The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) conducted a massive Aid to Fight Poverty where it gave 50,000 parcels of free food to families and residents of Malawi and Kenya during visits of the Felix Y. Manalo (FYM) Foundation, the charitable institution of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC or Church Of Christ), last June.
The recent activities were held in fulfillment of the Church’s commitment to help those in need and to help alleviate poverty, including in Africa which was the aim of its second Worldwide Walk on May 6, 2018 held simultaneously in more than 300 sites across 18 time zones.
In cooperation with the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation, the INC conducted two major outreach projects on June 19 and 20 in Malawi where the Church volunteers distributed thousands of food parcels. The INC, on June 24, also conducted an Aid To Fight Poverty mission in Kenya.
-Help sent to villages in Malawi and Kenya-
The first charity outreach program done after the May 6 Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty was held at the National Hockey Stadium in Blantyre City in Malawi on June 19, and the second was held the next day, June 20, in the province of Manggochi, also in Malawi.
The beneficiaries came from the towns of Chileka, Suya, Dirande, Chilomoni, Bangwe, Lunzu, Mbayani, Machinjiri, Manese, Mdala, and Chatha during the first outreach activity that week in Blantyre City.
The event began with a prayer, followed by a video presentation explaining the different humanitarian projects of the Church, as well as an introduction to the Iglesia Ni Cristo – a program of events seen similarly during the numerous community events held around the world by the Church Of Christ.
Event organizers and volunteers traveled from the Philippines, joining local members of the INC congregations in Southern and Northern Africa in greeting and distributing the food parcels to the thousands who lined up hours before the announced time. Food parcels filled with basic food items such as biscuits, kitchen salt, soya, margarine, beans, sugar, and maize were provided to residents.
The next day, June 20, another outreach activity was held in the township of Malawi’s Southern Region, Mangochi. Families from the villages of Samama, Kumwa, Madeweri, Tongole, Malunda, Katolomela, Bolera, Dicungulo, Mauwa, Mdola and Muchoca traveled to receive food parcels from the Church of Christ for the first time.
Following the events in Malawi was an additional visit on June 24 to the Ligi Ndogo Grounds in Nairobi, Kenya. Residents in the Kawangware Village were greeted with Christian music performed by INC members from the local congregation of Kibera. Kenya is one of 37 countries in Africa in which the Church Of Christ has a growing presence.
The village chieftain of Samama in Manggochi thanked the INC Church Administration led by INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo for the Aid to Humanity projects.
“I’m very grateful to the Church of Christ, particularly to Mr. Eduardo V, Manalo, for distributing this food to us, to the people of Mancochi. This is very special to us. So we are thanking him indeed,” said Steven Nwaliwa, the Samama village chief.
The outreach mission in Malawi and Kenya showed how the Church Of Christ is serious in its desire to help poor communities in Africa where the INC has established its presence in 37 countries.
INC General Auditor minister Glicerio Santos Jr., said that the Church Administration headed by INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo will continue its outreach and socio-civic programs that would help people in need as part of the biblical teaching for Church members to love their fellowmen.
“Ipapakita natin sa mga tao na totohanan ang Iglesia sa pagtulong natin sa kapwa (We will show to the people that the Church is serious in its mission to help our fellowmen),” he said.
The INC minister said that the INC is now providing not only food, but also jobs and decent housing for the poor to show love for their fellowmen, and not only to members of the Church.
The INC had already set up its first eco-farming site in Ladybrand, South Africa in August last year. The 508-hectare eco-farm site had employed more than 200 South African locals.
It will set up more eco farming sites in the African continent. The Church currently has 29 eco-farming communities in the Philippines, and in Africa, as part of its project to fight poverty.
The International Aid For Humanity events took place after the Iglesia Ni Cristo held its world-recognized Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty in May 2018 simultaneously in more than 300 sites and across 18 time zones, which aimed to raise awareness for the global concern of poverty and the INC’s continuous efforts to combat the issue with action, specifically for those in Africa’s impoverished communities.
About 71 percent of Malawians live in extreme poverty, according to the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development, which places Malawi among the five poorest countries in the world.
Since INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo’s first visit to Africa in 2014, the progress of the INC in the continent of Africa has flourished. From numerous outreach events providing food parcels to thousands at a time, to helping establish two self-sustaining eco-farming communities in Ladybrand and Petrusburg, South Africa, these projects have connected residents to a stable livelihood and a more promising future.
The Church Of Christ continues to fulfill its pledge of sharing the gospel and extending help, to the best of its ability. Its unprecedented growth under the leadership of Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo is expected to continue in 2018 across the continent of Africa. (with an INC-PIO release)
