Year-End Summary for 2022
First, our thoughts turn to those who have made our progress possible, and we would like to thank you and extend our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a good year ahead.
It has been an exciting year for the Aeta Tribe Foundation, and especially, it’s our seventh anniversary. We had constructed and built eight water catchment systems and toilet facilities to eight Aeta villages in the surrounding areas of the municipality of Sta. Juliana, known as the Sta. Juliana proper, in Capas, Tarlac namely: Bulacan, Dalig, Duray, Malalabatay, Maligaya, Manalal, Pisapungan, and Settler.
For this year, we have accumulated total donations of $71,359 and spent $34,624 for health and development projects. The remaining $36,735 (of which $35,838) will be used to start our new “Lifesaving and Feeding Program,” which provides daily lunch meals on school days for 470 currently enrolled students at Pisapungan Elementary School for the year 2023.
We have approached the teachers at Pisapungan Elementary School about implementing our new program. A total of 750 Aeta children are school-age and should be in public schools. Of these, 280 cannot attend because of persistent hunger and food shortages. The drop-out rate is high as a result. Those who do maintain enrollment in school often bring only a sweet potato for lunch, which offers insufficient nutrition to support their learning and well-being. If we provide lunches and snacks during the school day, parents will be much more willing to enroll their children, and children will be healthier and learn better.
With the support of teachers at Pisapungan Elementary, we will provide a daily lunch-meal program on school days beginning in January or February 2023. Due to the holidays and the lack of volunteers, we are experiencing delays connecting the water-catchment systems from the Pisapungan village for the school to have safe drinking water and the ability to grow vegetables as part of its garden education activities. Our foundation will provide the materials and equipment, farming tools, water containers, rice, chickens, and canned foods.
To make our program work, it was necessary for the teachers and the parents to provide food for both home and school. Hungry children cannot thrive. Therefore, our approach to sustainability includes the establishments of small farms in villages and in primary schools to increase ecological understanding and to promote health and sustainable food behaviors. Improved nutrition, such as an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption, is key to the Aeta population standing on its own feet and thriving in the long term. The teachers will reach out to parents, working together to create small farms by growing fruits and vegetables. The bottom line is that we want every member of Aeta communities, including the public-school teachers, to do their part by contributing to improve the health of the children. The result of the Lifesaving and Feeding Program and these local efforts is that children will be able to remain in schools without worrying about being hungry and having to search for food in the mountains. Once the Lifesaving and Feeding Program is in place, we can also begin to promote better hygiene since we have constructed toilet facilities with handwashing stations.
As part of our successes this year, we had the opportunity to meet with seventeen (17) Aeta villages within Sta. Juliana proper, in Capas, Tarlac. There are approximately 2,000 families and 10,000 Aetas including children residing in a total of seventeen Aeta villages: Alunan, Bulacan, Dalig, Duray, Malalabatay, Maligaya, Manalal, Patal Bato, Pantol, Pula, Pilien, Pisapungan, Settler, Taliktik, Tambo, Tarukan, and Yeyang. In 2023 and if we continue to receive financial supports from our donors like yourselves, we plan to complete nine more water catchment systems and toilet facilities for nine Aeta villages namely Alunan, Patal Bato, Pantol, Pula, Pilien, Taliktik, Tambo, Tarukan, and Yeyang.
These seventeen Aeta villages were only rarely visited by the local government or non-government organizations due to their geographical and cultural isolation. To visit, we first need permission and protection from local military authorities of the Philippine Army as they prepare for the potential threat from China. From the military checkpoint, it took our volunteers approximately twelve hours of travel riding on carts pulled by water buffaloes. Travel must be either on foot or by cart, as there is no road access, and several knee-to-waist-high rivers must be crossed. It took roughly two weeks to bring food, clean water, and materials to our project sites, and the volunteers often slept on dirt. For heavy loads and those of odd sizes such as pipes, cement, rubber hoses, electrical wires, and large water catchments or containers, military personnel volunteered their time allowing us to use their heavy-duty trucks. During the rainy seasons, it was nearly impossible to visit the Aeta communities, as it would be muddy and slippery to climb the mountains. Overall, it took twelve months to complete eight water projects in eight Aeta villages with a total expenditure of $34,624 and invested on an average of $4,000 for each village.
Of all the Aeta communities I have visited since 2015 throughout Central Luzon, these seventeen are the most marginalized. The Aeta children suffered from extreme poverty and a high rate of malnutrition that impacted their ability to attend primary school. Almost all lived inadequately, with unsafe water from the rivers, food insecurity, lack of sanitation facilities, and poor hygiene.
Each year for seven years we have consistently maintained an annual operating budget of $30,000 to construct water catchment systems, artesian wells, and sanitation facilities and to provide agricultural tools, water buffaloes, and water containers to improve the health of the Aeta people. After our string of successful projects, it is now time to increase fundraising activities in the hope of doubling our operating budget to $60,000 starting next year.
All seventeen Aeta communities in Sta. Juliana proper are aware of the Aeta Tribe Foundation and its goals, and several have already submitted budget proposals for their villages. With the successful completion of eight water projects, the foundation is gaining more cooperation and consent from Philippine military, Department of Health, Department of Education, tribal elders, barangay leadership groups, and from communities. These groups are ready to participate and partner with us to bring them into the next steps.
As 2022 draws to a close, we know that you have choices to support a variety of nonprofit and charitable organizations that are close to your heart. We hope that you will continue to support the successful work of the Aeta Tribe Foundation, and possibly increase your donation to bring us closer to $60,000 of donated funds in 2023, of which $36,000 will be used to build water catchment systems and toilet facilities to the remaining nine villages. The other $24,000 will support the feeding program for the school year 2024. The foundation continues to save lives and give hope to malnourished Aeta children who deserve a better future. And we are excited for a bright new chapter in the new year!
All board members including myself and the Aeta representatives are unpaid volunteers. Please make your donations today by visiting our website https://www.aetatribes.org or via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aetatribes, or simply send your donation check payable to Aeta Tribe Foundation.
Should you need additional information, please contact Fernando Briosos, President, at your earliest convenience at (415) 971-1227 or via email at fbriosos@tsjobs.com.
Aeta Tribe Foundation - P.O. Box 14037, San Francisco, CA 94114
A 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit Organization
It has been an exciting year for the Aeta Tribe Foundation, and especially, it’s our seventh anniversary. We had constructed and built eight water catchment systems and toilet facilities to eight Aeta villages in the surrounding areas of the municipality of Sta. Juliana, known as the Sta. Juliana proper, in Capas, Tarlac namely: Bulacan, Dalig, Duray, Malalabatay, Maligaya, Manalal, Pisapungan, and Settler.
For this year, we have accumulated total donations of $71,359 and spent $34,624 for health and development projects. The remaining $36,735 (of which $35,838) will be used to start our new “Lifesaving and Feeding Program,” which provides daily lunch meals on school days for 470 currently enrolled students at Pisapungan Elementary School for the year 2023.
We have approached the teachers at Pisapungan Elementary School about implementing our new program. A total of 750 Aeta children are school-age and should be in public schools. Of these, 280 cannot attend because of persistent hunger and food shortages. The drop-out rate is high as a result. Those who do maintain enrollment in school often bring only a sweet potato for lunch, which offers insufficient nutrition to support their learning and well-being. If we provide lunches and snacks during the school day, parents will be much more willing to enroll their children, and children will be healthier and learn better.
With the support of teachers at Pisapungan Elementary, we will provide a daily lunch-meal program on school days beginning in January or February 2023. Due to the holidays and the lack of volunteers, we are experiencing delays connecting the water-catchment systems from the Pisapungan village for the school to have safe drinking water and the ability to grow vegetables as part of its garden education activities. Our foundation will provide the materials and equipment, farming tools, water containers, rice, chickens, and canned foods.
To make our program work, it was necessary for the teachers and the parents to provide food for both home and school. Hungry children cannot thrive. Therefore, our approach to sustainability includes the establishments of small farms in villages and in primary schools to increase ecological understanding and to promote health and sustainable food behaviors. Improved nutrition, such as an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption, is key to the Aeta population standing on its own feet and thriving in the long term. The teachers will reach out to parents, working together to create small farms by growing fruits and vegetables. The bottom line is that we want every member of Aeta communities, including the public-school teachers, to do their part by contributing to improve the health of the children. The result of the Lifesaving and Feeding Program and these local efforts is that children will be able to remain in schools without worrying about being hungry and having to search for food in the mountains. Once the Lifesaving and Feeding Program is in place, we can also begin to promote better hygiene since we have constructed toilet facilities with handwashing stations.
As part of our successes this year, we had the opportunity to meet with seventeen (17) Aeta villages within Sta. Juliana proper, in Capas, Tarlac. There are approximately 2,000 families and 10,000 Aetas including children residing in a total of seventeen Aeta villages: Alunan, Bulacan, Dalig, Duray, Malalabatay, Maligaya, Manalal, Patal Bato, Pantol, Pula, Pilien, Pisapungan, Settler, Taliktik, Tambo, Tarukan, and Yeyang. In 2023 and if we continue to receive financial supports from our donors like yourselves, we plan to complete nine more water catchment systems and toilet facilities for nine Aeta villages namely Alunan, Patal Bato, Pantol, Pula, Pilien, Taliktik, Tambo, Tarukan, and Yeyang.
These seventeen Aeta villages were only rarely visited by the local government or non-government organizations due to their geographical and cultural isolation. To visit, we first need permission and protection from local military authorities of the Philippine Army as they prepare for the potential threat from China. From the military checkpoint, it took our volunteers approximately twelve hours of travel riding on carts pulled by water buffaloes. Travel must be either on foot or by cart, as there is no road access, and several knee-to-waist-high rivers must be crossed. It took roughly two weeks to bring food, clean water, and materials to our project sites, and the volunteers often slept on dirt. For heavy loads and those of odd sizes such as pipes, cement, rubber hoses, electrical wires, and large water catchments or containers, military personnel volunteered their time allowing us to use their heavy-duty trucks. During the rainy seasons, it was nearly impossible to visit the Aeta communities, as it would be muddy and slippery to climb the mountains. Overall, it took twelve months to complete eight water projects in eight Aeta villages with a total expenditure of $34,624 and invested on an average of $4,000 for each village.
Of all the Aeta communities I have visited since 2015 throughout Central Luzon, these seventeen are the most marginalized. The Aeta children suffered from extreme poverty and a high rate of malnutrition that impacted their ability to attend primary school. Almost all lived inadequately, with unsafe water from the rivers, food insecurity, lack of sanitation facilities, and poor hygiene.
Each year for seven years we have consistently maintained an annual operating budget of $30,000 to construct water catchment systems, artesian wells, and sanitation facilities and to provide agricultural tools, water buffaloes, and water containers to improve the health of the Aeta people. After our string of successful projects, it is now time to increase fundraising activities in the hope of doubling our operating budget to $60,000 starting next year.
All seventeen Aeta communities in Sta. Juliana proper are aware of the Aeta Tribe Foundation and its goals, and several have already submitted budget proposals for their villages. With the successful completion of eight water projects, the foundation is gaining more cooperation and consent from Philippine military, Department of Health, Department of Education, tribal elders, barangay leadership groups, and from communities. These groups are ready to participate and partner with us to bring them into the next steps.
As 2022 draws to a close, we know that you have choices to support a variety of nonprofit and charitable organizations that are close to your heart. We hope that you will continue to support the successful work of the Aeta Tribe Foundation, and possibly increase your donation to bring us closer to $60,000 of donated funds in 2023, of which $36,000 will be used to build water catchment systems and toilet facilities to the remaining nine villages. The other $24,000 will support the feeding program for the school year 2024. The foundation continues to save lives and give hope to malnourished Aeta children who deserve a better future. And we are excited for a bright new chapter in the new year!
All board members including myself and the Aeta representatives are unpaid volunteers. Please make your donations today by visiting our website https://www.aetatribes.org or via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aetatribes, or simply send your donation check payable to Aeta Tribe Foundation.
Should you need additional information, please contact Fernando Briosos, President, at your earliest convenience at (415) 971-1227 or via email at fbriosos@tsjobs.com.
Aeta Tribe Foundation - P.O. Box 14037, San Francisco, CA 94114
A 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit Organization
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