the wellness community

On May 7, 2010, Helen received the Celebration of Hope award at the 19th Anniversary Gala of The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura.

After 15 years of fighting cancer, Helen Gateka-Anderson focuses only on her blessings. “Cancer is a life-changing experience,” says Helen. “It helps you grow and treasure each and every day. I feel God is so good to me and I cannot thank him enough for his countless blessings.”

Just a few years after losing her husband to lung cancer, Helen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She attended a support group at The Wellness Community for several years, “graduated” from the group after her recovery, and thirteen years later married her husband Richard, who had lost his wife to breast cancer.

One year after marrying Richard, Helen was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and once more joined a support group at The Wellness Community. For the past five years she has been a source of inspiration and hope to her fellow support group members. “The Wellness Community has been a vibrant source of strength, support, end encouragement. That’s the place to go if you want to get better. The people in my support group are all tremendous survivors. They are such a ray of hope,” says Helen.

The Wellness Community is not the only organization to benefit from Helen’s inspirational outlook. Thirty-six years ago, Helen founded Bethany Christian School in Thousand Oaks and is a past principal and preschool director. With Helen’s leadership and dedication, the school grew from three preschool classes to a full elementary school with 300 students and 42 staff members. She remains a beloved part of the school community, attending Chapel Time, Back to School Nights, and other events. “I never looked at it as ‘going to work,’” says Helen. “I looked at it as getting to be there with the children, the teachers, and the families.”

“Helen is an exceptional, one-of-a-kind spiritual leader and friend,” says Shirley Hackleman, principal of Bethany Christian School. “The proof of her amazing impact is seen in the hundreds of students and parents who keep in touch with her from the earliest days of the school.”

In addition to her friends at Bethany Christian School and The Wellness Community, Helen stays busy spending time with her husband Richard and hosts a weekly Bible study. She also visits the school every Tuesday for the Families in Prayer meetings, takes a watercolor class at The Wellness Community, gardens, reads, visits and encourages friends at a nursing home, and swims. “I take the names of my support group members and pray for them during each lap that I swim,” says Helen.

Now finishing her fourth round of chemotherapy, Helen is constantly encouraged by the support of her family and friends. “I have so many people praying for me, and I thank God continually for his blessings. I feel God is using me every single day.”