Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000207A
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00:07 Child Impact International
00:08 is an organization giving hope, 00:11 previously called Asian Aid. 00:13 Child Impact International is an organization 00:15 fostering permanent positive change 00:18 in the lives of disadvantaged children 00:20 and their communities. 00:21 Child Impact is committed to making a difference 00:24 in the lives of children and those who are in need. 00:27 Serving communities in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, 00:31 Myanmar, and will soon expand to other countries. 00:34 For the last 50 years, 00:36 Child Impact has invested in the futures of people 00:39 and their investment has proven infinite returns. 00:41 Driven by the dedication 00:43 to helping those who have the least, 00:45 Child Impact is an organization 00:47 focused on the welfare of children, 00:49 implementing diverse development projects 00:52 and sponsoring thousands of children. 00:54 Their outreach spans from child rescue operations 00:57 to providing an education 00:59 for orphans, deaf, and the blind children, 01:01 giving them a sense of place, a home. 01:04 But above all, Child Impact is an organization giving hope, 01:08 giving hope to children, 01:10 giving hope to community, 01:11 giving hope to the ones who needed the most. 01:14 This is Hope In Motion. 01:21 Situated amidst a lush green paddy fields 01:23 of Bobbili, in Andhra Pradesh, India 01:26 is an institution that is home 01:27 to some of the most disadvantaged children 01:30 in the society. 01:33 This is the school for the blind 01:34 run by Child Impact International. 01:38 In a world where blindness is considered a curse 01:41 and blind children are abandoned, 01:43 this campus is a refuge for children 01:45 seeking care and comfort. 01:53 There are various circumstances that have contributed 01:55 to these children losing their sight. 01:57 Some of them are victims of accidents, 01:59 some due to vitamin deficiency 02:02 factored by lack of nutritious food, 02:04 but most of them were born blind. 02:06 Okay, let it. 02:07 Akhila Macha is a seventh grade student at the school. 02:10 She comes from a small tribal community 02:12 not far from the school in Bobbili. 02:14 Akhila is the second girl child in the family. 02:17 When Akhila was born blind, 02:19 her father wouldn't accept her 02:20 and wanted to abandon 02:22 and leave her at the hospital. 02:24 In a patriarchal society, 02:26 where a girl child is often considered a burden, 02:29 Akhila's father did not want another girl child, 02:32 that too a girl child with visual impairment. 02:37 You know, there are people who are poor, 02:40 who are really struggling to bring up, 02:42 to look after their family and bring up their kids, 02:44 and then what happens if you're a girl in the family, 02:47 you know, where do you sit in the hierarchy, 02:49 how are you accepted in society. 02:52 But the boy is given education above the girl, 02:54 so straight away the girls 02:55 really have an extra challenge here. 02:57 And imagine if that girl has a disability, 03:00 where does that person sit? 03:02 So the need to provide special support 03:07 for all children but especially for girls 03:09 who have disabilities 03:10 is an amazing opportunity to help them, 03:14 because there is very little that can be done. 03:16 And if they are in their family environment 03:20 they can't really contribute, 03:21 they can't work and contribute to their family, 03:23 so they are real burden to their family. 03:25 So we can transform not just the child, 03:28 but the family as well 03:30 by creating a whole new world 03:31 for this child and for the family. 03:34 Cultural issues are hard to understand. 03:37 It may even seem bizarre and cruel at times. 03:40 It's difficult to change people's perceptions 03:42 that are rooted deep. 03:44 While rural traditions and socio-economic difficulties 03:47 dictate life in rural India, their children pay the price. 03:51 In rural villages where being handicapped 03:54 is considered a curse, 03:55 blind children face an uncertain future. 04:01 For blind children like Akhila, 04:03 the school for the blind in Bobbili 04:05 is a place of refuge. 04:18 Every year we go for campaign 04:21 to find visual impact children. 04:24 That's how we found Akhila in our village, 04:27 and we saw her, 04:28 and she was so in depleted condition. 04:31 And we talked to their parents. 04:34 Mother was not convinced 04:37 to send her to hostel or to our school 04:40 because she was afraid something would happen, 04:42 or something would do for the child. 04:45 So she was not convinced for one year. 04:48 Again we went for next year 04:53 and she sent some people to check how the school is 04:57 and what are the activities going on. 05:00 And then later on, 05:01 she was fully convinced and she felt happy 05:04 that this is a place where Akhila should go and study. 05:07 So that's how we picked her up from there to our school. 05:12 For all its traditions and practices, 05:14 the fact remains 05:16 that all parents love their children 05:17 and want the best for them. 05:19 For someone like Akhila who comes from a tribal area, 05:23 the change for Akhila and her parents is huge. 05:29 Akhila would not have had any chance of education 05:32 without the blind school that she goes to. 05:35 Her parents were very cautious in letting her go. 05:39 But when they know that she is getting an education, 05:42 they moved from cautious and scared 05:45 not knowing what to do with a blind child 05:48 to having hope to being proud. 05:51 And so, Akhila is an example of the change 05:54 that is made by taking a child from a community 05:57 where there is no hope for them, 05:59 and giving them an education and giving them hope. 06:04 Child Impact sponsors the majority of children 06:06 living and studying at the school. 06:09 Without sponsorship, 06:10 these children would not have the opportunity 06:12 for a new chance in life. 06:14 The school for the blind is not just an institution 06:17 that provides food and shelter for the blind, 06:19 but it's an institution that prepares them 06:21 for the world outside. 06:24 We are not preparing them only for a place to live, 06:28 and eat, and grow up. 06:31 We're preparing them for the opportunity 06:34 to prepare for a career 06:37 where they can be self-sustaining adults 06:40 throughout their life. 06:42 It's not just a temporary fix 06:44 and then we kick them out. 06:46 Are they good to survive on their own, 06:49 they then can leave the school 06:51 and go out and fill a need 06:53 that the government will assist them with, provide them for, 06:56 where they become productive in society on their own. 07:01 The exciting thing in India is that the government 07:03 has made jobs available for these children. 07:06 So we're equipping them 07:08 for roles that they can step into. 07:10 We're giving them, probably their only chance 07:13 of any training in this particular, 07:16 very rural, very tribal, 07:18 very poor community. 07:20 So we're not only giving them education, 07:22 we're giving them a critical stepping stone 07:25 for the roles that are available 07:27 for them in the community. 07:39 These children may not have the ability to see, 07:42 but this disability does not deprive them 07:44 of the ability to learn. 07:46 They are perfectly capable of acquiring skills 07:49 needed for employment. 07:50 In fact, the Indian government refers to them not as disabled 07:54 but differently abled. 07:56 And the school for the blind 07:57 provides them an ideal place 07:59 for these differently abled children 08:01 to acquire skills. 08:02 For Akhila's parents who are daily laborers, 08:05 knowing their blind child is attending school 08:07 is a satisfying feeling. 08:35 Without sponsorship, 08:37 Akhila would not be at the school. 08:39 Today, because of Child Impact sponsorship program 08:43 and individual supporting its program, 08:45 hundreds of differently abled students like Akhila 08:48 can receive an education, 08:49 an education that will help them to lead a dignified life. 08:54 If people like, children like Akhila, 08:58 if they don't come to our school, 09:00 they would have stayed at the home, 09:02 their condition become worst, 09:04 and people don't really love her 09:06 or they don't take her in this family. 09:09 So it is must for us to go forward 09:14 and find children 09:15 and sponsorship for them 09:18 especially is very much mean to them, 09:22 because people like Akhila 09:25 who are visually impaired 09:27 needs to have this kind of education 09:29 in this part of Andhra Pradesh. 09:31 The child is the center of Child Impact's work, 09:34 whether one is able to contribute 09:36 in a small way or in a big way, 09:38 sponsorship endows these children's future, 09:41 giving them the life they deserve. 09:43 Child Impact's work with these special needs 09:45 children also has a much bigger impact in the community. 09:50 Our special schools have a special impact, 09:53 and the reality is that many people 09:55 at all levels of society are becoming now at work 09:59 through these special homes and schools. 10:02 So they are impacting the child, 10:04 the family, and the community 10:06 with what Christianity 10:08 and Seventh-day Adventist are all about. 10:10 Special needs ministries is an area in which 10:14 we are very, very interested and very proactively working, 10:18 helping the world feel to understand 10:20 that there are many people 10:22 in various areas and sectors of the population 10:25 that have not been touched. 10:27 Special needs ministries and Child Impact 10:30 is also extremely helpful to God's church, 10:33 because those who are physically impaired, 10:38 those who are visually impaired, 10:40 or perhaps hearing impaired, they are the individuals 10:44 that are being wonderfully serviced 10:47 through Child Impact in India, 10:50 in other places, six different countries 10:53 that Child Impact is active in. 10:56 You know, the Lord really wants us to attract, 11:00 and be friendly to, and help 11:03 those who are the least of these, 11:06 and they in turn will then become 11:08 great missionaries for the Lord within their sector 11:12 and people group. 11:13 Thanks to the generous support of Child Impact 11:16 and its sponsors, 11:17 blind children like Akhila not only have a place 11:20 where they can acquire life skills for the world outside, 11:23 but they have a place where they can prepare 11:25 their souls for the world to come. 11:32 A key mission school in Bangladesh, 11:35 where Child Impact has many sponsored children 11:38 has an urgent need for a multipurpose building. 11:41 The current building, which you can see here, 11:44 is over 20 years old and was poorly constructed. 11:48 It is extremely dangerous. 11:51 I'm Jim Rennie, 11:53 CEO of Child Impact International. 11:56 And recently I visited the school 11:58 and I was able to confirm with an engineer 12:01 that traveled with me, 12:03 the critical state of the building. 12:05 The school Kellogg-Mookerjee Memorial Seminary 12:09 has over 450 students, including, as I said, 12:14 many sponsored by Child Impact. 12:16 The school is a key mission outreach 12:19 and serves a very poor community. 12:22 Simply put, this building is dangerous. 12:25 We need to build a new three storied building. 12:28 And in this building, 12:29 it will house over eight classrooms, 12:33 a science laboratory, a school library, 12:36 school administration offices, 12:38 but more important a new English medium school 12:42 right at the front adjoining the road 12:45 where we have multi level English training school. 12:48 This will attract fee paying day students 12:52 and will drive urgently needed revenue for the school. 12:57 The total cost including the fed out, 12:59 library, science lab, and English training school 13:03 is about $520,000. 13:06 And to date, Child Impact has reached $350,000. 13:11 Right now we're asking you to help us, 13:14 any amount would be great. 13:16 But the exciting thing is that we have a generous donor 13:20 who will match $1 for $1. 13:22 So each $1 you give will be turned into $2. 13:26 If you give $1,000 he will match it with $1,000. 13:31 It includes large or small donations. 13:34 We are able to double your giving. 13:36 This is a very special school that serves a poor community 13:40 and has over 50 orphans. 13:43 The need for the classrooms, library, 13:45 science lab is critical to the children graduating. 13:50 The English training school 13:52 will be critical revenue for the school. 13:54 Realistically the current building is dangerous 13:57 and must be replaced. 13:59 Please help us with a special Bangladesh 14:03 Building Appeal. 14:04 You can go to our website 14:06 and donate to the Bangladesh Building Appeal 14:09 or you can ring our office. 14:11 Thank you. |
Revised 2019-05-06