The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate action of its members.
– Coretta Scott King
It’s rare to come across people who live extraordinarily, those who share their heart for others, who live their lives so selflessly. Today, you will meet one such individual: Fred Dalumpines of Aboitiz Foundation.
Born and raised in Davao City by his farmer-agriculturist father and stay-at-home mother, Fred studied nursing at the University of Mindanao and, afterwards, started working at hospitals in Davao and Quezon City. He relates that while he didn’t really have his future all figured out, he was committed to his work as he spent two whole years caring for patients at emergency rooms and medical-surgical wards. And, yes, he also dreamed of a life abroad.
While being a hospital nurse is a meaningful vocation, Fred felt that he wanted to help more people beyond the auspices of healthcare institutions, eventually joining humanitarian work.
Being in social development brought Fred to far-flung regions of the Philippines, disaster-stricken places, and conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Here, he was tasked at managing disaster response activities, livelihood projects, and assisting in life-changing surgeries. It was these experiences that gave him clarity and he soon found his purpose: to serve others and be part in nation-building.
In 2013, when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck Eastern Visayas, Fred was sent to Tacloban to help in the rehabilitation of affected communities. He witnessed firsthand the stark realities on the ground where people had no choice but to depend on relief assistance every moment. This ignited his passion to help vulnerable communities bounce back stronger and more resilient after calamities. And, again, he wanted to do more on disaster resilience and searched for a proactive organization with the capacity to sustain worthwhile CSR projects.
Today, Fred is Aboitiz Foundation’s Supervising Project Officer for Environment. He pioneered a disaster resilience program and led its subsequent cascade down to Aboitiz business units and partner communities. Given his vital role knowledge transfer, Fred is enriching his understanding of the subject area through a Master’s program in Disaster Risk and Resilience at Ateneo De Manila University.
Back at the office, Fred is also one of the founding members of the A-Club SWAG (Saved With Amazing Grace), which is dedicated to building up and strengthening a Christian community in the workplace through fellowship and volunteer outreach projects.
More recently, Fred has been a key player in Aboitiz Foundation’s COVID-19 response efforts, from coordinating with recipients and beneficiaries to even delivering the donations to hospitals and partner institutions himself.
In sharing his time and talent to worthy causes, Fred’s heart found a home. Wanting to help in whatever way he could to help more patients recover, he signed up to volunteer his weekends as a health warrior at the COVID-19 department of the Pasig City Children’s Hospital.
In this fight against COVID-19, our health workers are mentally and physically drained. I am inspired by their compassion and dedication to stand and fight the battle despite health worker shortages and lack of protective equipment. I am moved by our healthcare system situation and I want to be part of the solution by volunteering as one of the health warriors.
– Fred Dalumpines, Aboitiz Foundation
Hard work and sacrifice are nothing to crow about, Fred believes. He instead chooses to be grateful for the opportunities to take an active part in serving people, sharing his life for others, and spreading love and #PositiveEnergy, all in gratitude and for the glory of the Almighty.
“A COVID-19 patient once apologized to me and explained that there’s no one who can bring clean clothes anymore after her husband and child both died from COVID-19. In these incidents, I just tell them not to worry, to continue fighting with the Lord, and remind them of God’s love despite our situations,” he shared.
