Our calling is to take initiative for the needy and marginalized
in India and restore them to confident living.Luke 18:16 is our guide, “Let the little children come to Me,
and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
| 1989 | Dr. Ananthi Jebasingh answers the knock on her door of a begging child. God speaks to her and tells her to feed, teach and love him. One week later the boy returns with 25 children wanting to attend the “school”. |
| 1990 | The mission has a humble beginning in a home garage with 100 students. |
| 1991 | School grows to hold 600 children in four rooms of a slum toilet complex. |
| 1998 | Tourists from the U.S. unexpectedly visited the school and their hearts were changed forever. |
| 2004 | FOTGS was incorporated as a U.S. non-profit to fund and grow the school; first Director was hired. |
| 2005 | With involvement from U.S. partners, a new, first-rate facility was completed. |
| 2007 | Approval granted by the government of India that allows graduates to apply to any college or institution of their choosing. |
| 2008 | Fourth school year commenced in the new facility with 850 students. |
| 2011 | First graduating class is sent out to pursue college or a career. |
| 2016 | 12th school year begins with 2000 students enrolled. 350 children graduated to become the change-makers of India. |
Leslie has been involved with the Good Samaritan School for over 16 years. Serving with women in her church in a fundraising event called Lil' Lambs Closet, the women made the first contribution to the building fund of the Good Samaritan School. As a representative of Lil' Lambs, Leslie traveled to India for the Grand Opening Celebration in 2005. Seeing the poverty of the children in the slums and the amazing opportunity of the GSS, she returned home passionate about the work of the school and began personally sponsoring children. In 2016, Leslie became a volunteer for Friends of the Good Samaritans focusing on child sponsorship. Currently, she is involved in the development and implementation of our children's program, Sadie Shares. This program gives elementary aged students in the U.S. an opportunity to learn about poverty in India and ways they can help.
A passion for education, cultural awareness, and child advocacy led Maggie to join the Friends of the Good Samaritans in early 2022 as Sponsorship Coordinator. Her background is in education, both public and as a home-educator to her three children. She previously taught in inner city public schools, and she worked as a tutor both privately and in after-school programs serving at-risk youth. Having recently returned from serving as a cross-cultural worker in Tbilisi, Georgia, Maggie now works closely with the Good Samaritan School’s sponsorship team in India to encourage and support communications between children in India and their sponsors in the United States and abroad.
A graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary's Intercultural Studies program, Natasha has taken every opportunity to engage with other cultures and even lived for a short time in Nagpur, India. She and her family have served together in multiple countries, and Natasha grounded her children in both a love for the Lord and for learning. She first heard Ananthi speak at Great Commission Fellowship in Wilmore and was struck by her story and faithfulness. Natasha considers it a great honor to serve alongside her in bringing a confident expectation of good to India's children through education in neighborhoods where they might not otherwise have had the chance.