Child Impact International
is an organization giving hope,
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previously called Asian Aid.
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Child Impact
International is an organization
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fostering
permanent positive change
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in the lives of
disadvantaged children
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and their communities.
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Child Impact is
committed to making a difference
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in the lives of children
and those who are in need.
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Serving communities in
India, Nepal, Bangladesh,
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Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
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and will soon
expand to other countries.
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For the last 50 years,
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Child Impact has invested
in the futures of people
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and their investment
has proven infinite returns.
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Driven by the dedication
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to helping those
who have the least,
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Child Impact is an organization
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focused on the
welfare of children,
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implementing
diverse development projects
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and sponsoring
thousands of children.
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Their outreach spans
from child rescue operations
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to providing an
education for orphans,
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deaf, and the blind children,
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giving them a
sense of place, a home.
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But above all,
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Child Impact is an
organization giving hope,
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giving hope to children,
giving hope to communities,
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giving hope to the
ones who needed the most.
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This is Hope In Motion.
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Our television series
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Hope In Motion
has been a big success
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and we want to continue
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to share with you
some of the field stories
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that we have
filmed over the years.
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So just from time to
time, it may refer to Asian Aid
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as we reflect on
these great stories
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as we share them with you.
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Welcome to Myanmar.
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I am standing on the bank
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of the Delta
region of this country
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and as we look
out onto the river,
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this plays an integral
part in the lives and economy
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of the people in this country,
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through fishing as
well as transportation.
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Ninety percent of the
people in this country
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practice Buddhism.
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In fact, Myanmar
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is one of the most
religious Buddhist countries
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in the world.
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When looking at the proportion
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amongst the people, population
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as well as the amount of income
that they spend on religion.
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This presents a great
challenge to the mission
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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here in Myanmar.
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But this is
beginning to change slowly.
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Adventist education
plays a central role
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in the spreading of
the gospel in Myanmar.
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But challenge is
that a decent education
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is expensive,
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most people can't afford it.
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But this is where
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an organizational like Asian Aid
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has such a great deal of impact.
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They are concerned and committed
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to the welfare of
children in need here.
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Join me on a journey
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as we see what
Asian Aid is doing
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to strengthen and
further the mission
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of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Myanmar.
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Myanmar or Burma
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as it used to be
called is in Southeast Asia.
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It borders China,
India, Bangladesh,
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Laos and Thailand.
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It has naturally absorbed
some of the cultural influences
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of these neighbors.
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For years, colonial
rule was seen here but then,
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rampant ethnic strife
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caused a
military backed government
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to take power.
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But more recently,
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civilian rule has
come to be established
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and the country
has opened up its doors
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to the outside world.
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There is peace and freedom.
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This is good
news for the mission
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of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Myanmar
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and these supporting
ministries like Asian Aid.
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Myanmar is
predominately a Buddhist country
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where over 85% of the population
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practices Buddhism.
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Public evangelism is banned,
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but the Adventist message
is slowly trickling through.
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The main reason for
that is our school system.
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Our Adventist schools
are a wonderful place for us
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to introduce
Jesus to the children
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at a very early age,
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but being a poor country,
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many children
struggle to attend school
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and get a good education.
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This is where Asian
Aid has its biggest impact.
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Last year at the GC
session in San Antonio,
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I was privileged to
do a benefit concert
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for Asian Aid
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so that more
children could be sponsored.
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When I heard about the work
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that is also being
done here in Myanmar,
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I was naturally curious
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and I wanted to come
here and see for myself.
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I wanted to see
exactly what Asian Aid is doing
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to bring hope,
salvation, and a future
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to children in need in Myanmar.
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I was first taken to
Myanmar Union Adventist seminary
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or MUAS,
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as it is commonly known here.
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Now, MUAS is the only Adventist
institution of higher learning
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in Myanmar,
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and it plays a
very important role
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in developing young minds
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to be future
torchbearers for the church.
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We have only one
Adventist College in Myanmar,
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and it is very important
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because all youths of
Adventist Church in Myanmar,
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they come here to study.
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It helped them
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to get the
education for their life,
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and also their
spiritual education
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to prepare for
testimony to others
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about the love of God.
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Right now we
have over 600 students
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this semester.
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And most of our students
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come from
financially poor background.
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And our members
scatter all over Myanmar
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from different
regions and states.
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So in my union mission,
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the church have
a good anticipation
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on these young people.
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They are the
future of the church.
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And they have
solid Adventist education
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in this institution only.
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The seminary is
a beautiful campus.
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As I was given a quick tour,
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I heard music
coming from the auditorium.
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Intrigued by the sound
of violin filling the air,
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I went to the auditorium
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to find beautiful
young ladies practicing.
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Using and
developing your talents
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for God's honor and glory.
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All right.
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Fantastic.
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I have been here at the seminary
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for just a few hours,
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but one of the things
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that has brought me the most joy
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was to hear them practicing.
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We were walking
around the campus,
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but we could hear this
wonderful beautiful music.
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You know, these young people
come from different places
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and different backgrounds.
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But something has
brought them together,
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music and Jesus Christ.
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You see, some of these songs
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that praise the Lord
are the first exposure
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that they have to Jesus,
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but this is a way
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in which they are coming
to learn about Jesus Christ.
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Asian Aid is making it possible
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for these young
people and many others
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to be able to dedicate
their talents and their lives
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to share the love
of Jesus with others.
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Young people using their talents
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for the glory of God
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and witnessing it
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on one of the
frontier mission fields
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of the church
is a true blessing.
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In fact, the
spirituality that emits
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from the
students and staff alike
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is very encouraging to me
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and many other visitors
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who have visited this
campus over the years.
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It reinforced my belief in
the Adventist school system
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and the role
education plays in witnessing
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for our Lord and Savior.
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I believe that in
the country of Myanmar,
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probably more so than
in many other countries
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in the world,
education is vital.
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And I believe so,
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because education
seems to be the platform
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in which many
non-Adventists or Christians
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get to know about Jesus Christ.
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And so from my
particular perspective,
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education is
vital in this country.
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It is important
that we subsidize it,
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it is important that we,
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that we really
create the environment
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in which children
have an opportunity
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to learn about Christ.
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But a good
education is not easy to get,
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particularly in rural areas.
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Especially in a
poor country like Myanmar
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where obtaining a
good Adventist education
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is not within reach
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of a majority of
Adventist families.
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As you know, Asian Aid operates
in six countries in Asia,
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and recently into Myanmar.
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Now traditionally,
Asian Aid takes the child
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based on need
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and places them in
an Adventist school.
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Poverty is a vicious cycle.
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And in Myanmar,
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there is a lot of poverty.
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And the great
thing about education
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is that it helps
break that cycle,
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that cycle that has an impact
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not just on the
child but on the family.
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And this is why sponsorship
in a country like Myanmar
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is very, very significant
for the total population,
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not just on the
child but on the family
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and on the
village they come from.
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I truly believe
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that our Adventist
schools and seminaries
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not only serve as an
educational institution,
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but also as a beacon of light
to the community it serves.
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Talking about community,
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I was anxious to visit
some of the neighboring villages
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and see for myself,
some of the circumstances
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that these students come from.
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I am in a small poor village,
deep in the heart of Myanmar.
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You wouldn't know it,
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but our school is
actually not too far away.
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In our western comfortable
cultures and countries,
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we've probably
heard about poverty,
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we've read about
it, we've seen pictures
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but unless you are here,
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it's hard to fully grasp
and understand what it's like.
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The children you see
behind me live in this village.
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Their parents go out and work
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under backbreaking
conditions all day.
00:13:06.28\00:13:09.52
That means that
these children stay here,
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they don't have the
chance to go to school,
00:13:12.12\00:13:14.62
and when they grow up
the cycle is perpetuated.
00:13:14.66\00:13:18.36
They can only go to work
where their parents worked
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and this continues.
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But Asian Aid is
making it possible
00:13:23.03\00:13:25.30
for these young people
00:13:25.33\00:13:26.74
to be able to go
to a Christian school,
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get an education, love Jesus
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and then serve others and God.
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I just got a letter
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from our
sponsored daughter Sheila.
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I've got to tell you,
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there is nothing like
getting one of these letters.
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Our family has
been able to sponsor her
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through Child
Impact International.
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Because of that,
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she's got a great place to live.
00:13:47.86\00:13:49.19
She's got good food.
00:13:49.22\00:13:50.56
She's got great clothing.
00:13:50.59\00:13:52.19
Best of all,
00:13:52.23\00:13:53.56
I now found out
she's in college.
00:13:53.60\00:13:55.40
She's in nursing school.
00:13:55.43\00:13:57.20
There's nothing like
getting a letter like this.
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You need to start
getting these letters too.
00:14:00.40\00:14:02.47
Listen, through Child Impact,
00:14:02.50\00:14:04.11
you can make a huge difference
in the life of a child,
00:14:04.14\00:14:07.48
and I promise you,
00:14:07.51\00:14:08.88
it's going to
make a huge difference
00:14:08.91\00:14:10.45
in your life too.
00:14:10.48\00:14:11.81