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Our History


Help the Helpless began with a humble priest in India who had a simple vision to help poor, handicapped, and abandoned children.


St. Mary’s Opens it's Doors 

 

Out of his love and desire to help, Fr. Antony founded St. Mary’s School and Orphanage in Kumbakonam, India, in 1998. This facility initially housed and educated about 300 children. Soon, it was filled beyond capacity, and St. Mary’s limited resources became overwhelmed by the needs of so many unfortunate children.


Help the Helpless is formed


The financial expenses for St. Mary’s were great. Father Antony reached out to his respected friend, Father Altier, and as a result, the non-profit organization in the United States called Help the Helpless was formed with a mission to help poor and handicapped children.

When Help the Helpless was formed in 1998 and benefactors responded with overwhelming generosity, Fr. Antony was able to expand care to significantly more children. He acquired 37 acres, and in a short amount of time, opened elementary and high schools for the deaf-mute, the differently-abled, and the poor. Many of these gifted children graduated from high school but were not accepted by the government colleges due to their physical disabilities. In response, Fr. Antony founded a college for teachers and a college for nurses. While the poor and handicapped students attend these colleges at no expense, the schools also enroll paying students to help fund the missionary programs.

Each year over 225 teachers become certified, over 50 graduate with four year nursing degrees, and over 100 elementary and high school students are educated and housed at no cost to them or their families. The sponsored students are very grateful to their benefactors, and pray for them daily. Your ongoing support allows these programs to continue and flourish.

Ecuador


In 2015, the Help the Helpless board of directors realized a calling to not only continue helping the poor in India, but also to begin support of another program, specifically that of the Missionary Groups of the Home of the Mother (MGHM) in Ecuador. MGHM is an apostolate started by the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother who have three communities of sisters in Ecuador. Just like St. Mary’s, MGHM serves a great need among the poor and destitute in Ecuador, but they lack the necessary funds to do so.


Today


At this time, we are serving many thousands of children and families, both in India and Ecuador. We are able to provide for their welfare, support and education through your generosity. In India, we support St. Mary's School and Orphanage for the Poor, Deaf, and Handicapped, founded by Fr. Antony , who passed away in early 2018. His nephew, I. Maria Selvam, continues to oversee St. Mary’s as the Headmaster and Administrator. Their mission is to provide for the physical needs, formal education, and vocational training of the children enrolled at the school so they can provide for their own support and become self-sufficient young adults. They also provide for their spiritual needs as they teach the children our rich Catholic faith. All of the children attend daily mass in the chapel at St. Mary’s in India, pray the rosary and pray for the generous benefactors of Help the Helpless 5 times each day. We are able to provide for several hundred children each year at St. Mary's because of your generosity.
In Ecuador, we work with the Home of the Mother order of priests, sisters, and brothers, who serve the poor. Their mission is to channel financial and humanitarian aid for the development and formation of the most needy in Ecuador. All of this is carried out with a firm missionary spirit at the service of the needy in the Church, wherever they are called, as part of the overall vision for Christian evangelization. Donations from our benefactors support their many programs, including sponsorship of children and families, soup kitchens, medical aid, and evangelization.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. – Proverbs 19:17


Missionary Groups of the Home of the Mother (MGHM) Servant Sisters, Brothers, and Priests in Ecuador