Participants: Terry Benedict (Host)
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000018
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00:20 India is a land full of contrast.
00:25 Is a land of great mystery and beauty, 00:29 it's a land of unspeakable despair. 00:32 But traveling through India one thing is for sure 00:35 it's a land filled with people 00:37 who should never be underestimated. 00:40 For the last 40 years 00:42 Asian Aid has invested in the futures of people, 00:45 who had never been given such a chance 00:47 and their investment has proven infinite returns. 00:52 Driven by the vision of Helen Eager 00:54 dedicated to helping those who have the least 00:57 Asian Aid is an organization 00:58 implementing diverse development projects 01:01 and sponsoring thousands of children. 01:04 Their outreach spans from Bangladesh to Nepal, 01:07 Sri Lanka and beyond, 01:10 from remote villages and empty fields 01:12 to sprawling centers of education, 01:15 from nothing to the unimaginable. 01:19 Now Asian Aid decided to document 01:21 the work it has been doing all these years 01:23 with the desire to show the world 01:25 what is possible. 01:27 By digging wells in remote villages 01:29 for clean drinking water 01:30 and bringing much needed healthcare 01:32 to the women of Nepal. 01:34 By providing an education 01:36 for orphans, deaf and blind children, 01:38 giving them a sense a place a home 01:41 but what we really discovered was being given was hope, 01:45 giving hope to children, giving hope to women, 01:50 giving hope to the ones who needed the most. 01:53 This is Hope in Motion. 02:06 I never heard too much about Asian Aid before. 02:09 On paper it seem like they were doing noble work. 02:12 Development organizations 02:13 sponsoring thousands of kids throughout Asia, 02:16 so when they ask my film team to come 02:17 and document the work they do I said, yes. 02:21 My name is Terry Benedict and I'm a filmmaker 02:25 and this is my film team. 02:27 None of us have any idea what's in store for us. 02:37 I'm Jordan Ehrlich, Terry's producing partner. 02:40 Enduring our travels throughout India and Asia 02:43 you will see us, our cameras and our microphones. 02:47 Most of all you'll see what we see 02:49 as you come with us on our journey. 02:52 Fifteen schools, eight villages, 02:55 five cities and countless dirt roads 02:58 with the inevitable traffic jam here and there 03:01 all in under 60 days. 03:04 Our basic premise 03:05 why getting involved with Asian Aid? 03:08 And with hundreds of organizations out there 03:10 what sets Asian Aid apart from the others? 03:13 These seem like simple enough questions, 03:15 but on our journey to get answers 03:18 we're getting way more than we bargain for. 03:29 From Bangalore, India to Katmandu, Nepal 03:33 we're quickly learning Asian Aid core mission. 03:36 Help those in need 03:37 get the tools necessary to make it on their own. 03:40 And from the first moments of our trip 03:42 we realized that this isn't just talk. 03:46 Our first stop is the Elim Home. 03:48 How are you girls doing? 03:50 And orphanage on the outskirts of Hyderabad 03:52 the capital city of the southeastern state 03:54 Andhra Pradesh. 04:05 Minutes from numerous slums and some harsh realities 04:08 more questions popup. 04:11 Is sponsoring these kids just a short term solution 04:14 or is it more like an investment that will payoff down the road? 04:19 Elim is currently filled with 69 orphans already. 04:22 We happen to be here the day the 70th arrives. 04:27 Good evening, sir. How are you? 04:29 Fine. 04:34 Hi. 04:53 We are going to take her to the home, into the home, 04:56 because she is full orphan. 04:58 Books, so these are your books. 05:02 You like? You like the slate? 05:06 Slate? 05:08 Here. 05:09 Here are your books. You like books? 05:22 Keys, you want. 05:24 Keys? 05:27 We'll go down? 05:29 In Keerthana we had a feeling 05:31 that we're just scraping the surface 05:32 of an all too common occurrence 05:34 here in India and South Asia. 05:37 Poverty is pervasive, abandonment is common, 05:41 step parents not accepting step kids, 05:43 kids been put to work at early ages. 05:46 The issues being dealt with here are enormous. 05:48 The statistics are staggering. 06:02 Less than half of India's children 06:03 between the ages of 6 and 14 go to school. 06:11 More than 50% of India's kids are malnourished. 06:16 One out of every six girls 06:18 won't live to see her 15th birthday. 06:28 With this heartbreaking scene fresh in our minds 06:31 and these newly acquired facts 06:33 we're now little more aware of 06:34 how massive this issues really are. 06:37 It's all a bit overwhelming. 06:40 From the slums of Hyderabad 06:42 to the coastal slums of Vishakhapatnam 06:44 we didn't think it could get must worse, 06:46 we were wrong. 07:02 Well, we are right here in the middle of the slums. 07:05 We're in the city of Vizag which is on the east coast. 07:08 There is about 10,000 people who live 07:10 crammed under this area in 10x8 rooms. 07:14 Most people are unemployed. 07:16 There is a large number of prostitution. 07:20 But at the end of this long dirt and grime path 07:24 there is a narrow three storey building 07:27 not a beautiful sight, 07:29 but it functions as the only hope these kids have. 07:32 Amen. Amen. 07:34 Good evening. Good evening. 07:35 Thank you, teacher. 07:37 Thank you, teacher. 07:41 Asian Aid supports over 100 schools throughout Asia. 07:44 They strive to put kids in the best schools possibly, 07:47 but sometimes the only school in the area like this one. 07:51 But it seems they don't stop there, 07:53 they go to each school 07:55 checking the level of quality being administered. 07:57 If that needs fixing or something is off 08:00 they do whatever it takes to remedy it. 08:02 And I just feel we need a school there, 08:05 but I think that we should have it 08:06 look something really nice 08:08 and so when the children feel that they have school 08:11 this is a special place 08:13 and so it looks nice and clean 08:15 and different from the rest of the slum. 08:21 As we followed Helen in the Asian Aid team around 08:24 its apparent their goals are not swayed by convenience. 08:27 It's not about the appearance of doing the right thing 08:30 and it's not even about the bottom line. 08:33 If a need is getting done they'll find a way do it. 08:42 Helen Eager and Asian Aid have spent the last 40 years 08:45 trying to create the best environment 08:47 for these kids, 08:48 an environment where they can have a safe loving home 08:51 and get a high standard of education. 08:53 They take us to the town of Jeypore 08:55 in the mountain region of Orissa 08:57 to see what's possible. 09:01 Well, in my dream I was just thinking 09:03 in a small boarding school with maybe 50 children 09:06 and that of course did increase to 200 quite fast, 09:09 but now to see these buildings 09:12 and this campus is just so amazing. 09:15 And now there are 750 children 09:18 actually studying and learning so much 09:21 on this school compound. 09:24 The school of Jeypore stands as a beckon 09:26 of what can be done with the powerful vision, 09:29 key partnerships and real determination. 09:37 Over a 100 miles from the mountains of Jeypore 09:40 we traveled down a very long and very bumpy dirt road. 09:46 We head towards a small fishing village by a lake. 09:51 Here there are about 15 families living day to day 09:55 using the fish they catch to eat and sell. 10:03 They live a pretty happy life in their remote village. 10:08 The people here only have one complaint. 10:11 Is it clean water? 10:13 There is a big problem here in this village 10:15 so they just simply that digging 10:17 the two, three feet deep. 10:19 No safe drinking water. 10:20 Most of the children and old people are getting 10:24 diseases like diarrhea and other malaria. 10:27 So the well need some help, new well? 10:30 Yeah, actually not like this well sir, 10:33 hand-pump will be the safe water for them. 10:34 The water will be clean. 10:37 One major aspect of Asian Aids 10:38 different development projects throughout Asia 10:41 is providing clean water. 10:43 During our visit Asian Aid decides 10:45 to install some new wells for these villages. 10:51 As we take off again 10:52 we wonder how much of a difference a few wells 10:55 would actually make. 10:57 This time we're heading to a place 10:59 where not many people are willing to visit. 11:09 Here in the Vizianagaram district 11:12 there is a small colony of leper victims. 11:14 They are discarded, exiled, ostracized 11:17 or any other cliche term you can come up with 11:20 that basically means keep them away from us. 11:23 In this country people don't really like lepers. 11:26 I mean, lepers are looked departed, you know, being, 11:30 you know, not worth anything. 11:33 The stigma that's attached to leprosy 11:36 causes person who is leprosy affected 11:41 to experience rejection by their family and by society. 11:46 They need emotional support as well as physical support. 11:50 We do not have anybody to address a spiritual need 11:55 of the people in this leprosy affected place. 12:00 To fill this void Asian Aid in partnership 12:02 with the Indian government built a community 12:05 for the leper victims in this region. 12:06 Otherwise they are out on the street 12:08 they beg on the street and they stay there. 12:11 Through the work of the Asian Aid 12:13 the housing has been provided 12:15 and that has been a blessing to those people. 12:17 Well, Asian Aid is primarily known 12:19 for their work with children. 12:21 They always stick to their core mission 12:23 helping those who needed the most. 12:33 Near the end of our trip we circle back around 12:35 to see how those wells were doing. 12:36 Much to our surprise only 15 days after we have left 12:40 they were installed. 12:41 Is that one of the bad wells? I think that is a bad well. 12:43 There is the bad well. 12:46 The villagers tell us that over the past two months 12:49 the water borne diseases here already starting to disappear. 12:52 Water very cool and clean water. 12:55 Directly we can drink. 12:59 We need to support the villagers 13:01 who have children in the schools. 13:02 Right. 13:03 Our responsibility isn't just education, 13:06 its education wealthy. 13:08 There is no point in them going to school 13:09 and they are coming out and getting sick. 13:17 We set out to know more about Asian Aid 13:19 and what sets them apart 13:21 and lot of our questions were being answered 13:24 but so many new questions now in. 13:31 What would become of Keerthana, 13:33 the orphan girl who is recently 13:35 dropped off at an Asian Aid home 13:37 and what kind of impact 13:38 were they having in other countries 13:39 like Bangladesh and Nepal. 13:42 We plan to find all this out 13:44 and take you along for the ride. 13:46 This is Hope in Motion. 14:00 I'm here today in Andhra Pradesh, India 14:02 at the Vizianagaram school with my friend Adarsh, 14:05 seven-years-old and my family and myself sponsor him. 14:09 Everyday he is able to have accommodation, 14:11 food, clothes and a good education. 14:14 We want you to know what a blessing this is 14:16 and that you too 14:18 can make the difference in the life of the child 14:19 everyday through sponsorship. 14:44 Mummy? Tulsi's grandson got sick. 14:45 Mummy? Yeah, what? 14:46 Don't go, mummy. 15:15 They made me cry. 15:30 I felt bad 15:31 that I couldn't be there with them. 15:32 Down there they are very good of lodges. 15:34 Need a bit of time for them, 15:35 big kids that probably won't be there next year 15:37 when I come. 15:40 The best way to know Asian Aid cofounder 15:42 Helen Eager is to follow her. 15:44 So from India to Nepal 15:46 we tagged along with this beloved woman 15:48 they call Mummy Eager. 15:52 She is a great lady with a big heart. 15:55 And she lives so simply. 15:57 I have been at her home 16:00 and she know she has nothing the worthily goods, 16:04 but her whole life has been with Asian Aid 16:08 and these children. 16:10 At age 26 Helen volunteered 16:13 to help a little ministry called Asian Aid 16:15 making clothes and packing supplies 16:18 for the needy in Korea, 16:20 soon after Helen was asked to direct the organization 16:23 when the founder retired. 16:25 With Helen's vision Asian Aid grew rapidly 16:28 throughout India, Nepal and Bangladesh. 16:33 Everywhere we went 16:34 we saw the fruits of her love and compassion. 16:37 All inside the city of Samaria. 16:40 God said, okay. 16:41 Please God now open their eyes so that they can see. 16:45 I don't know how she does it, but she travels all over India. 16:48 Those kids from Asian Aid not just the orphanage kids, 16:52 but all of these schools they call her Mummy Eager. 16:57 They are looking for you. 17:01 Mummy, how are you, mummy? 17:02 Hi, Mummy. Hi, how are you? 17:05 Fine, thank you, mummy. 17:06 Mummy? How are, Mummy? 17:09 Yeah, I'm fine. How are you? 17:10 If I see mummy-- 17:11 don't go mummy, stay here mummy. 17:14 I like your help. 17:18 I don't know you just get to love 17:19 so many of the children. 17:20 There are so many of them over there 17:22 they're just like my family. 17:24 And if I just feel that if I don't-- 17:26 no, no they feel that if I don't come and see them 17:28 at least once a year well, then they feel bad. 17:32 She is like a angel who came from heaven 17:35 because she would have not taken me 17:37 I don't know where would I have been. 17:39 She keep on travel and walk 17:43 all day and night she keep in touch. 17:45 Even if I would seen she must be when I calling 17:47 she will be in night 10 o'clock, 12 o'clock 17:49 she is must be sitting and typing 17:50 and do a lot of works to do that she always tell me. 17:58 As our travels with Helen continue 18:00 each stop added to the picture of the simple 18:03 Biblical principle that Helen follows, 18:08 the love and care for the least of these. 18:30 The stories about these children 18:31 that have put into houses to be servants 18:34 when they are very small, 18:35 some as young as about four or five years 18:37 just make me so angry 18:38 because more often they are not saying of abuse 18:43 and then the children are just treated like, like dirt 18:47 and they are often not even fed properly, 18:50 they are just left to sleep in some corner 18:53 of the laundry floor or something like that. 18:55 And the work they have to do is just way beyond 18:58 what a child at that age should be expected to do. 19:01 And I guess for me the fact that the children 19:04 are not usually sent to school that's what maybe 19:07 upsets me almost more than anything. 19:21 I came from very poor village. 19:25 I ask my father and mother when I am small 19:28 my parents had some mistake understanding 19:33 and both are committed to suicide. 19:41 And of course for orphans 19:42 we have to supply everything they need. 19:46 You know, there are some they don't have any homes to go to 19:49 where the parents can contribute something towards their kids, 19:53 so it's costly but it's special. 20:05 Children have grown up 20:06 in their orphanages through the years 20:08 most of them have done really, really well. 20:14 Being brought up in a orphanage 20:17 it wasn't easy but where I was brought up 20:20 I didn't feel that I was been brought up in an orphanage 20:23 rather that I thought I was brought up in a nice home 20:26 with lot of other kids, 20:27 like we call them brothers and sisters. 20:30 And then we help each other, we understand each other, 20:35 and it was fun living with this, 20:37 you know, environment of a big family. 20:45 Originally we thought the focus of our journey 20:47 would be on the needs of children in India, 20:50 but Helen informed us of other pressing issues 20:52 that are close to our heart, 20:54 so close that she insisted we change our plans 20:58 and go with her to Nepal. 21:05 In developing countries 21:07 anyone of these challenges would be a life's work, 21:10 but Helen has found great facilitators 21:12 and partners like Rama 21:14 who is the director of the orphanage in Katmandu 21:17 where many Asian Aid children live and go to school. 21:21 But she also spearheads 21:22 the Asian Aid prolapse team in Nepal. 21:41 The problem primarily occurs when women give birth 21:44 and instead of resting 21:46 they are immediately put back to work 21:48 carrying heavy loads. 21:50 And that lady remember, that young woman 21:53 that she told you 21:54 she delivered the baby alone on the mountain side. 21:56 And just finishes cutting grass 21:58 and picked up the baby with one hand, 22:00 she picked up the grass with the other hand 22:02 and she got the prolapse right there on the spot. 22:06 But Helen promotes a two pronged approach 22:08 through educational clinics and providing medical support 22:12 including surgeries that transform women's lives. 22:15 Over the last 10 years 22:17 Asian Aid has sponsored more than 8,000 surgeries. 22:22 The school here now. Yeah, yeah, the government-- 22:23 After showing us what prolapse was all about 22:26 Helen wanted us to travel on the Pokhara, 22:29 a five to six hour drive on a good day. 22:31 And how good is the road? 22:33 Some of its good 22:34 but then you need knowledge to get there. 22:36 Road is not so bad, but widening I mean to say. 22:53 Helen sponsored Rajendra through the Asian Aid program. 22:57 Now he and Asian Aid are working together 23:00 to make a difference in Pokhara 23:02 a hot spot for human trafficking 23:05 primarily young Nepalese girls. 23:08 Thousands are sent off to India, the Middle-East and Thailand. 23:13 It's driven primarily by poverty, lack of education 23:16 and empty promises of job opportunities. 23:20 Helen has been working with Rajendra 23:22 to provide a safe haven for women 23:24 who have been rescued from the trafficking trade. 23:27 But Helen and Asian Aid see the need for a larger campus 23:30 that will not only rescue these women, 23:32 but also educate and train them. 23:36 We also learn that women who are in prison 23:39 often have their children with them. 23:41 It can be a dead end for both mother and child, 23:44 but Helen and Rajendra have a plan 23:46 that has caught the interest of the prison officials. 23:50 It's a bold plan 23:51 with the winning scenario for everyone. 23:54 It offers hope by caring for the children 23:57 and their mothers many who have HIV. 24:02 There are other places that need to be seen in Nepal, 24:05 but Helen must get back to India 24:06 where a new orphanage is about to become a reality. 24:17 Back in Bobbili, India 24:19 we were here two months ago and this land was empty 24:21 and now it's becoming a sustainable campus. 24:25 With the help of Asian Aid 24:27 field officer Raj Varma is moving the dream forward 24:30 and as support grows 24:31 the groundbreaking is not far off. 24:35 I really like this land, 24:36 because I grew up in the country. 24:37 I think this is ideal. 24:41 I've work with her for over 22 years 24:44 and I can never keep up with her. 24:46 Sometimes I just feel so lazy in my office working flat chair, 24:50 but I just can't keep up with her. 24:52 She is just doing so many things 24:55 and coordinating so many things 24:57 and just has her finger on the pulse of 25:00 all of the different projects and the different schools. 25:03 Mother Eager from 30 years 25:05 she is doing the service for India 25:08 and that she is sponsoring so many children. 25:12 Five to six thousand children were sponsored 25:14 because of her help. 25:16 So you're getting big aren't you? 25:18 So we appreciate her help. 25:23 Helen's passions are diverse 25:25 but focused with measurable results. 25:28 After all these years she still struggles 25:30 to make sure new programs to get started 25:33 so that people are getting the help they need. 27:43 Well, its breakfast time at the Sunrise Home 27:45 and these 75 sponsored Asian Aid children 27:48 will shortly be going to school 27:50 and down the road we're building a new home for them 27:53 and they are very excited. 27:55 There is an overwhelming need with orphans in this country 27:58 and Asian Aid need your support 28:00 with its orphanage home project. |
Revised 2014-12-17