Down the years: A look at our History

The Beginnings:

In 1880 Fr. Augustus Muller, a German native, came to Mangalore, a bucolic town in India, as a part of a Jesuit missionary group. Mangalore was a promising port town showing potential in international trade, but most of the surrounding areas were impoverished farming communities. Fr. Muller who had a background in homeopathic medicine, noticed that there was almost no access to medicine or healthcare for most of the natives. Initially, he would to sit under a large tree in a place called Kankanady, see sick children and dispense homeopathic medicine. Word spread and soon he was curing poor adults. His work for the poor continued and his place under the banyan tree transformed into a hospital. Today this hospital boasts of a nursing college, a medical school, homeopathic college and a full service hospital.

The New Millennium:

Presently the hospital organization, which is commonly known as Fr. Muller’s Charitable Institutes is owned and managed by the Diocese of Mangalore, headed by the Bishop Dr. Aloysius D’Souza. The focus still remains health care for the poor and staying true to Fr. Muller’s mission of “Heal & Comfort”.

The governing council of Fr. Muller Charitable Institutes and the Bishop of Mangalore through the Director of the Institutes has brainstormed various options to continue funding this charitable work. One of the ideas was to start a foundation in the USA to create an awareness of the Fr. Muller mission and solicit corporate and individual donors. In July of 2008, Father Muller Charitable Foundation USA was incorporated in the State of New Jersey. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to grant the foundation a Tax Exempt status in the near future.

The Foundation:

Father Muller Charitable Foundation USA, will remain an independent entity managed and run by its Chairman and trustees complying with all the civil, tax and fiduciary laws of the State of New Jersey and all other appropriate laws of the USA. All funds raised by the Foundation will be disbursed as per the by laws and U.S. Department of Treasury rules, regulations and stipulations. At the time of incorporation no goals or timelines were set for achieving any financial milestones.

Vision:

Father Muller is an established brand in health care for people in and around the City of Mangalore, India. The main objective of these institutes still remains healing and comforting the poorest sick. The US Foundation trustees will assist the Institutes in fund-raising and transfer of medical technology, etc.

The hopes and dreams of the U.S. Foundation trustees is to continue the work of their ancestors who came before them, and who brought the Father Muller mission to our generation. The Foundation will keep the flame of the mission burning for our progeny year after year.