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Growing Health, Growing Hope: Roots to Shoots Deepens Impact in Aeta Communities

February 13, 2026

Since 2023, the Phase II Aeta Family Care Center – Roots to Shoots (RTS) Program has addressed malnutrition, food insecurity, livelihood vulnerability, and limited access to clean water in Bamban, Tarlac and Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

Now in its second year, RTS continues to translate integrated support into measurable community outcomes.

As of 2025, the program has reached more than 2,000 individuals since inception. These include children, caregivers, farmers, and community leaders. Through a coordinated approach that combines nutrition rehabilitation, sustainable agriculture, enterprise development, and water access, RTS is strengthening both households and local systems.

Strengthening Child Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days

Recognizing that early childhood nutrition shapes lifelong health, RTS enrolled 135 underweight children in the Positive Deviance/Hearth rehabilitation program. To date, 59 children have been successfully rehabilitated from undernutrition, with continued growth monitoring in place for the rest.

To reinforce behavior change at home, 462 caregivers completed Go Baby Go parenting sessions focused on responsive feeding, hygiene, and maternal care. In parallel, 84 barangay health workers and volunteers were trained, strengthening community-based health systems that sustain progress beyond program cycles.

Nutrition recovery is no longer limited to short-term intervention. It is now supported by local capacity and community ownership.

Advancing Food Security and Livelihood Resilience

Sustainable nutrition depends on stable food supply and income security.

In 2025, RTS delivered the following:

• 433 farmers trained in Integrated Farming Bio-Systems and provided with farm inputs
• 401 caregivers trained in home gardening and equipped with garden tools
• Three community gardens established and sustained by residents
• 231 individuals upskilled in livelihood development
• Five community-based groups, composed of 224 members, supported in enterprise development

Families are now diversifying income streams through sari-sari stores, livestock raising, rice retailing, and other micro-enterprises. These initiatives strengthen household resilience, particularly amid rising commodity prices and economic uncertainty.

For Gina Sibal of Sitio Burog, livelihood support meant stability. With assistance to establish her sari-sari store, she transitioned from recurring debt to managing a sustainable small business that supports her children’s needs. Her experience reflects the broader program objective: reducing vulnerability by expanding opportunity.

Expanding Access to Clean Water

Infrastructure investment further reinforces health gains.

In Sitio Burog, a deep well water system with 25 distribution points has been constructed and is awaiting electrification, targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2026. Once operational, the system is expected to serve approximately 700 individuals across 123 Aeta households.

A community WASH group has been organized to manage and maintain the system, embedding accountability and sustainability at the local level.

Reliable water access strengthens nutrition outcomes, improves hygiene practices, and supports overall community well-being.

Powered by Partnership

Roots to Shoots operates through a consortium model that leverages sectoral expertise:

• World Vision Development Foundation leads the Mother and Child Care component
• Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. leads Food Security and Livelihood
• Manila Water Foundation leads WASH interventions

Working alongside local government units, national agencies, academic institutions, and private sector partners, RTS ensures interventions are locally grounded and system-strengthening.

In 2025, RTS was recognized as the Most Outstanding CSR Project in Collaboration at the League of Corporate Foundations CSR Guild Awards, affirming the value of multi-sector partnership.

A new collaboration with Thaison Builders and Development, Inc. also launched RTS Light in Sacobia, expanding complementary support in adjacent communities.

Toward Sustainable Community Systems

As RTS enters its final year in 2026, sustainability planning is underway. Capacity-building workshops, strengthened LGU engagement, and structured transition mechanisms are being implemented to embed nutrition, food security, and water access systems within local institutions.

By integrating health, livelihood, and environmental stewardship, Roots to Shoots demonstrates that child nutrition improves when families are economically stable, communities have reliable water access, and local systems are empowered.

More than a project milestone, RTS represents a long-term investment in resilience. Healthier children. Stronger households. Self-sustaining communities.

Communities in Pasacao are growing more than just vegetables. Through the Roots to Shoots: Pasacao 2.0 program, families are strengthening child nutrition, building sustainable livelihoods, and learning how to produce food from their own backyards. In 2025, the program supported 50 children through nutrition rehabilitation, empowered 43 caregivers with livelihood opportunities, and trained 18 caregivers in home gardening, helping communities cultivate healthier futures and stronger resilience.

Planting Seeds for Food Security: 26 Grade 12 Learners Achieve 100% in Agricultural Crop Production NC II

Twenty-six Grade 12 learners from Sulpicio A. Roco Memorial High School achieved a 100% passing rate in the Agricultural Crop Production NC II assessment after completing 320 hours of classroom instruction and farm immersion at PSFI’s Shell Training Farm in Bombon through DepEd’s JDVP. Certified as Competent in core crop production and essential workplace and safety skills, the fourth batch of graduates is now better positioned for employment, entrepreneurship, or further studies in agriculture, supporting stronger youth participation in food security and sustainable farming.

Cultivating Future-Ready Problem Solvers: PSFI Celebrates the Impact of the Shell NXplorers Program (2019–2025)

From 2019 to 2025, the Shell NXplorers Program, implemented by Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc., equipped 2,716 students and 421 teachers across 101 schools with the skills to tackle complex real-world challenges. Through systems thinking, scenario planning, and sustainability-driven problem solving, young Filipinos strengthened their confidence, creativity, and collaboration. With 97 student-led projects generated through the Bright Ideas Challenge, NXplorers leaves behind a generation ready to shape solutions for food, water, and energy challenges.

A Promise Fulfilled: Arlene Yago’s Journey as a 2025 SKIL Scholar

At 28, Arlene Yago chose to return to school, carrying with her the words her father once told her: “Mag-aral ka para sa akin.” A young mother from Pasacao, Camarines Sur, Arlene became a 2025 scholar of the Sanayan sa Kakayahang Industriyal (SKIL) program in Electronics NC II, stepping into a field she never imagined for herself.

Shortly after her training began, she lost her father. Instead of stopping, she pressed on, honoring his dream through perseverance and hard work. Today, Arlene’s journey is more than a certification earned. It is a promise fulfilled and a future steadily being built for her family.

Shell LiveWire 2025: Growing Enterprises, Powering Possibilities

From 2020 to 2025, Shell LiveWire supported 157 Community Enterprises and 26 Tech Startups nationwide. In 2025 alone, the program reached 47 community enterprises, provided startup capital to 42 enterprises, and awarded equity-free grants to five tech startups across 10 sites nationwide.

Through structured training, mentorship, and partnerships with LGUs, national agencies, and innovation hubs, Shell LiveWire helps Filipino entrepreneurs strengthen livelihoods, create jobs, and develop solutions that enable communities to thrive.

Building Better Pathways, One Ecobrick at a Time

In Batangas City, discarded plastic was transformed into safer walkways for children through an Ecobrick Laying Activity led by Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI), together with Shell Business Operations and Shell Import Facility Tabangao. With 5,000 ecobricks turned over and 57 volunteers working side by side, school pathways at Tabangao Ambulong Elementary School and San Isidro Day Care Center were strengthened—creating cleaner, safer spaces for learning and play.

The initiative forms part of PSFI’s Community Activity Support (CAS) program, which has reached over 30,000 individuals nationwide since 2023 through education, health, and environmental efforts. Read how sustainability and partnership are building better pathways for communities.