Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000027
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00:02 In this episode of Hope in Motion,
00:04 we take a look at how your contributions are making 00:07 positive changes in the lives of so many children in India. 00:11 Sixty to seventy percent we are dependent on the sponsorship. 00:16 Without the support of any sponsorship 00:20 those children would not be here. 00:22 We visit an Adventist school 00:24 that sprung from one woman's vision 00:26 to a sprawling beautiful campus today. 00:30 It just sort of amazes me when I think of, you know, 00:32 what we started from with absolutely nothing. 00:36 To see what is there today is just, 00:39 it's just mind boggling, really. 00:42 And meet Devoki, a science teacher at the school 00:45 who defied all social norms to pursue a life of her own. 00:49 In villages that is a rule that when a girl is grown up, 00:53 she should be given in marriage to someone. 00:57 So in my case also it would have been like that 00:59 when I would not have been come to this school and study, 01:01 by this time I would have been got married, 01:03 having children, all those things 01:16 India is a land full of contrast. 01:20 It's a land of great mystery and beauty. 01:24 It's a land of unspeakable despair. 01:27 By traveling through India one thing is for sure, 01:31 it's a land filled with people 01:32 who should never be underestimated. 01:36 For the last 40 years, 01:38 Asian Aid has invested in the futures of people 01:40 who have never been given such a chance 01:43 and their investment has proven infinite returns. 01:47 Driven by the vision of Helen Eager, 01:49 dedicated to helping those who have the least, 01:52 Asian Aid is an organization 01:54 implementing diverse development projects 01:56 and sponsoring thousands of children. 02:00 Their outreach spans from Bangladesh to Nepal, 02:03 Srilanka and beyond. 02:05 From remote villages and empty fields 02:08 to sprawling centers of education, 02:10 from nothing to the unimaginable. 02:14 Now Asian Aid decided to document the work 02:17 it has been doing all these years 02:19 with the desire to show the world what is possible. 02:22 By digging wells in remote villages 02:24 for clean drinking water 02:26 and bringing much needed healthcare 02:27 to the women of Nepal. 02:30 By providing an education for orphans, 02:32 deaf and blind children, giving them a sense of place, a home 02:37 but what we really discovered was being given was hope. 02:40 Giving hope to children, giving hope to women, 02:45 giving hope to the one's who needed the most. 02:49 This is Hope in Motion. 03:09 The beautiful landscapes, its people, 03:11 the colors and customs, that's India in a nutshell. 03:26 Asian Aid has been working in this vast land 03:28 since its very beginning which is nearly 40 years ago now. 03:32 Primarily focused on child sponsorship 03:35 Asian Aid also has been instrumental 03:37 in building many children's homes and schools 03:40 to complement its sponsorship program. 03:43 The Immanuel English School in Jeypore 03:45 in the state of Orissa 03:47 is one that has undergone a transformation. 03:50 In the beginning we just-- 03:52 we were sort of picturing may be, 03:54 you know, just a small boarding school. 03:56 We were thinking a lot of the very primitive 03:58 tribal people that are there in Orissa, 04:00 especially the bonda tribals was what, you know, 04:03 we had on our minds when we started the school. 04:06 Jeypore and most parts of Orissa 04:08 come under the so called "tribal belt" of India, 04:11 where primitive tribal people live. 04:13 Cut off from the mainstream societies, 04:16 they live in the mountains and remote regions 04:18 with no basic amenities, largely living off of the land. 04:29 Helen Eager, co-founder of Asian Aid 04:31 has been visiting these communities, 04:34 especially the bonda tribe. 04:36 Moved by their backwardness and the plight of the children 04:39 from these communities 04:40 she started a school for them at Jeypore. 04:43 Starting with around 50 children 04:45 and a few staff all under one roof 04:48 and without a boundary wall 04:49 to protect them from wild animals 04:51 it was a testing time for the children, 04:54 the staff and for Principal Arun Ponda. 04:58 And once Mrs. Eager brought Elder Garwin McNeilus 05:02 and his wife to visit this place. 05:06 So once when he came over here he was very much impressed 05:11 with the way children are learning over here 05:16 and he felt that he will do something, 05:18 he'll take up this project. 05:21 Garwin McNeilus an Adventist businessman from Minnesota 05:25 impressed by what was being done at the school 05:27 took up the project of building a larger facility in 2004. 05:32 Within a year the first phase of the new campus was ready 05:35 and year later it had grown to what it is now. 05:40 We just feel surprised how the things have changed. 05:46 Everything was just like the hill that you see behind 05:51 full of bushes and unwanted plants. 05:55 So nobody from town ever thought 05:58 that there can be something here, 06:00 but God has blessed this place and we can see a great change. 06:07 It just sort of amazes me when I think of, you know, 06:10 what we started from with absolutely nothing. 06:14 To see what is there today is just, 06:16 it's just mind boggling, really. 06:32 The larger facility made it possible to bring in 06:35 more children from the tribal communities 06:37 as well as nearby villages. 06:39 As the news of the new facility spread, 06:42 many more children from Adventist 06:44 and non-Adventist families 06:45 desired to be educated at the new school. 06:52 Many in rural India struggle to earn even two dollars a day. 06:56 Their only way of earning a living 06:58 is grazing their livestock or working in the fields. 07:01 Here, poverty passes from generation to generation 07:05 and education is not an option. 07:08 I mean some parts of India really seem to be growing 07:11 and really, you know, India seems to be really 07:13 coming up as they say but when you go the villages 07:16 and the slums they have not improved in all the years that, 07:20 you know, that I have been coming to India 07:21 which is now more than 30 years. 07:24 You know, when you to the villages and you see 07:26 and to some of the slums and you see how bad, 07:29 you know, the conditions are that the people 07:31 and the children living under because this often 07:34 its not that they don't want to work 07:35 but there is just not enough work available. 07:38 Although the majority of the people cannot afford 07:41 to send their children to school, 07:43 they do view education as a catalyst for change. 07:46 Sixty to seventy percent we are dependent on the sponsorship 07:53 because majority of this children are poor 07:56 and they don't have any support. 08:02 Without the support of any sponsorship 08:04 those children would not be here. 08:07 Today, over 6,000 children in India are sponsored by Asian Aid 08:12 and because of their commitment to the welfare of children 08:15 especially children from tribal communities and villages, 08:19 these children are reaping the benefit 08:21 of an Adventist education. 08:49 Devoki Moharia, a science teacher 08:51 at the Immanuel English School was a former student here. 08:55 I finished my B.sc degree in college 08:59 and I'm very much interested in science 09:01 because I was good at science. 09:04 In this school I teach mostly eighth, ninth and tenth. 09:08 I teach them chemistry and biology. 09:12 Devoki was among the first batch of children 09:14 to be brought to the school from neighboring villages 09:17 when Helen Eager and some of the staff from the school 09:20 visited these villages. 09:22 I sent messages to the church pastors 09:26 if there are any children from the poverty level 09:29 and wherever there are no schools. 09:32 So many names came from different churches. 09:38 Then, first I went to some orphan children 09:42 then I came to know there are two girls, 09:45 very small girls nearby Kotpat town. 09:49 So I went there and I met with her father Deboki. 09:55 Then her father was not willing to send the girl here 10:01 because there was no boundary around 10:03 and there was only one building built by Asian Aid. 10:08 Then when I went she was the smallest among the two. 10:12 Then she started crying not to take photo. 10:16 I carried her, I gave her a chocolate. 10:19 Then I made her to stand then I took a photograph 10:23 for mommy Eager and that's how I found her. 10:27 I was very happy thinking that I'm going to go to a school, 10:30 a hostel, English medium. 10:33 No one knows in my school what is English. 10:35 Means they don't know how to talk in English and all 10:37 so I was very happy that I will be the person 10:39 to learn English and all. 10:41 So when I came here first two or three days I was nervous 10:44 means I used to remember parents all those things 10:46 and only one single building was there 10:48 and no boundary, it was like a jungle and jungle means 10:52 I really get very, very scared of that. 10:55 And no boundary no nothing, only one building was there 10:58 boys, girls, staff everyone in the same building 11:01 doing all the activities eating, sleeping, studying 11:04 everything in the same building. 11:06 With the untiring efforts of Helen Eager 11:09 and the prayers of staff and children 11:11 the small school was transformed into huge campus. 11:16 And like a miracle suddenly Garwin Papa and Mama came here. 11:21 So we think and we believe that 11:23 God himself has chosen this people 11:25 and He has sent to help His children 11:28 so that many more souls will be added into His kingdom. 11:31 From right at the beginning 11:32 when this school was just one class room 11:34 then with the vision of Helen Eager 11:37 and supporters like Garwin McNeilus 11:39 this school spread into an institution 11:42 that now has I think about 700 children 11:45 and of those 600 responsive 11:48 and now we see the success stories coming through. 11:51 Devoki, who was right at the school when it started, 11:55 she did her education at the school 11:57 then she went away to university 11:59 and now she has come back as a science teacher. 12:02 It's just so fantastic to see the difference 12:04 that has made with her 12:06 but also with the children that are here. 12:09 If it weren't for the timely intervention of Asian Aid 12:13 and people like Helen Eager, Devoki Maharia's life 12:16 would have seen the same misfortunes 12:18 of so many young girls just like her in her village. 12:23 In villages that is a rule that when a girl is grown up, 12:26 she should be given in marriage to someone. 12:30 So in my case also it would have been like that 12:32 when I would not have been come to this school and study. 12:35 By this time I would have been got married, 12:37 having children, all those things. 12:53 My wife Angela and I are here in Andhra Pradesh, India 12:56 visiting some of the Asian Aid projects to see for ourselves 13:00 how the work that is being done here is transforming lives. 13:03 Especially the lives of orphaned children and abandoned children, 13:08 children from the tribal communities 13:10 and we have discovered that because of sponsors like you 13:13 they now have a place that they can call home, 13:15 they have wonderful clothing, nutritious food 13:18 and they are being prepared to propel themselves 13:21 into the future for a promising career. 13:24 But above all that because of sponsors like you 13:27 they now have hope, hope for a better future. 13:43 My name is Sue Smith and I am an Asian Aid sponsor. 13:46 I am here in India visiting our sponsored children. 13:49 I have seen the difference that Asian Aid 13:51 makes in the life of a child, it's a real change 13:55 and I appreciate the work that Asian Aid does here. 14:12 Well, I am here in Sunrise Home with Sheela. 14:15 Now my family and I have been sponsoring Sheela 14:17 for just about a year now and I can tell you being here 14:20 and spending time with her I can see the difference 14:23 the sponsorship is making in her life. 14:25 She now has plenty of food, she has a beautiful place 14:28 to sleep each night, she has clothes, 14:31 she has a school uniform and an excellent education. 14:34 I can tell you it's made a difference in her life 14:37 and it's made a difference in our lives too. 14:40 Now through sponsorship you too 14:42 can make a difference in the life of a child everyday. 15:12 Life in rural India is simple. 15:15 People live closed quarters and as a unit. 15:22 During the day they either go to the field 15:24 or they graze what little livestock they have. 15:27 There is a clear order of social precedence based on gender. 15:31 Women have little or no say in its structure 15:34 often leading to unjust practices and misery. 15:38 In villages parents they are uneducated 15:40 and they don't send to the 15:43 children when they are small to the school. 15:46 So that is the reason I never went to school. 15:48 In villages that is a rule that when a girl is grown up, 15:52 she should be given in marriage to someone. 15:56 So in my case also it would have been like that 15:58 when I would not have been come to this school and study. 16:01 By this time I would have been got married, 16:03 having children, all those things 16:06 Child marriage is a common practice in south Asia 16:09 and it's more prevalent in India. 16:11 According to the United Nations Children's Agency, 16:14 Unicef, 18 percent of girls are married by the age of 15. 16:20 Although Indian law has made child marriage illegal 16:23 and the practice is in decline in recent years, 16:26 customs and traditions dictate life in rural India. 16:30 It is like so in Devoki's village, Basuli. 16:34 At present I don't have any of my friends to my age. 16:36 Only I'm the girl in my village, 16:39 all are younger to me, all have got married. 16:42 By now she would have got married 16:44 if she would not have studied here. 16:46 By now she would have got married, 16:48 so by now she would have been lost in that way. 16:52 But now she is in God's hand. 16:54 She is doing wonderful. 16:57 If my daughter didn't go to school like others 17:00 and get an education her life would have been like others. 17:28 Although Devoki grew up in a boarding school in Jeypore 17:31 and went to college in bigger cities 17:33 she has not forgotten her roots 17:35 and is always happy to visit her family in her village. 17:40 Yeah, I feel very happy because 17:42 I'm born and brought up in this village 17:45 and even though I stay in a town or something now 17:47 but I still have love for my village, for my family members. 17:51 I feel very happy when I come back to my home and see them. 17:56 Devoki is the only girl from her village 17:58 to have successfully received a college education 18:02 and in a community where women have little or no say, 18:05 she is treated with the utmost of respect. 18:11 We feel very proud whenever someone comes to visit us 18:14 we always tell tem about our daughter. 18:16 When she comes here we are very happy and proud. 18:29 Boys and girls from under privileged backgrounds 18:31 are today able to follow in the footsteps 18:34 of someone like Devoki. 18:36 It's because of institutions like Immanuel English School 18:39 and the people who envisioned it to make a difference 18:42 in the lives of so many children. 18:45 Well, as an administrator who travels to India regularly 18:49 we just faced with so many challenges and demands 18:53 and it's just so refreshing to stop 18:56 and think about the actual blessing that we have. 18:59 We receive the problems but we lose side of the children, 19:03 the children who are in the schools, 19:05 the children who we've made a difference with. 19:11 Ellen White said, Education is the harmonious development 19:15 of the physical, mental, spiritual powers 19:19 It prepares the student 19:20 for the joy of service in this world 19:22 and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come. 19:26 The school campus although situated 19:29 in remote region of one of India's backward states 19:32 is a fine example of true Adventist education. 19:37 The local community feels that 19:39 this is the best campus that we have. 19:42 And no school has such a campus 19:45 and there is peaceful atmosphere, atmosphere to study. 19:51 There is no disturbance and everyone feels that 19:56 their child should be educated here. 20:00 Taking care of such a large campus requires hard work 20:03 but for principal Ponda that's not an issue. 20:07 Every child and staff member living on campus 20:10 has their work cut out and they do it with enthusiasm. 20:14 I traveled to many schools in India 20:16 but it's just so delightful to come to this one at Jeypore 20:20 because when you walk in the gate the grounds, the trees, 20:24 they always keep it clean, they repaint from time to time. 20:29 The children are involved in doing the maintenance 20:32 and doing the gardens and that just makes a total difference 20:35 not only in the grounds 20:37 but in the development of the children themselves. 20:41 A harmonious development indeed. 20:54 Education in India is highly competitive 20:56 and the school is big and beautiful as it may be 21:00 has to compete with other institutions 21:03 for it to be influential 21:04 and to continue to be held in high regard. 21:07 The trend of education is changing 21:10 and the latest we have the digital classes. 21:14 And as you know throughout India there is a 21:17 change in the education system 21:20 and we want to go with the latest technology 21:23 and that is why we opted for this digital class. 21:26 It is very user friendly, students also can operate. 21:30 It's just like a TV remote. 21:33 Even if the teacher is absent still they have the subjects, 21:36 they have the chapters and they have the evaluation test. 21:40 The students can themselves take the test on there by themselves 21:45 and they can know what score they are getting 21:47 in particular chapter or lesson. 21:49 Whatever the student need to understand, 21:52 everything is given clearly. 21:54 And whatever the teacher is teaching in the classroom, 21:57 and what questions they have finished in the classroom, 22:00 they can, we can access that in the server room. 22:06 Cutting edge technology for the changing times. 22:09 Today, they Immanuel English School at Jeypore, 22:12 is not only a boon for children 22:14 from tribal communities and villages, 22:16 it is also a huge draw for children 22:19 from neighboring states. 22:46 Wow, look at that, just so many kids 22:48 most of them from poor backgrounds, 22:51 most of them from tribal areas 22:53 and look they are getting an education, they are disciplined, 22:56 they are learning to be organized 22:58 and the education is making a real difference to them. 23:01 I just wish I could bring some more in there is 23:03 so many out there and put them in this environment. 23:06 Look at it, it's just fabulous. 23:09 The growing realization of the need 23:11 to bring in many more children can be discouraging 23:15 but it's reassuring to know that with sponsorship 23:18 we can go about making a difference one day at a time. 23:22 When we are at home, 23:24 sometimes we are not getting three meals to eat. 23:27 No good place to sleep. 23:29 So when schools are there, like this school, 23:32 they are providing meals, education everything sponsors, 23:35 they are struggling hard to educate some other's life. 23:39 That is something very great to understand. 23:42 Since sponsorship was there I studied and I am in this one 23:46 so I am so much grateful to my sponsor. 23:49 And to me it's really wonderful just to see then changes. 23:52 You know, when you see a child come looking dirty 23:56 and unhappy and know that nobody cares about them 24:00 and then after a very short time to see the transformation 24:04 and then after few years to see them really doing well, 24:07 I think that what makes it worthwhile. 24:11 Devoki, although having better offers 24:14 to teach outside in bigger cities, 24:16 has come back to teach in the place 24:19 that gave her a new chance in life. 24:22 Actually, my education, my foundation started from here. 24:28 So I thought first let me server to my place, 24:32 the place where I belong to, where I have got my foundation. 24:35 Whatever talent I have let me show to those people so that 24:38 those students also will learn about that. 24:41 It's so lovely to see some of the young people 24:44 with that kind of commitment and gratitude to Asian Aid 24:47 and for the sponsors that have helped them to 24:50 get an education and to be where they are. 24:53 I feel proud because whatever I did for her, I got the fruit. 25:13 Today, Asian Aid continues to fulfill its commitment 25:16 to the welfare of children who are in need 25:18 and to provide them with an education through sponsorship, 25:22 giving them hope and a chance for a better life. 25:27 They are building lives. 25:29 That people means students and children 25:32 they are in the darkness, 25:33 they are receiving the light in their lives. 25:36 Once if they are at their home 25:38 the lights are being off or gone away, 25:40 but once they are coming here 25:41 the light of their life is being on. 25:45 Because since I think that, 25:46 I feel since I was in this school 25:49 I am blessed to this position today. 26:01 Girls, you ride is here. 26:02 I love you. 26:03 Have a good day in school. 26:05 Bye. 26:07 See you tonight. 26:08 Give my love to meena. 26:09 I will. 26:41 You can make a big difference every morning. 26:43 Sponsor a child with Asian Aid. |
Revised 2014-12-17