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.