He studied philosophy under the Australian empiricist John Anderson and in 1963 launched an educational institute named ʻAtenisi (Tongan for Athens, to pay homage to the ancient Greek philosophers, Herakleitos in particular).
Helu was born 17 June 1934 in the village of Lotofoa on the island of Foa in the Haʻapai archipelago in the (Polynesian) Kingdom of Tonga.
In 1966 Helu registered ʻAtenisi's high school with the government and at the end of that year leased a 6.5-hectare (16-acre) parcel in Tufuenga, a western district in the Tongan capital of Nukuʻalofa.
Dr. Helu not only administered his institute but – like Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia in early 19th century America – designed its classrooms, laboratories, and libraries, often in classical style.
Not only did the Government resist this call but it punished ʻAtenisi for its advocacy by thenceforth refusing to employ its university graduates, a severe penalty in the developing world.
Two daughters have distinguished themselves in the performing arts – Sisiʻuno Helu, founder of ʻAtenisi's performing arts troupe and orchestra, has staged Tongan faiva and spirited excerpts from Italian opera on tours of the Pacific, Europe, and the US; ʻAtolomake Helu has sung mezzo-soprano in noted international venues, such as Sydney and Auckland Town Halls.