The Start of Opportunity Foundation

In late 2006 an enterprising Indian pastor took Virginia (Sue) Simpson and some of her Indian friends to a slum near the municipal dump at the north edge of Hyderabad, a city of about eight million people. He told her he wanted to build a church there. While the pastor talked to Sue, Sue's friends talked to the women in the slum and asked what they wanted. They had no objection to a church, but lived so far from any government school or hospital that they could not send their children to school or get medical care. Sue agreed with their priorities and decided to help.

She thought these people needed opportunity and decided form Opportunity Foundation in the slums of Gabela Lapet and Shanti Nagar. She and her friends sought out and met with the leaders of those slums and obtained agreement and some land in Gabela Lapet on which to place Maggi, the first and now largest of our schools. Soon a temporary wood building was erected with about four classrooms a few teachers hired, and school started in 2007.

We have also provided wells, community education, medicine and health care in the slums as well as shoes, clothing and food for our children.