Fondacio in Asia
Fondacio in Asia
Origins of the mission
Fondacio was born in 1974 in France, under the name of the Community of Poitiers ( see our history ). In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council and within the framework of the “new communities” resulting from the Charismatic Renewal, its goal was the formation and evangelization of the younger generations.
It was first the reception in 1979 of four Vietnamese seminarians (boat-people) who had taken refuge in France, then the meeting of a priest from the Foreign Missions of Paris (MEP) by young people from the community of Poitiers on a mission in a camp of refugees in Thailand, which put Fondacio in contact with Asia.
This was followed by the call of Mgr Dominic Vendargon, then Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, to the young people of Poitiers to come and create a community in Malaysia. Seven of them left in 1981 for Malaysia, then for the Philippines to launch Fondacio in each of these countries.
The rise of Fondacio in Asia
Fondacio’s journey began in Asia with the birth of the two communities in the Philippines and Malaysia in 1981. Growth during the first decade was due to the presence of French Fondacio members who came to Asia as full-time lay missionaries. The main orientation during the first decade was the transmission of the spirituality of Fondacio and the formation of local leaders. The 1990s were a period of integration of this spirituality in the Asian context and the process of inculturation continues into the third millennium. The first 25 years were a period of rooting communities in the local Filipino and Malaysian church.
The 1st Asian Congress in 2006 marked 25 years of Fondacio in Asia with a clear challenge: to serve local churches in Asia. The launch of the Fondacio Formation Institute, Asia (IFF Asia) in the same year was a step of faith to be of service to local churches in Asia – a response to the message of the Holy Father for the 3rd millennium “to go into depths. The challenge of this message was a call to mission: to move from Fondacio active in local parish life to being sent on mission to other countries.
Since 2000, visits have been made to Myanmar and later to China. In 2003, the leaders of Fondacio Malaysia and the Philippines took a step of faith to start a mission in Myanmar and continue mission trips to China. To date, the Institute has welcomed young people from 16 Asian countries. IFF Asia is a sign: a covenant of our commitment to serve the local Church and society in Asia. Today, we are a community on mission engaged in community building, evangelistic activities, youth education and social development projects in Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
Our teams in Asia
Regional Team – Alice Tan, Annie Yap, Florence Alexius and Roger Barelli
Asian Management Team – Aleona Natalio, Angelino Chan Jr., Douglas Teoh, Le Thi Tuyet An, Naw Julia, Pengpadit Thongsamay, Raymond Brang Aung and Rodrigo Babiera Jr.
Our actions
Training and education programs:
IFF Asia (Foundacio Asia Training Institute) – A regional learning network and training hub, helping young adults to specialize or grow in their calling and vocation. It offers programs that equip them with skills to become agents of change and project leaders for the renewal of the Church and society. It provides ongoing formation to individuals and groups involved in ministry and society with workshops on midlife transition, accompaniment, youth ministry, lay leadership, pastoral and strategic planning, and more.
YLDCs (Youth Livelihood and Development Centres) across Asia – YLDCs focus on young people, especially those who are disadvantaged, to help them build a future for themselves, their families and society. It offers training to help young people develop the knowledge, skills and values that will empower them and give them opportunities for a better life. YLDC is present in Vientiane, Laos; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Yangon and Myitkina, Myanmar; and Quezon City, Philippines.
Evangelism activities:
CLUB (Community Leaders Unity Building) – An opportunity for young people of different cultures and faiths to serve together for a common and shared experience.
Youth and Evangelism Camps – Awakening young people to their uniqueness and potential as human beings, helping them to take responsibility for their lives and encounter God’s love in new ways.
Social projects:
Green Pastures – a rural community empowerment project in Tyegi village in Shwebo, Myanmar.
Youn Sone – a Myanmar born social enterprise that promotes sustainable fashion through dresses made by women for women by adding a modern twist to traditional fabric.
Contact information:
Fondacio Asia Inc.
Radio Veritas Asia Compound Buick Street, Fairview Park 1118 Quezon City, Philippines
+63-2-4284372
Fondacio in Asia
Building Leaders, Transforming Asia!
IFF Asia, Quezon City, Philippines
Fondacio in Asia on video
Youth CLUB in Myanmar
Youth clubs are personality and faith trainings, they take place once a month.
Fondacio: Youth Clubs in Myanmar Asia
Youth clubs are personality and faith trainings, they take place once a month
Fondacio: Youth Clubs in Myanmar Asia
Youth clubs are personality and faith trainings, they take place once a month.
Fondacio in Myanmar: Green Pastures
Green Pastures Empowering an entire village through education and livelihoods Te Gyi village, a small village near Shwebo in Mandalay, has low accessibility to electricity and water and villagers generally work as subsistence farmers or laborers in surrounding towns and villages. Given the poverty and poor education of the community, young people are not motivated to study. Moreover, their parents sometimes even chose that they start working or simply help around the house instead of pursuing further studies. Martin is a member of Fondacio who cares passionately about his people, this community and particularly the children he has known through his internship in the village. He set up a goat-rearing social enterprise that funded the education of village children while providing additional income for families raising goats. Goat raising - Five of the poorest families in the village were selected to raise goats, the income from the sale of the goats would be shared between the families and the education project. Martin regularly monitors the goats and oversees the quarterly vaccinations needed to keep the goats healthy. Education - Martin organizes daily lessons for the children of the village and the children are enthusiastic about learning! Due to the education provided by Green Pastures, the young people are beginning to achieve success in state exams - unheard of before - and to continue their higher education outside the village. It allows children in the region to attend primary school, even if the nearest public school is more than 5 km away. The village of Tambiga is marked by pastoral and agricultural activity where the habit of sending children to school is not yet well established. The presence of EPMO is therefore essential, especially since the good results have made its reputation over the years. For several years, the school has been working hard to mobilize the population around it: setting up a COGES, an association of parents of pupils but also an association of mothers of families, participation of parents in renovation of buildings and canteen made available. It is also linked to the municipal child and youth network and the local health centre, which is why it participates in fairs and cultural events or services several times a year (book month, women's fair, the youth ...). In 2018, the Los Almendros library welcomed more than 850 children through its various activities, 150 adults and 500 families living near the site. Year after year, this beautiful project continues to grow!
Green Pastures by Fondacio: empowering an entire village
Green Pastures Empowering an entire village through education and livelihoods Te Gyi village, a small village near Shwebo in Mandalay, has low accessibility to electricity and water and villagers generally work as subsistence farmers or laborers in surrounding towns and villages. Given the poverty and poor education of the community, young people are not motivated to study. Moreover, their parents sometimes even chose that they start working or simply help around the house instead of pursuing further studies. Martin is a member of Fondacio who cares passionately about his people, this community and particularly the children he has known through his internship in the village. He set up a goat-rearing social enterprise that funded the education of village children while providing additional income for families raising goats. Goat raising - Five of the poorest families in the village were selected to raise goats, the income from the sale of the goats would be shared between the families and the education project. Martin regularly monitors the goats and oversees the quarterly vaccinations needed to keep the goats healthy. Education - Martin organizes daily lessons for the children of the village and the children are enthusiastic about learning! Due to the education provided by Green Pastures, the young people are beginning to achieve success in state exams - unheard of before - and to continue their higher education outside the village.
Green Pastures a Fondacio project in Myanmar
Green Pastures Empowering an entire village through education and livelihoods Te Gyi village, a small village near Shwebo in Mandalay, has low accessibility to electricity and water and villagers generally work as subsistence farmers or laborers in surrounding towns and villages. Given the poverty and poor education of the community, young people are not motivated to study. Moreover, their parents sometimes even chose that they start working or simply help around the house instead of pursuing further studies. Martin is a member of Fondacio who cares passionately about his people, this community and particularly the children he has known through his internship in the village. He set up a goat-rearing social enterprise that funded the education of village children while providing additional income for families raising goats. Goat raising - Five of the poorest families in the village were selected to raise goats, the income from the sale of the goats would be shared between the families and the education project. Martin regularly monitors the goats and oversees the quarterly vaccinations needed to keep the goats healthy. Education - Martin organizes daily lessons for the children of the village and the children are enthusiastic about learning! Due to the education provided by Green Pastures, the young people are beginning to achieve success in state exams - unheard of before - and to continue their higher education outside the village. It allows children in the region to attend primary school. The village of Tambiga is marked by pastoral and agricultural activity. But the habit of sending children to school is not yet fully established. The presence of EPMO is essential, especially since the good results have made its reputation over the years. The school works hard to mobilize the population around it: setting up a COGES, a parents' association but also a mothers' association, parents' participation in the renovation of buildings and a canteen made available .
Green Pastures in Myanmar
Green Pastures Empowering an entire village through education and livelihoods Te Gyi village, a small village near Shwebo in Mandalay, has low accessibility to electricity and water and villagers generally work as subsistence farmers or laborers in surrounding towns and villages. Given the poverty and poor education of the community, young people are not motivated to study. Moreover, their parents sometimes even chose that they start working or simply help around the house instead of pursuing further studies. Martin is a member of Fondacio who cares passionately about his people, this community and particularly the children he has known through his internship in the village. He set up a goat-rearing social enterprise that funded the education of village children while providing additional income for families raising goats. Goat raising - Five of the poorest families in the village were selected to raise goats, the income from the sale of the goats would be shared between the families and the education project. Martin regularly monitors the goats and oversees the quarterly vaccinations needed to keep the goats healthy. Education - Martin organizes daily lessons for the children of the village and the children are enthusiastic about learning! Due to the education provided by Green Pastures, the young people are beginning to achieve success in state exams - unheard of before - and to continue their higher education outside the village.
Green pastures a Fondacio project in Asia
Green Pastures Empowering an entire village through education and livelihoods Te Gyi village, a small village near Shwebo in Mandalay, has low accessibility to electricity and water and villagers generally work as subsistence farmers or laborers in surrounding towns and villages. Given the poverty and poor education of the community, young people are not motivated to study. Moreover, their parents sometimes even chose that they start working or simply help around the house instead of pursuing further studies. Martin is a member of Fondacio who cares passionately about his people, this community and particularly the children he has known through his internship in the village. He set up a goat-rearing social enterprise that funded the education of village children while providing additional income for families raising goats. Goat raising - Five of the poorest families in the village were selected to raise goats, the income from the sale of the goats would be shared between the families and the education project. Martin regularly monitors the goats and oversees the quarterly vaccinations needed to keep the goats healthy. Tutorial - Martin organizes daily lessons for the children of the village and the children are enthusiastic to learn! Because of the Green Pastures tutorial provided, young people are beginning to achieve success in state exams - unheard of before - and to pursue higher education outside the village.
Green Pastures, Myanmar
Green Pastures Empowering an entire village through education and livelihoods Te Gyi village, a small village near Shwebo in Mandalay, has poor accessibility to electricity and water and villagers generally work as subsistence farmers or laborers in surrounding towns and villages. Given the poverty and low education of the community, young people are not motivated to study. Moreover, their parents sometimes even chose to start working or simply help around the house instead of pursuing higher education. Martin is a member of Fondacio who cares passionately about his people, this community and especially the children he has known through his internship in the village. He set up a goat-rearing social enterprise that funded the education of village children while providing additional income for families raising goats. Goat raising - Five of the poorest families in the village were selected to raise goats, the income from the sale of the goats would be shared between the families and the education project. Martin regularly monitors the goats and oversees the quarterly vaccinations needed to keep the goats healthy. Tutorial - Martin organizes daily lessons for the children of the village and the children are enthusiastic to learn! Because of the Green Pastures tutorial provided, young people are beginning to achieve success in state exams - unheard of before - and to pursue higher education outside the village. Green Pastures Keeps innovating more income and skill generation opportunities not only for children but also for their parents such as: brick making, soap making, mushroom growing, gardening etc. Green Pasture in pictures -Develop income/livelihood generation projects to find a sustainable source of income for families -Implement education/training programs for youth to guide and encourage them to complete their education -Allow the families of the village to become autonomous by involving them in the development of these initiatives It allows children in the region to attend primary school, even if the nearest public school is more than 5 km away. The village of Tambiga is marked by pastoral and agricultural activity where the habit of sending children to school is not yet well established. The presence of EPMO is therefore essential, especially since the good results have made its reputation over the years. For several years, the school has been working hard to mobilize the population around it: setting up a COGES, an association of parents of pupils but also an association of mothers of families, participation of parents in renovation of buildings and canteen made available. It allows children in the region to attend primary school, even if the nearest public school is more than 5 km away. The village of Tambiga is marked by pastoral and agricultural activity where the habit of sending children to school is not yet well established. The presence of EPMO is therefore essential, especially since the good results have made its reputation over the years. For several years, the school has been working hard to mobilize the population around it: setting up a COGES, an association of parents of pupils but also an association of mothers of families, participation of parents in renovation of buildings and canteen made available.
