Nation-building, one community at a time

MANILA, Philippines - For over 30 years, Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI) has been answering the oft-repeated call of national development. In that span, Philippine presidents have come and gone, and had encouraged the Filipino people to play more active roles in nation-building. PSFI has taken concrete steps in establishing programs that directly respond to the call. More than that, PSFI’s programs are committed to providing lasting and meaningful solutions to beneficiaries and stakeholders.

Established in 1982, PSFI is responsible for managing and implementing Shell’s social development programs in the Philippines, both on national and local scale. It includes leadership enhancement and attitude development; technical, vocational, and agricultural skills development; training and employment; health care and services, sanitation, and safety; livelihood and entrepreneurship development; and environmental stewardship.

Shell, as a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology, continuously works to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, smarter infrastructure, and by developing new energy sources while addressing their impact on society and the environment. Most importantly, “at our operations, we aim to address social concerns and work to benefit local communities, protecting our reputation as we do business,” explained PSFI president and Pilipinas Shell country manager Edgar Chua.

Just recently, Chua and other PSFI officials hosted media representatives in a tour of Puerto Princesa, Palawan where many of the foundation’s most successful and replicated social investment projects on health, livelihood, and education can be found. Among the programs covered during the event were the Kilusan Laban sa Malaria (KLM); Integrated Farming Bio Systems (IFBS); Sanayan sa Kakayahang Pangangalakal (SAKA), Tribal Education & Livelihood Program (TELP); Impok Pang-Kalusugan (IPK); and Sustaining Conservation Gains in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Development Project.

PSFI’s Kilusan Laban sa Malaria (KLM) is a community-based malaria control program which aims to help control and eliminate malaria in Palawan through early-case detection and prompt treatment, vector control, community organizing, awareness raising, capability building, research, advocacy, and networking.

Since blazing the trail in 1999, the program has seen a significant decline in mortality and cases. In 2012, deaths have decreased by almost 97 percent based on 2000 figures while cases have gone down by 92 percent.

PSFI has also been training microscopists and supplying laboratory equipment for diagnosis, blood smearing, and other malaria-related purposes. During the media tour, PSFI showcased such activities in a Malaria Awareness Day for the indigenous Tabak tribespeople at Sitio Tagnaya, Barangay Concepcion in Puerto Princesa. Fun and games, blood smearing, lectures, and distribution of treated mosquito nets highlighted the event.

Since its inception, the KLM program has turned out to be so successful that it merited the attention of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria in 2006. The organization granted KLM $14.3M to continue operations in Palawan, and to replicate the KLM project nationwide—rechristened as the Movement Against Malaria. It now operates in Apayao, Quirino, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu. In 2010, the Global Fund gave an additional $31.4M consolidated malaria grant to PSFI to increase the coverage to 40 more provinces.

 â€œThe global fund portfolio manager asked us why we’re successful with implementation,” narrated PSFI executive director Edgardo Veron Cruz. “I said that most of the projects of PSFI are community-based. To us, it is important that the community knows what we would like to achieve in addressing their needs. We engage either government officials or community leaders to ensure that the communities are aware of what we are doing and what we expect to achieve.”

Indeed, the success of KLM and its eventual evolution into the Movement Against Malaria is largely due to its partnership with the Department of Health and private institutions as well such as the Global Fund.

In Palawan, SAKA is a program under the Western Philippines University that is staunchly supported by PSFI. It entails a one-year scholarship program for rural out-of-school youth leading to a Certificate in Agricultural Entrepreneurship. The project empowers the youth in agricultural technologies and entrepreneurship designed to improve farm productivity and management, family income, and leadership skills.

 â€œWe pay for the youths’ tuition, provide their dormitories, give them stipends and uniforms,” explained PSFI program manager Marvi Trudeau during a visit to the SAKA Center in the municipality of Aborlan, more than 60 kilometers south of Puerto Princesa. “At the end of the program, we provide these scholars with a start-up fund for their income-generating projects.”

IFBS, meanwhile, is an ongoing week-long capacity-building program for training farmers on appropriate farming technologies, focusing on organic farming, soil analysis, and water conservation techniques.

 â€œWe teach farmers how to make full use of the resources available around them through environment-friendly, financially rewarding, and market-driven practices,” said Trudeau.

TELP is a project that takes on poverty alleviation for indigenous people. Trudeau said that PSFI wanted to uplift the lives of indigenous families through modules on livelihood, education, and enterprise development.

 â€œWhat we are trying to do is to help them improve their family’s production and income, and encourage them to protect the environment and natural resources. It does not mean that just because their lives are improving they will neglect the very culture and environment that nurtured them,” she said.

Similarly, IPK is a community-based health micro-insurance program that provides hospitalization to its members. Families pay as little as P360 annually for a two-time hospitalization benefit amounting to P2,500. In rural areas such as those in Palawan, this amount already covers even major health situations such as normal child delivery.

Also among the most noteworthy ventures of PSFI is its involvement in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Development Project. A comprehensive information, education, and communications campaign was the product of its partnership with PSFI. The program proved to be beneficial for the conservation of the world-famous Tubbataha — because of the campaign, people became more aware of the reef’s importance as a source of coral and fish larvae.

Chua shared the secret of PSFI’s successes thus far: “Our people make all the difference. These individuals are very professional and dedicated. They love what they do and being part of a team. Their job is not easy because they are front-liners, but they carry out their task above and beyond the call of duty.”

And Chua is not only referring to Shell employees, but also the numerous volunteers and partners in government and fellow private organizations. Above all, it is the beneficiaries themselves who are impacted for the better and who become advocates of the programs. “It is more of a mindset for them to realize that the program is well-meaning and all-giving. This involves fostering love of country, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and being able to share time and talent with those in need. These help ensure the sustainability and success of the program.”