The Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation, Inc. is a 501c3 charity that serves the poor in a multitude of ways. We provide quality education to orphaned, poor, and vulnerable children and teach vocational skills to women, enabling them to find jobs and earn money for their families. In the arena of health and wellness, we provide clean and safe drinking water to villages by drilling new wells. The foundation also conducts free medical camps in remote locations where the sick normally have no access to health care. Our programs directly aid persons with disabilities, support the elderly, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked.
I extend an invitation to all those who come across this charity to get involved in bringing a brighter future to orphans, to poor children, to the elderly, to the disabled, and to the destitute of the District of Nellore, India. By doing so, you will be instrumental in improving the lives of the poor and helping them live lives of dignity. No one can do it alone, but together we can change lives and change the world.
The charitable foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors: Caleb Mitchell-President, Father Michael Tarigopula- Vice-President, and Jackie Mihelcic- Treasurer/Secretary.
I would like to share some amazing stories with you!
In Ananthasagaram village, I visited a ‘Yanadhi’ community, a branch of Scheduled Tribes (ST’s) one of the four major castes in India. They are considered the most backward and illiterate community living in the southeast of the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India. During my visit, I saw children poorly dressed, with shirts and shorts lacking buttons, and bellies exposed to the elements and insects. One could tell they never went to school. Their parents eke out their livelihood by making coal and fetching wild honey from the forest. In the Yanadhi community, hunger is an all too common experience.
I had the opportunity to speak to Yanadhi parents about the importance of their children’s education and that Agnes Multipurpose Development Society will prepare their children for school and cover all expenses. They all readily agreed. The Society immediately arranged for a teacher to get the children acclimated to the routine, discipline, and culture of attending a school – remember that most had never even encountered a school before. The experience for them would be truly new and strange! Agnes Multipurpose Development Society also bought each child a new school uniform, all the required stationery & supplies, and facilitated in the public school enrollment process.
Today the children are clean, healthy, and being educated. Particular successes from these efforts are two Yanadhi students who have themselves become teachers!
Agnes Multipurpose Development Society also works to shelter the poor. There were twelve ST’s families living in poor thatched huts prone to dangers from snakes and scorpions and exposed to the harsh sun and rain. The society built them all permanent homes. Today, you should see the joy on their faces! I visit them every now and then and they are so grateful to the Society and those who support it for making a difference in their lives.
In another success story, a boarding home was established for twenty poor boys of all faiths from seven villages. Today, we have one priest, one software engineer, and a lab technician from among them!
These are just some of the many great stories of change for the better in the lives of the poor of Nellore, India. There are many more great stories to tell both in what Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation, Inc. has already achieved in its support of the charitable work in India and in what it will achieve in the future!
“It Takes Two Hands Clapping to Make a Noise.” Friends of Agnes Charitable Foundation, Inc. needs your support to improve the lives of the poor and make this world a better place. I invite you to get involved in whatever way you can, however large or small. It is only with your help that we can reach new heights.
“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” -Winston Churchill. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” -Albert Einstein