Roots of Health

Roots of Health was established in 2009 by Dr. Susan Evangelista and her daughter, Amina Evangelista Swanepoel. Susan was teaching at Palawan State University (PSU) in Puerto Princesa and was concerned about unplanned pregnancies and the lack of reproductive health knowledge among her students. Amina had just completed a double Masters Degree in International Affairs and Public Health at Columbia University in New York City. The two women felt that together they could share reproductive health lessons with women and young people in marginalized communities, thereby improving health and the general quality of life in this impoverished province of the Philippines. Roots of Health began as a modest team in 2009, as three full-time staff members working out of their homes. They provided reproductive health classes at Palawan State University and in one community. Less than a year later, their clients started asking for clinical services. Susan and Amina realized that reproductive health knowledge needed to be matched with easily available, high-quality, free services and thus hired their first nurse to begin their approach of coupling education and services. Thanks to support from the community and donors, they have grown their staff and programs over the years. They continue to operate in their two-pronged approach, education and service provision, as they've grown into the 20+ person team they are today. The Roots of Health team is a family of passionate, committed and thoughtful individuals. Their full-time staff sit within their clinical, youth, admin, executive and M&E teams. No matter what their individual roles, they all keep women, adolescents and the girls of Palawan at the center of their day-to-day work. Their team is the biggest it’s been since their inception, and they remain committed to strengthening the team’s capacity.