A beacon of hope for the needy, neglected

True to their mission to come to the aid of those in dire need, including victims of natural disasters, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo were one of the first responders who gave food packs and much-needed aid to residents of Marikina City badly affected by super typhoon “Carina” on Wednesday.

Hours after the unceasing rain last 24 July, the INC’s “Worldwide Lingap sa Mamamayan” distributed thousands of food packs in evacuation areas, as well as in low-lying areas in Marikina City, according to Bro. Ronald Capunitan, second administrator of INC Metro Manila East.

Aside from the “Lingap Relief Goods,” INC members also provided hot meals to members and non-members in the said city.

Marikina City was one of the cities in the National Capital Region that felt the wrath of super typhoon “Carina,” inundating thousands of streets and homes, affecting more than a million people, and claiming at least 14 lives.

The Foundation

"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:16, New International Version)

This was the guiding verse from the Holy Bible of the members of the INC’s aiding arm, the Felix Y. Manalo (FYM) Foundation Inc., in unceasingly providing care and compassion to those in dire need, here and around the globe.

FYM Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit, and non-political organization, is envisioned to provide opportunity and equity for those most in need, promote education, socio-economic well-being, environmental awareness, and health improvement for everyone, and contribute to the creation of peaceful and productive communities.

“As long as there are people in need, the FYM Foundation will continue to fulfill its pledge of extending help through aid and services, promoting education, socio-economic well-being, environmental awareness, and health improvement,” the foundation said on its website.

Even if there are no calamities, members of the INC gather every week to pack relief goods for communities in need, as reaching out to those in need has been the hallmark of the INC, something they have been doing since 1952.

That year, the INC made its first medical and dental mission in Quiapo, Manila. Since then, the INC has done millions of times organizing and sponsoring outreach missions, extending help to the poorest communities in the country.

On 4 February 2011, the foundation was officially registered in the Philippines and in the United States on 17 May 2012, arming them to be first responders for search and rescue operations, as well as providing food packs and medical aid to residents in hard-hit calamity areas here and abroad.

FYM Foundation was one of the first responders to provide aid to victims of typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) in ground zero of Tacloban City in Leyte. Yolanda is considered the most destructive typhoon that the country has ever recorded, killing thousands of people when it struck on 8 November 2013.

To date, victims of “Yolanda” remain thankful to INC after the foundation built 3,000 self-sustainable settlements in Alang-alang, Leyte, equipped with garments and dried fish processing factories, and an eco-farm providing livelihoods and sustenance for families of “Yolanda” victims.

Aside from “Yolanda” victims, the foundation also built permanent housing and livelihoods for Indigenous members, such as permanent shelters for the Aeta tribe of Paracale, Camarines Norte (300 hectares); the Blaan tribe of Tampakan, South Cotabato (16,000 hectares); and the T’boli tribe of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.

Global Outreach

Telling the message to the whole world to never stop caring and extending help to the needy, the INC, through FYM Foundation, even mobilized its “Worldwide Lingap sa Mamamayan” and assisted the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York City, USA, in October 2012; the 2016 earthquake in Kumamoto, Japan; and the provision of food packs for the residents of Favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The FYM Foundation even reached African countries, as the “Worldwide Lingap sa Mamamayan” extended help by providing food sustenance to thousands of residents of Nairobi, Kenya; Blantyre City in Malawi; Ladybrand, South Africa; Maseru, Lesotho, and Qwa-Qwa, South Africa.

Part of the teachings of the INC is for its members to never stop giving to those less fortunate; that is why the foundation launched the INC Giving Project, urging its members to share their faith, time, talents, and acts of kindness, making a difference to the lives of others.

Caring for PWDs

Aside from this, the INC’s foundation also provides attention and does not neglect persons with disabilities, employing differently-abled people to provide career development and training for people with special needs.

INC has also established its own Yakap Orphanage inside a compound in Ciudad de Victoria in Bulacan to take care of orphaned children.

All of these monumental programs were executed under the auspices of Ka Eduardo Manalo, the Executive Minister of INC.