About us

Members of the Helping Hands team, committed and passionate.

Luciana La Marca

Chairman and Founder

Luciana La Marca, who lives in France, discovered Nepal in 2014 during a trek with her guide, Bashudev Thapaliya. Marked by the beauty of the Himalayas and the warmth of the Nepalese people, she returned in 2015 for a trek in the Khumbu valley, where she experienced the earthquake of 25 April, which devastated Bashu's village, Thanapati, leaving 600 people homeless.

In the face of this tragedy, she founded Helping Hands, a humanitarian association which initially provided shelter, food, clothing and educational support, before investing in the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure. Today, Helping Hands focuses on scholarships for disadvantaged children, offering a brighter future for Nepalese communities.

Although Helping Hands' first actions arose from the emergency in Nepal, the association has since extended its scope to other regions of the world. It now supports Afghan refugee children, as well as vulnerable children in the Philippines, always with the same commitment: to offer education, dignity and hope to the most disadvantaged.

Mireille Auger

Vice-President and Treasurer

Mireille Auger, as vice-president and treasurer of Helping Hands, plays an essential role in the association's financial management. Not only does she ensure that funds are used responsibly to support educational and humanitarian projects in Nepal, but she also brings a strong human and emotional dimension to her actions.

Her deep love for others and her great sensitivity to the suffering of the most vulnerable drive her to commit herself fully to every aspect of the association's mission. She is constantly guided by the desire to contribute to a better world, where disadvantaged children have access to a promising future.

Through its commitment, Helping Hands is making a real difference to the lives of those who need it most.

Ammar Raj Guni

Our local partner in Nepal

Ammar Raj Guni is Helping Hands' local partner in Nepal, where he plays a crucial role in coordinating humanitarian projects. He looks after the welfare and education of the children supported by the association, and is tirelessly committed to offering them a better future. He has been instrumental in setting up the sponsorship of Aswin and Aswini, helping to ensure that they have access to quality education.

Thanks to his dedication and in-depth knowledge of local needs, Ammar enables Helping Hands to effectively carry out its support initiatives for the most vulnerable Nepalese communities.

Luigi Albano

Our local partner in the Philippines

Luigi Albano, who is of Italian origin and has lived in the Philippines since 2015, is our local contact. With his wife, he co-founded Luce di Speranza, a grassroots initiative born of a simple gesture: to reach out to families and children who lack the necessities to learn. Over the years, he has organised school breakfasts, supplied pens and exercise books, ventilated stuffy classrooms and helped to renovate learning spaces - even rebuilding a bamboo room into a safe, durable hard structure.

Discreet, pragmatic and deeply human, Luigi embodies the spirit of Helping Hands: turning kindness into concrete action, where it counts most. His conviction guides his commitment on a daily basis: when love becomes action, it changes lives - one gesture at a time.

Zoeline Rasoarimalala

Our local partner in Madagascar

Zoeline, a teacher and founder of the Lovasoa school in Antsirabé, works as close as possible to the realities of her country. In this rural region of Madagascar, where many families make a living from odd jobs, many children cannot go to school and have to contribute to the survival of the household.

With her husband, who is also a teacher, Zoeline decided to take action: to open a school accessible to all, to give children the chance to learn, to eat at the canteen and to build a different future.

A determined, caring woman on the ground, she embodies the spirit of Helping Hands: turning compassion into action, and sowing a little hope every day in places where resources are scarce, but where the desire to educate never wavers.