Child Impact International
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is an
organization that gives hope
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and fosters
permanent, positive change
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in the lives of
disadvantaged children
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and their communities.
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Countries include Zambia,
India, Nepal, Bangladesh,
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Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
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Child Impact's investment
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in the lives of
more than 3,500 children
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continues to
yield infinite returns.
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Outreach spans from
child rescue operations
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to providing an
education and a home
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for deaf and blind
children and orphans.
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Above all,
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Child Impact's sponsors
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give hope to the
ones who need it the most.
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Situated amidst
lush green paddy fields
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of Bobbili in
Andhra Pradesh, India
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is an institution that is home
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to some of the most
disadvantaged children
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in the society.
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This is the school for the blind
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run by Child
Impact International.
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In a world
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where blindness
is considered a curse
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and blind
children are abandoned,
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this campus is a
refuge for children
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seeking care and comfort.
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There are various circumstances
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that have
contributed to these children
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losing their sight.
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Some of them are
victims of accidents,
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some due to vitamin deficiency
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factored by lack
of nutritious food,
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but most of
them were born blind.
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Okay.
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Fine.
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Okay, very...
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Okay, very good.
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Akhila Macha
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is a seventh-grade
student at the school.
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She comes from a
small tribal community
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not far from the
school in Bobbili.
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Akhila is the
second-girl child in the family
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and was born blind.
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When Akhila was born blind,
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her father wouldn't accept her
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and wanted to abandon and
leave her at the hospital.
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In a patriarchal society
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where a girl child is
often considered a burden,
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Akhila's father did not
want another girl child,
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that too, a girl child
with visual impairment.
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You know, there are
people who are poor,
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who are really
struggling to bring her up
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to look after their
family and bring up their kids.
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And then what happens if
you're a girl in the family,
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where do you sit
in the hierarchy?
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How are you accepted in society?
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Boys given
education above the girls.
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So straightaway,
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the girls really have
an extra challenge here.
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And imagine if that
girl has a disability,
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where does that person sit?
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So the need to provide
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special support
for all children,
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but especially for girls
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who have disabilities
is an amazing opportunity
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to help them
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because there is very
little that can be done.
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And if they are in
their family environment,
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they can't really contribute,
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they can't work and
contribute to their families
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so they are a real
burden to their family.
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So we can
transform not just the child,
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but the family as well
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by creating a whole
new world for this child
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and for the family.
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Cultural issues
are hard to understand.
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It may even seem
bizarre and cruel at times.
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It's difficult to
change people's perceptions
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that are rooted deep.
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While rural traditions
and socioeconomic difficulties
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dictate life in rural India,
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their children pay the price.
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In rural villages
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where being handicapped
is considered a curse.
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Blind children face
an uncertain future.
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For blind children like Akhila,
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the school for
the blind in Bobbili
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is a place of refuge.
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Every year we go for campaign
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to find visually
impaired children.
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That's how we found
Akhila in our village,
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and we saw her,
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and she was so
in a pity condition.
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And we talked to their parents.
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Mother was not convinced
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to send her to
hostel or to a school
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because she was
afraid something would happen
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or something we
would do for the child.
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So she was not
convinced for one year.
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Again, we went next year.
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And she sent some people
to check how the school is
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and what are the
activities going on.
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And then later on,
she was fully convinced,
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and she felt happy
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that this is the place
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where Akhila
should go and study.
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So that's how we picked her
up from there to our school.
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For all its
traditions and practices,
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the fact remains
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that all parents
love their children
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and want the best for them.
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So someone like Akhila,
who comes from a tribal area,
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the change for Akhila
and her parents is huge.
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Akhila would not have
had any chance of education
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without the blind
school that she goes to.
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Her parents were very
cautious in letting her go.
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But when they know
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that she's getting an education,
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they move from
cautious and scared,
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not knowing what to
do with a blind child
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to having hope to being proud.
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And so Akhila is an example
of the change that is made
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by taking a
child from a community
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where there is no hope for them
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and giving them an
education and giving them hope.
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Child Impact
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sponsors the
majority of children
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living and
studying at the school.
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Without sponsorship,
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these children would
not have the opportunity
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for a new chance in life.
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The school for the blind
is not just an institution
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that provides food
and shelter for the blind,
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but it's an
institution that prepares them
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for the world outside.
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We're not preparing them
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only for a place to
live and eat and grow up.
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We're preparing them
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for the opportunity
to prepare for a career
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where they can be
self-sustaining adults
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throughout their life.
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It's not just a temporary
fix, and then we kick them out,
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or they had to
survive on your own.
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They then can leave the school
and go out and fill a need
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that will assist
them with provide them for
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where they become productive
in society on their own.
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The exciting thing in India
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is that the
government has made jobs
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available for these children.
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So we're equipping them
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for roles that
they can step into.
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We're giving them
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probably their only
chance of any training
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in this particular
very rural, very tribal,
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very poor community.
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So we're not only
giving them education,
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we're giving them a
critical steppingstone
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for the roles that
are available for them
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in the community.
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All things wise and wonderful
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The lord god made them all
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These children may not
have the ability to see
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but this disability
does not deprive them
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of the ability to learn.
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They are perfectly capable
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of acquiring skills
needed for employment.
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In fact, the Indian
government refers to them
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not as disabled
but differently-abled,
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and the school for the blind
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provides them an ideal place
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for these
differently-abled children
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to acquire skills.
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For Akhila's parents
who are daily laborers,
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knowing their blind
child is attending school
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is a satisfying feeling.
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If she didn't go to school,
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she would be at
home struggling everyday.
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We will be worried every
day because we have to go out
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and ear our living.
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Now that she is
studying at the school
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we are very happy.
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Without sponsorship,
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Akhila would not
be at the school.
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Today, because of Child
Impact sponsorship program
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and individuals
supporting its program,
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hundreds of
differently-abled students
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like Akhila can
receive an education,
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an education that will help them
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to lead a dignified life.
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If children like Akhila, if
they don't come to a school,
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they would have stayed at home,
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the condition become worst,
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and people
don't really love her,
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or they don't
take her in the family.
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So it is must
for us to go forward
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and find children
and sponsorship for them,
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especially, it's
very much main to them.
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Because people like Akhila,
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who are visually impaired
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needs to have
this kind of education
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in this part of Andhra Pradesh.
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Child is the center
of Child Impact's work,
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whether one is
able to contribute
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in a small way or in a big way,
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sponsorship endows
these children's future
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giving them the
life they deserve.
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Child Impacts work
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with these
special needs children
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also has a much bigger
impact in the community.
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As special schools
have a special impact,
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and the reality
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is many people at
all levels of society
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are becoming know our work
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through these
special homes and schools.
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So they're impacting the child,
the family, and the community
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with what Christianity
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and Seventh-day
Adventists are all about.
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Special Needs
Ministries is an area
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in which we are
very, very interested
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and very proactively working,
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helping the world
feel to understand
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that there are many people
in various areas and sectors
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of the population
that have not been touched.
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Special Needs
Ministries and Child Impact
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is also extremely
helpful to God's church
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because those who
are physically impaired,
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those who are visually impaired
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or perhaps hearing impaired,
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they are the individuals
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that are being
wonderfully serviced
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through Child Impact in India,
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in other places,
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six different countries
that Child Impact is active in.
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You know, the
Lord really wants us
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to attract and be
friendly to and help
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those who are
the least of these,
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and they in
turn will then become
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great missionaries for the Lord
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within their
sector and people group.
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Thanks to the generous support
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of Child Impact
and its sponsors,
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blind children like Akhila,
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not only have a place
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where they can
acquire life skills
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for the world outside,
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but they have a place
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where they can
prepare their souls
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for the world to come.
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A couple of years ago,
00:11:51.44\00:11:52.77
my daughters and I had
a wonderful opportunity
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to travel to India.
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And while we were there,
00:11:56.85\00:11:58.18
we met yet another
part of our family.
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And that's our sponsor daughter,
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Sheila.
00:12:01.78\00:12:03.12
We've had the
privilege of sponsoring Sheila
00:12:03.15\00:12:05.42
through Child
Impact International
00:12:05.45\00:12:07.76
for more than three years now.
00:12:07.79\00:12:09.96
And, you know,
while we were there,
00:12:09.99\00:12:11.83
she shared with us
00:12:11.86\00:12:13.19
that her dream
was to become a nurse.
00:12:13.23\00:12:16.30
Now what a wonderful
privilege it is for us
00:12:16.33\00:12:19.10
now as a family
00:12:19.13\00:12:20.94
to know that she is
fulfilling that dream.
00:12:20.97\00:12:24.17
Sheila is now
studying to be a nurse.
00:12:24.21\00:12:26.88
She's in college,
00:12:26.91\00:12:28.24
and we cannot
be happier for her.
00:12:28.28\00:12:30.65
It's been wonderful
00:12:30.68\00:12:32.01
to be part of
that journey with her.
00:12:32.05\00:12:34.12
And, you know,
sponsoring a child
00:12:34.15\00:12:35.88
through Child Impact,
00:12:35.92\00:12:37.42
it's made an
incredible difference
00:12:37.45\00:12:39.12
for our family.
00:12:39.15\00:12:40.56
And I know that for
you sponsoring a child
00:12:40.59\00:12:42.72
can make a
difference for you too.
00:12:42.76\00:12:44.73
And most importantly,
00:12:44.76\00:12:46.13
it can make the difference
00:12:46.16\00:12:47.50
in the life of
a child every day.
00:12:47.53\00:12:49.66
Sponsoring children
00:12:56.50\00:12:58.71
in activities like
these mission schools
00:12:58.74\00:13:02.81
and opportunities
00:13:02.84\00:13:04.21
is a tremendous way
00:13:04.25\00:13:06.31
to help form the
character of young people
00:13:06.35\00:13:10.19
as they look to the future.
00:13:10.22\00:13:11.69
They will never
forget their association
00:13:11.72\00:13:14.86
in a Christian environment.
00:13:14.89\00:13:16.73
And by God's grace,
00:13:16.76\00:13:18.09
many of them will become
00:13:18.13\00:13:19.76
members of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:13:19.79\00:13:22.46
It is absolutely
a powerful witness
00:13:22.50\00:13:25.87
to sponsor a
child in Child Impact
00:13:25.90\00:13:29.34
and so many other organizations
00:13:29.37\00:13:32.41
that help young
people to find Jesus.
00:13:32.44\00:13:36.91
Sponsoring a child
00:13:36.95\00:13:38.41
not only has short-term effects,
00:13:38.45\00:13:41.38
but it has a long-term effect.
00:13:41.42\00:13:44.35
Sponsoring a child
00:13:44.39\00:13:45.72
is investing in the character
of a young person for eternity,
00:13:45.75\00:13:50.33
that we're taping
this right here in Myanmar
00:13:50.36\00:13:53.83
at the Myanmar
Union Adventist Seminary,
00:13:53.86\00:13:57.27
and about
one-third of the students
00:13:57.30\00:13:59.90
or one-quarter of the students
00:13:59.93\00:14:02.00
are being
sponsored by Child Impact.
00:14:02.04\00:14:04.97
People who become
workers in God's church,
00:14:05.01\00:14:08.81
people who make an
impact in the community
00:14:08.84\00:14:11.88
have been people
who have been sponsored.
00:14:11.91\00:14:14.82
Your sponsorship is
absolutely an investment
00:14:14.85\00:14:18.92
in the future of the church.
00:14:18.95\00:14:20.56