own: for the second time, the principal of Kauma Adventist High School was rescued after weeks adrift at sea.

Ribabaiti had been missing since Feb. 16 while going from atoll to atoll recruiting students for the school. He was in a cramped, four-meter aluminium dinghy when he was picked up by Volt Venture, a foreign fishing vessel. He was transferred to a Kiribati government-owned vessel and reunited with his family the next day.

“We have been assured that Mr. Ribabaiti, though very weak, was nonetheless in remarkably good spirits and health when the Volt Venture picked him up in Kiribati waters,” says Kevin Brown, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kiribati and Nauru.

This is the second time Ribabaiti, a seasoned fisherman, has been rescued after being lost at sea. However, his belief in a Christian education continues to spur him to recruit students from the islands using the only boat he has, those who know him say.

“This man is a real hero,” says Brown. “How many people have shown skill and tenacity, unbeatable human spirit, and trust in God demonstrated in surviving such incredible odds like this man has? Praise the Lord for a man like Tekemau.”