With support from a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, FriendlyCare Foundation, Inc. (FCFI) developed Mindful Compassion and Wellbeing (MCW), an evidence-informed program designed specifically for Filipino college-age students. The program aims to enhance students’ well-being while cultivating pro-social qualities such as compassion, empathy, kindness, and greater awareness of self and others.

MCW has also continued to be integrated into higher education settings. It is currently offered at the University of the Philippines Diliman as a PEII class, De La Salle University College of Law as a Formation Course, and Guang Ming College as a Life Education subject. Its continuing implementation across diverse educational contexts reflects its adaptability and relevance to the developmental and well-being needs of Filipino college students.

The Centre for Mindfulness Studies (CMS) has long been a partner of FCFI in bringing mindfulness-based practices to the Philippines. Together with UP Diliman and FCFI, CMS brought to the country the first Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Facilitator Certification training in 2018. More recently, CMS is a prominent partner in the development, assessment, and execution of the Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training for Filipino Frontline Workers (MBRT) program from 2023-2027.

Based in Toronto, CMS is a charitable social enterprise founded in 2011. It is the leading professional development and service delivery organization for mindfulness-based interventions in Canada. It is now partnered with Reconnect Health Services for its mindfulness services.

FCFI partnered with the University of the Cordilleras as part of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the Mindful Compassion and Wellbeing (MCW) program. To introduce Mindfulness, a group of the university’s professors and staff organized the 8-week Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy program.

Formerly known as the Baguio Colleges Foundation, the University of the Cordilleras is a private coeducational university in Baguio that places a premium on transforming its students into citizens who stand firm in their values and serve the nation.

Currently, FCFI continues to facilitate the Mindful Compassion and Wellbeing (MCW) program, also known as Mindfulness for Health and Wellbeing (MHW), in the University of the Philippines Diliman under the College of Human Kinetics (CHK). Prior to this, FCFI routinely conducted Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to UP Diliman students, faculty, and staff since 2018. The university also elected faculty who joined the first MBCT Facilitator Certification Training the same year.

The University of the Philippines Diliman is a public research university located in Quezon City and is known to be the flagship constituent university of the University of the Philippines system. As a national university, it is dedicated “to the formation of good citizens and leaders” (from the University of the Philippines Vision and Mission statement).

FCFI, alongside CMS, developed special online programs for asynchronous and synchronous modalities, namely ‘Practicing Mindfulness’ and ‘Mindful U’ for the students of Guang Ming College. The college’s values aligned with the principles and ideas of mindfulness, which allowed for this partnership to continue to this day where MCW remains a class under Life Education.

Strongly anchored in Life Education, Guang Ming College aims to provide learning that is humanistic and holistic in order to cultivate in its students’ critical faculties and creative sensibilities to form their character.

The Psychology Department of Ateneo de Manila University is a key partner for the MBRT project as they handle all research-related matters, including the randomized controlled trial (RCT) run of the program. 

The Ateneo Department of Psychology dedicates itself to being “a transformative leader in Psychology, a community of care and a Department of Choice that develops healthy and humane societies” (from the Ateneo de Manila Department of Psychology Vision statement).

The College of Law in De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila has been a strong partner for FCFI since 2022. To date, FCFI continues to run the Mindfulness classes for Mixed Years and MCW class for 4th year students program for its law students in their first year as a way to prepare them to handle the pressures of such rigorous studies and field of profession.

From the DLSU College of Law’s Mission-Vision statement, it promises to “endeavor to infuse more heart, ideals and conscience into the legal profession by training aspiring young lawyers within the perspective of Christian ideals.”

DOST-PCHRD provided the grant to run the MBRT project and continues to be a partner in championing mental health initiatives for Filipinos across the nation. Aside from the MBRT project, FCFI has also attended DOST-PCHRD events in support of its goals to fund science and technology projects that improve the quality of life of every Filipino. 

Valenzuela City has been a strong partner of the MBRT project, not only as the first participants of the program, but also as collaborators in advocating for mental health and mindfulness to its employees. As the pioneering batch of the MBRT project, the City has ensured favorable conditions to keep MBRT a success through its outpour of support in all aspects of the project. The City of Valenzuela is a first-class, highly urbanized city in Metro Manila. Current Mayor Weslie Gatchalian’s Five Pillars of Good Governance are the following: (1) Education, (2) Health, (3) Housing, (4) Trade and Industry, and (5) Liveability and Disaster Preparedness.