How a fundraising e-mail shaped state's biggest Helping Hands

In 2007, a simple act of compassion set the stage for one of Hyderabad and the state's most impactful health-focused non-profit organizations.

- KHYATI SHAH @Hyderabad

In 2007, a simple act of compassion set the stage for one of Hyderabad and the state's most impactful health-focused non-profit organizations. Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), which now supports over 15 lakh people annually, wasn't born of a plan—it emerged from a moment of urgency.

A year earlier, Mujtaba Hasan Askari, then a senior IT professional at Infosys and volunteer with its CSR initiative 'Mamta', had come across a desperate case: a plumber's son needed urgent brain surgery that cost ₹1.5 lakh. Askari emailed his office network asking for help. The response was overwhelming. Nearly ₹7 lakh poured in. "That moment gave me hope," he tells TNIE. "It showed me how much people care, and what we can achieve together."

Moved by the generosity and the scale of need it revealed, Askari began volunteering over weekends from his brother's ad agency office. Word spread. People from across Hyderabad and nearby districts came seeking help. Within months, queues formed. By 2007, HHF was formally registered as a charitable trust.

Initially, HHF raised funds to cover medical costs for underprivileged patients. But as demand exploded, it became clear the model wouldn't last. "It wasn't sustainable," Askari says. "We needed a better way."