Founder of India’s “Toilet School” receives 2025 Wilberforce Award for transformative work in Delhi’s slums

Ananthi Jebasingh honored for decades-long Christian mission to educate and uplift children from marginalized communities
Toilet School
 Resource by Christian post / Colson Center

Ananthi Jebasingh, founder of the Good Samaritan School in New Delhi, India, has been awarded the 2025 William Wilberforce Award by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, in recognition of her lifelong commitment to serving the poor through faith-driven education.

According to CP, Jebasingh began her mission in the early 1990s after encountering a hungry child from the Delhi slums who knocked on her door seeking food. That moment sparked what would become a decades-long ministry: providing free education to children living in some of the most neglected areas of the city.

The early version of the school was established inside a toilet complex in one of Delhi’s largest slums, giving rise to its now-famous nickname—the “toilet school.” Despite the challenging conditions, Jebasingh taught reading, writing, and biblical values to dozens of children who had never been to school.

Her work eventually grew into the Good Samaritan School, now a fully functioning private school serving over 1,600 students. The school provides not only education, but meals, uniforms, and moral support to children who otherwise would have no access to these basic services.

According to CP, the award was presented during the Colson Center’s national conference in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 31, where Jebasingh was recognized for her faithful Christian witness and her holistic approach to transforming lives through both spiritual and practical care.

Tim Philpot, chairman of Fishhook International, who has visited the school in person, called it “something better than the Taj Mahal,” praising its impact over decades in a place many would overlook.

The Wilberforce Award honors individuals who exemplify courageous Christian living and public service in the spirit of British abolitionist William Wilberforce. For Jebasingh, that legacy lives on each day in the classrooms of Delhi—where children once forgotten are now being equipped with dignity, hope, and the gospel.