Tribute to our Founder Ms.BETTY SHELTON
Dear praying friends,
Miss Betty R. Shelton Founder of VALATHI OUTREACH CHURCH MINISTRIES, was educated in Wellingborough Girls High School and Nottingham University College, where she gained a London University degree (Special Hons. Mathematics) and Teacher Training with optionals in Speech Therapy and Music.
She then taught in the Wyggeston Girls’ School, Leicester, becoming Third Mistress; and headed up Bible ‘squashes’ for young people from various local churches and backgrounds, and was an active member of the Melbourne Hall (FIEC) congregation in Leicester. Feeling God’s call to serve in India, she attended London Bible College for her Theological training, before proceeding to Bombay in 1954 with BMMF / Interserve, to teach Maths and Science, and later to take up the Principalship of Queen Mary School.
After a home leave in 1971, Miss Shelton returned to her beloved India to tutor and write courses for the 6-month-old ‘TAFTEE - India’. TAFTEE (The Association For Theological Education by Extension) introduced the new Programmed Instructional techniques, a user-friendly approach to theological training for church members, - a methodology already familiar to her. Here she also taught English and various Biblical subjects including N.T. Greek, to theological students from all over India and beyond, in several college programmes in Madras and in an outreach to rural areas in Tamil Nadu, where she also encouraged AdultLiteracy and promoted school facilities for village children and youth 1975 Miss Betty Shelton was lecturing at the Hinduston Bible Institute in South India. She would often accompany students when they went on outreach teams. On one occasion they were delayed in the village of Valathi and managed to obtain permission from the headman to hold an open-air meeting, which was well received. From this small beginning has grown the work which has become Valathi Outreach.
Valathi is a village in rural Tamil Nadu, South India, an area rated in the lowest category by Government standards for project, educational and employment opportunities. The village houses some 5,000 adults and 2,500 children of mixed Hindu castes, with Muslim, Jain and Christian communities–fairly typical of the villages in the region.
About Us
SOCIAL WORK
SOCIAL WORK
SOCIAL WORK
Maintaining healthy, happy environments is an important, and often neglected part of aid work. We work with local community organizers closely
CHURCH
SOCIAL WORK
SOCIAL WORK
To do great work, you need tools. While blood, sweat and tears have built empires, classrooms still need paper and pencils.
EDUCATION
SOCIAL WORK
EDUCATION
“If you teach a man to fish...” Education gives everyone the tools they need to succeed through their lives.
FARMS
SOCIAL WORK
EDUCATION
Empty stomachs hurt. They break concentration and make the future seem impossible. Giving food is essential to creating health
VOLUNTEERING
RECENT PROGRAMS
RECENT PROGRAMS
If you have able hands, we want your help. Whether it's serving food aid in a kitchen, painting walls of a newly repaired home, or collecting donations, we need you. And so do communities in need.
RECENT PROGRAMS
RECENT PROGRAMS
RECENT PROGRAMS
We're continually working hard to improve communities throughout the state. If you're interested to see what we've been doing recently (especially if you want to help), check out our project list .