Kathryn's Mercy Home Trust

KMH provides support and education to children and their families from some of the most disadvantaged communities in South India. The KMH projects were started in 1998 by Rev Jeyapaul, a pastor in the Church of South India. Jeyapaul was one of the first Dalit children from his remote village to receive a secondary education. This experience drives his passion to help children who face the same poverty and deprivation he escaped as a child. 

KMH provides high quality education for over 300 children from the most deprived parts of Devakottai. This gives the children a great start in life and the opportunity to go onto secondary and higher education.

KMH provides care and accommodation to around 100 girls from remote rural villages. This enables the girls to attend a nearby high school and go on to higher education to study for a professional qualification. In the absence of the hostel, the girls would have extremely limited opportunities to pursue secondary and higher education, and no means of escaping the cycle of poverty

KMH provides a loving home for around 20 elderly women, providing accommodation, food and medical care. The women are mainly widows who have no means of support. The home is integrated with the girls' hostel and provides a happy community where the girls and women live in harmony and develop friendships. 

KMH employs six teachers who live in five separate remote rural villages and teach around 350 children. These extra lessons mean the children are more likely to finish their primary education and go on to secondary education. Without this opportunity the children are often made to work at a young age and some of the girls are forced into an early marriage. The centres encourage families to participate in other KMH projects, cultural programmes and educational tours.