Mr. John Chandy –  President (Founding Board Member). John Chandy, Son of medical Missionaries, migrated to us in 1975.  Worked at several Silicon Valley companies as Sr. Executive.  Now retired from professional work.  Joined Light the Candle International since its inception in 2010 as president.  Extremely passionate about poor and underprivileged people and community.  Strongly believes that uplift of the deprived can only happen through Education, Moral guidance, and Spiritual Growth.  Visits each one of the projects yearly to provide encouragement, moral and spiritual support.  The ultimate goal is to see each one of these communities  to be uplifted and become contributive and productive members of the society.  Thereby encouraging whole community around them for spiritual, moral and educational growth.

Mr. Kurien Varghese –  Vice President – Mission Operations (Founding Board Member). Kurian Varghese is responsible for monitoring the mission field operations. He is a humble servant of God, and a lifelong learner of God’s word – trying to apply it and put it into practice daily. Working among disadvantaged youth in a federal funded program in the social development department for 30 years. During this time he influenced thousands of young adults with love and care that they lacked in their lives and helped them turn their lives around to become responsible citizens.

One of the founding board members of LTC who believes that ‘an Individual can make a difference; a team can make a miracle’. Since working as Vice President of Mission Operations, oversees the day-to-day operations of all our projects. Passionate about making a difference in the lives of underprivileged children by providing opportunities that allow them to open their eyes to see the future through education and health.

He is leading the mission field operations team.

Mrs. Shirley Mathew –  Vice President – Child Development Activity Program (Founding Board Member). Child Development Activity Program (Founding Board Member). Sherly Mathew is responsible for the project’s  activity program planning, monitoring and evaluation. She verifies that the planned and executed activities meet our guidelines  and align with LTC’s  vision . 

She is a nurse at heart and by profession, a critical care certified nurse who works at the front lines in a medical ICU. She  believes care and compassion goes hand in hand and it is the compassion of our Lord Jesus  that he chose to offer himself to reconcile us with the Lord. Once we were doomed for eternal condemnation but now through Christ we live eternally with him and the joy of salvation should be preached to everyone in a time such as these. 

Mr. Sujit Isaac –  Trustee-Finance (Founding Board Member).

Sujit Isaac is a senior finance executive at a private company in the Bay Area. Since its inception of Light the Candle International inc, he was entrusted with the role of managing the finances of Light the Candle. His responsibilities include protecting the organization’s assets, budgeting, planning and forecasting finances, maximizing use of our limited resources, and reporting to local and federal authorities. He considers, this responsibility as a special privilege to serve children in disadvantaged communities.

Mr. Deepak Cherian –  Trustee- Accounts (Founding Board Member).

Deepak Cherian is a senior software architect by profession. Since its inception of Light the Candle International inc, he was entrusted with the role of managing the accounts of Light the Candle. His responsibilities include accounting, budgeting, planning and forecasting finances, maximizing use of our limited resources, and reporting to local and federal authorities.

Mathew Varghese (Oby) (Board Member since 2018)- Mathew Varghese started serving as volunteer since 2013 and as a director (board member) in 2020. He is diligent about maintaining the children’s profile and progress database that provides key information to the sponsors. He considers the opportunity to serve in this mission to uplift underprivileged children along Christ centered individuals as a honor and a privilege. In his career he is currently working as a database professional for a publicly traded company.

Mr. John Geevarghese –  General Secretary (Founding Board Member). As obedience to God’s calling, John Geevarghese played a crucial role in assembling the CORE TEAM of Light the Candle International Board of Directors and TEAM members from day one of the ministry. He is responsible for driving the organizational decision-making process, task coordination, communication with external entities, recording of board meeting decisions and visiting missions fields periodically.

He believes that every child is God’s creation no matter what the caste, creed or religion is. His big dream is, there will be no children begging on the streets , every child deserve school education and an income. Human traffic streams using young girls for prostitution must be stopped. He is ready to make sure all underprivileged children get an opportunity to hear what Jesus has done on the Cross for them”.