Good Samaritan School Founder Honored with 37th Wilberforce Award

The founder of Good Samaritan School has received the 37th Annual Wilberforce Award from the Colson Center, recognizing her remarkable impact and dedication to advancing human dignity through faith in action. Honoring Dr. Jebasingh’s transformative work to educate and empower underprivileged children living in the slums of India.

LOUISVILLE, KY. (June 2, 2025) – During the 2025 Colson Center National Conference, The Colson Center (TCC) Board of Directors along with John Stonestreet presented the 37th annual Wilberforce Award to Dr. Anathi Jebasingh, Friends of the Good Samaritan (FOTGS) board member and founder of Good Samaritan School (GSS). The award honors her faithful efforts to educate underprivileged children in the slums of India.

“The Colson Center is proud to award the 2025 Wilberforce Award to Dr. Anathi Jebasingh for her faithfulness to educate and demonstrate God’s love to India’s most vulnerable,” said TCC President John Stonestreet. “As Christians, we are called to preserve what is good and restore what is broken in our spheres of influence, and Dr. Jebasingh’s work at Good Samaritan School models this calling.”

Each year, The Colson Center (TCC) presents the Wilberforce Award to a Christian leader who has made a lasting difference in their sphere of influence by exemplifying the courage and commitment of British abolitionist William Wilberforce. Dr. Jebasingh joins a long list of Wilberforce Award winners, including David and Barbara Green, owners of Hobby Lobby; Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder and CEO of Joni & Friends; and Maggie Gobran, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and CEO of Stephen’s Children.

“Dr. Jebasingh’s work at Good Samaritan School brings hope and help to India’s most vulnerable children,” said John Zeiser, The Colson Center Board Chair. “Providing quality, Christian education to impoverished children in a Hindu nation demonstrates God’s love, transforms lives, and breaks generational cycles of poverty.”

The GSS began in 1989 when God prompted Dr. Jebasingh to feed, teach, and love a slum child begging at her front door. Since then, over 2,400 students have graduated from the school.

The need for K-12 education in India is significant. According to a 2023 -24 study by the Government of India, over 24.6 million children ages 6-14 do not attend school. Without education, underprivileged children in India live in extreme poverty and resort to begging or servanthood.

Thanks to the generosity of donors and sponsors, the GSS currently provides Christian education, nutrition, and medical care to over 3,000 students at six schools.

“When I was alone as a teenager, I felt God pushing me forward in my studies, while pulling me closer to him," said software engineer and GSS graduate Sunil. "The gift of education has completely changed my life. I can provide for myself and one day a family.”

“Dr. Jebasingh is one of the most humble, Godly, and faithful women I know,” said Jess Correll, Friends of the Good Samaritan Board Member. “She is a phenomenal educator who lives her life listening to the heart of God and following His lead, and it is a joy to see her receive the 2025 Wilberforce Award.”

To learn more about Dr. Jebasingh and GSS, watch the William Wilberforce Award video.

To support the Christian education of underprivileged children in the slums of India, visit https://fotgs.com.

About Friends of the Good Samaritans:

Founded in 2004, Friends of the Good Samaritans is a non-profit organization that cares for underprivileged children in India by providing Christian education, nutrition, and medical care. FOTGS is headquartered in Stanford, Kentucky.

About the Colson Center:

Founded in 2015, The Colson Center equips Christians with the clarity, confidence, and courage to live like Christians in this cultural moment. TCC provides thousands of Christians with free resources like the Identity Project, Breakpoint commentaries, What Would You Say?, Colson Educators courses, and even scholarships for the Colson Fellows program. TCC is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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