The Joshua Foundation (TJF) was founded in 2013 by Karna and Sandya Gosa, to bring transformation and hope to Karna’s childhood village and the surrounding communities.  This is a very poor, rural, mostly Dalit (“Untouchable”) community in Andhra Pradesh, India, about six hours southeast of Hyderabad.  Life is extremely challenging and the people suffer many forms of oppression, lack basic services, and have few vocational and educational opportunities.  TJF’s first project (of several envisioned) has been St. John’s English Medium School, a school that meets the Indian government’s educational requirements.

The students are taught in English but also learn the official and local languages, Hindi and Telugu. The school opened in June 2014 with two grades, 36 students (8 girls), and 5 temporary classrooms and today has six grades, 225 students (90 girls) and a permanent building (one of several planned). The school grows by adding one pre-K class of students each year and aims to eventually have 12 grades, 480 students, and enough classroom space for them all, as well as a library, single-sex bathrooms, and a computer lab.  St. John’s focus is to develop the whole child. Although it is a Christian school, the staff aims to love, serve, and educate students from many different backgrounds – students are accepted to the school regardless of their faith, caste, or their parents’ ability to pay. There is a strong focus on recruiting and educating young girls since education for girls in India is often considered unimportant and a waste of resources.

The students are thriving, their parents and the staff are thrilled with the growth they have observed, and interest in the school continues to grow.

All development and daily operations at St. John’s School are dependent on the donations of generous individuals and organizations. God has faithfully provided and continues to do so by calling others to join in His work at St. John’s.

In 2015, Talking Tech Foundation funded the building of St. John’s first set of permanent classrooms as well as additional bathrooms, and a library.  The building was completed in September, 2016.

Today, the second expansion of the school is underway, and workers are busy with the construction of five additional classrooms and a computer lab. We are within $10k of raising the funds needed to complete the expansion – if you feel led to help us, please let us know!

(This information is from the school’s webpage. Click on this link for more information).