Reaching the Unreached
 
UK Tel : 01434 634571
Registered Charity No: 1091295
 
 
 Reaching the Unreached  -  Who are we?   How did it all start?
Reaching the Unreached is a registered UK charity, begun in 1978 by a small group of friends of Brother James Kimpton, who were inspired by his dedicated approach to the relief of poverty and neglect among the people at the very bottom of the chain of exploitation and despair.
We are still run by a small group of trustees, including several who have lived and worked in India and have known Brother James - and the work going on in and around G.Kallupatti - for many years.  One of our trustees was an Assistant Director for RTU in India between 1988 and 1993.  Another has worked there as a short-term volunteer.
We have a small UK office, located in a home and run on a part-time basis by an administrator and an assistant. This reflects our continuing objective of keeping costs to a minimum, so that as much as possible of every donation we receive can be used to support the work in India.  In practice, Gift Aid and bank interest covers all our UK costs - and contributes more to the funds we are able to send regularly to RTU in India.
We only support the ongoing work and projects of RTU in India (see further down this page); we don't fund any other activities in the UK, India, or anywhere else.
It was Brother James who devised the name of the charity, and of the organisation in India: whose aim is to help poor people in quite a small and remote area of rural Tamil Nadu - India's southernmost state.  
Brother James has worked for more than 50 years in India, and has always lived as a villager.  He therefore understands the customs, hopes and fears of the local people.  He has used his understanding and skill acquired over a lifetime to enable the most needy to find dignity within their own community.
It is hard - if not impossible - for those of us living comfortably in countries like Britain to put ourselves in the place of Indian country villagers, who for example may be so short of water that cannot wash themselves or their clothes. Or so short of money that they cannot feed or properly clothe their children and keep them attending school.
The poorest families live in low smoky mud-walled huts, covered with a loose layer of palm leaves.  When the rains finally come, the mud dissolves and the huts slowly disintegrate. Life is a constant battle to survive. We need to break the poverty chain.
RTU believes that everyone deserves the basic human needs: water, food, medicine, a soundly built house and education.
RTU in India is run entirely by a team of Indian staff, with an Indian Director.   Brother James - as President - is the only non-Indian.   There is a Indian-based Board of Governors.  RTU in India is independent of this UK charity.  You can visit the website of RTU in India by clicking here: http://www.rtuindia.org 
In May 2008, a new Director was appointed, Father Antony Paulsamy. He introduces himself below:

I am Fr Antony Paulsamy, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.  I was born on 2 May 1965 and from 1975 to 1982 (ie from 6th to 12th standard) I was a student of Boys’ Village, which is just 2 km away from RTU and was founded by Brother James Kimpton.  In 1992, I was ordained priest.  After serving as Provincial Secretary for three years, I went to Italy to do a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at Biblicum (the Pontifical Biblical Institute) in Rome in 1996.  During my 4 years of studies I had the chance of remaining at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel for a semester and in Germany for summer vacations.  I was teaching Bible in our Theological seminary.  From September 2006 to April 2007 I was in RTU for voluntary service.  Even though I would have loved to continue, my other teaching responsibilities forced me back to my former work.

In May 2008, when my superiors were planning to appoint me as the Director of Udhayam (social work wing of our Province) the request of Br. James brought me here to RTU.  When my provincial allowed me to serve in RTU, I was extremely happy.  Being a child of RTU, it was one of my dreams to serve here and it was partially fulfilled earlier and now fully.  If the poor rise up and stand on their own legs through RTU, that would be the success of my service as Director here.  With God’s blessings and with your support and guidance I am confident that I can make it.

Thank you.
 

 

    

"One day in February 1978 as I came out of the Parish Church after Mass in Batlagundu, the then Parish Priest, Father Michael, brought me four small children, three girls and one boy who was five years old.  I was then at Boys’ Village.  The mother had died of TB and the father died of starvation trying to keep the children alive.  At Boys’ Village we did not take girls nor boys younger than seven.  I told this to the Priest and got on my motorbike to go back to Boys’ Village.  Half way there a 'voice' told me to go and get those children.  My response was, 'What will I do with them?'   Again the 'voice' said, 'you will be shown'. Thirty years ago this is how our whole family-care system started.

 

We employed a lady to be the 'mother' of this family and gave her a small house at Boys’ Village.  In the years to come the families increased to 95 and moved away from Boys’ Village to several centres. Now we have four Children’s Villages, four teenage girls hostels, two boys’ hostels including one for HIV+ teenage boys, 110 children in residential schools, 90 doing advanced professional students, many already employed or married.  Altogether there are 955 boys and girls in our present full-time care.

 

And all this started with one small orphaned family."

Brother James
 

 
 
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