Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000217A
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00:07 Child Impact International 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 00:25 and those who are in need. 00:27 Serving communities in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, 00:30 Sri Lanka, Myanmar, 00:32 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. 00:42 Driven by the dedication to helping those 00:44 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 for orphans, deaf, 01:00 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 communities, 01:12 giving hope to the ones who needed the most. 01:14 This is Hope in Motion. 01:19 Our television series 01:21 Hope in Motion has been a big success 01:24 and we want to continue to share with you 01:27 some of the field stories 01:28 that we have filmed over the years. 01:31 So just from time to time, 01:33 it may refer to Asian Aid 01:35 as we reflect on these great stories 01:38 as we share them with you. 01:48 The beautiful landscapes, 01:50 its people, the colors and customs, 01:52 that's India in a nutshell. 02:04 Child Impact International 02:06 has been working in this vast land 02:08 since its very beginning, which is over 50 years ago now. 02:11 Primarily focused on child sponsorship, 02:14 Child Impact also has been instrumental 02:16 in building many children's homes and schools 02:19 to complement its sponsorship program. 02:22 The Immanuel English School in Jeypore 02:24 in the state of Orissa is one such school 02:26 that has undergone a transformation. 02:29 We just feel surprised 02:32 how the things have changed. 02:35 Everything was just like the hill 02:39 that you see behind, 02:40 full of bushes and unwanted plants. 02:44 So nobody from town ever thought that 02:48 there can be something here, 02:50 but God has blessed this place 02:52 and we can see a great change. 02:57 Starting with around 50 children and few staff, 03:00 all under just one building, 03:01 the school has now developed into an expansive campus. 03:06 The larger facility made it possible 03:08 to bring in more children from the tribal communities 03:10 as well as nearby villages. 03:12 As the news of the new facility spread, 03:15 many more children from Adventist 03:17 and non-Adventist families 03:18 desire to be educated at the new school. 03:25 Many in rural India struggle to earn two dollars a day, 03:29 their only way of earning a living 03:31 is grazing their livestock or working in the fields. 03:34 Here poverty passes on from generation to generation 03:38 and education is not an option. 03:40 I mean some parts of India really seem to be growing 03:43 and really, you know, 03:44 India seems to be really coming up as they say. 03:47 But when you go to the villages and the slums, 03:50 they have not improved in all the years that, 03:52 you know, that I've been coming to India 03:54 which is now more than 30 years. 03:56 You know, when you go to the villages 03:58 and you see, enter some of the slums 04:00 and you see how bad, 04:01 you know, the conditions are that the people 04:03 and the children are living under 04:05 because there's often 04:06 it's not that they don't want to work 04:08 but there's just not enough work available. 04:11 Although a majority of them 04:13 cannot afford to send their children to school, 04:15 they do view education as a catalyst for change. 04:19 Sixty to seventy percent 04:21 we are dependent on the sponsorship 04:25 because majority of this children are poor 04:29 and they don't have any support. 04:34 Without the support of any sponsorship, 04:37 those children would not be here. 04:40 Today, about 2,600 children in India 04:43 are sponsored by Child Impact 04:45 and because of their commitment to the welfare of children, 04:48 especially children from tribal communities 04:50 and villages. 04:52 These children are reaping the benefits 04:53 of an Adventist education. 05:21 Devoki Moharia, a science teacher 05:24 at the Emmanuel English School was a former student here. 05:28 I finished my BSc degree in college 05:31 and I'm very much interested in science 05:34 because I was good at science. 05:37 In this school I teach mostly 8th, 9th, 10th. 05:40 I teach them chemistry and biology. 05:44 Devoki was one among the first batch of children 05:47 to be brought to the school from neighboring villages 05:49 when Helen Eager and some of the staff 05:52 from the school visited these villages. 05:54 I sent messages to the church pastors 05:58 if there are any children from poverty level 06:02 and wherever there are no schools. 06:05 So many names came from different churches. 06:10 Then first I went to some orphan children, 06:14 then I came to know that there are two girls, 06:17 very small girls nearby Kotpat town. 06:21 So I went there and I met 06:24 with her father of Devoki. 06:28 Then her father was not willing to send the girl here 06:33 because there was no boundary around 06:36 and there was only one building built by Asian Aid. 06:40 Then when I went, 06:41 she was the smallest among the two. 06:44 Then she started crying not to take photo. 06:48 I carried her, I gave her a chocolate. 06:52 Then I made her to stand, 06:54 then I took a photograph for Mummy Eager, 06:57 and that's how I found her. 07:00 I was very happy thinking that I'm going to go to a school, 07:03 a hostel, English medium. 07:05 No one knows in my school what it means, 07:07 they don't know how to talk in English and all. 07:09 So I was very happy that I will be the person 07:11 to learn English and all. 07:13 So when I came here, first two, three days, 07:15 I was nervous, means, 07:17 I used to remember parents, all this thing. 07:18 And only one single building was there and no boundary. 07:22 It was like jungle. 07:24 And jungle means I really get very, very scared of that. 07:27 And no boundary, no, nothing, only one building was there. 07:30 Boys, girls, staff, everyone in same building. 07:34 Doing all the activities, eating, sleeping, studying, 07:36 everything in the same building. 07:39 From right at the beginning 07:40 when the school was just one classroom, 07:42 then with the vision of Helen Eager, 07:44 and supporters like Garwin McNeilus, 07:47 this school sprouted into an institution 07:50 that now has, I think about 700 children. 07:53 And of those 600 are sponsored. 07:55 And now we see the success stories coming through. 07:58 Devoki, who was right at the school when it started, 08:02 she did her education at the school, 08:04 then she went away to university, 08:06 and now she's come back as a science teacher. 08:09 It's just so fantastic to see the difference 08:12 that has made with her, 08:14 but also with the children that are here. 08:17 If it weren't for the timely intervention 08:19 of Child Impact International 08:21 and people like Helen Eager, 08:23 Devoki Moharia's life would have seen misfortunes 08:26 of so many young girls like her in her village. 08:44 Life in rural India is simple. 08:46 People live in close quarters and as one unit. 08:54 During the day, they either go to the fields 08:56 or graze what little livestock they have. 08:59 And there is a clear order of social precedence 09:01 based on gender 09:03 and women have little or no say in its structure, 09:06 often leading to unjust practices 09:08 and misery. 09:09 In villages parents are uneducated 09:11 and they don't send their children 09:15 when they are small to the school. 09:17 So that is the reason I never went to school. 09:20 In villages that is a rule that when a girl is grown up, 09:24 she should be given in marriage to someone. 09:28 So in my case also it would have been like that 09:30 if I had not have been come to the school and study. 09:32 By this time I would have got married, 09:34 having children and all those things. 09:38 Child marriage is a common practice in South Asia 09:41 and it is more prevalent in India. 09:43 According to United Nations Children's Agency, 09:46 UNICEF, 18% of the girls are married by the age of 15. 09:52 Although Indian law has made child marriage illegal 09:55 and the practice is in decline in recent years, 09:58 customs and traditions dictate life in rural India. 10:01 It is like so in Devoki's village, Basuli. 10:05 At present I don't have any of my friends to my age. 10:08 Only I am the girl in my village. 10:10 All are younger to me. 10:12 All have got married. 10:14 By now she would have got married... 10:16 If she would not have studied here, 10:18 by now she would have got married. 10:20 So by now she would have been lost in that way. 10:23 But now she is in God's hand. 10:26 She is doing wonderful. 10:29 Although Devoki grew up in a boarding school at Jeypore 10:33 and went to college in bigger cities, 10:35 she has not forgotten her roots and is always happy 10:37 to visit her family and her village. 10:41 Yeah, I feel really happy 10:42 because I'm born and brought up in this village. 10:45 And even though I stay in town or something now 10:48 but I still have love for my village, 10:51 for my family members. 10:52 I feel very happy when I come back to my home and see them. 10:59 Devoki is the only girl 11:00 to have successfully received a college education 11:03 from her village, 11:04 and in a community where women have little or no say, 11:07 she is treated with utmost respect. 11:12 We feel very proud. 11:13 Whenever someone comes to visit us, 11:15 we always tell them about our daughter. 11:17 When she comes here, we are very happy and proud. 11:23 The realization that there are many more children out there 11:26 who yearn for a good education can be discouraging. 11:29 But it is reassuring to know that with sponsorship 11:32 we can go about making a difference 11:34 one day at a time. 11:35 When we are at home sometimes 11:38 we are not getting three meals to eat. 11:40 No good place to sleep. 11:42 So when schools are that like this school, 11:45 they're providing meals, education, everything. 11:48 Sponsors... 11:49 they are struggling hard to educate some other's lives. 11:52 That is something very great to understand. 11:55 Since sponsorship was there I studied. 11:59 So I'm so much grateful to my sponsor. 12:02 And to me it's really wonderful just to see the changes, 12:06 you know, when you see a child come looking dirty, 12:10 and unhappy, 12:11 and know that nobody cares about them, 12:14 and then after a very short time 12:16 to see the transformation, 12:17 and then after a few years to see them really doing well, 12:21 I think that's what makes it worthwhile. 12:26 Devoki although having better offers to teach outside 12:29 in bigger cities has come back to teach in the place 12:31 that gave her a new chance in life. 12:36 Actually, my education, 12:39 my foundation started from here. 12:41 So I thought first let me serve to my place, 12:45 the place where I belong to, 12:46 where I have got my foundation. 12:48 Whatever talent I have let me show to those people 12:51 so that those students also will learn about that. 12:55 I feel proud because 12:58 whatever I did for her, 13:00 I have got the fruit. 13:15 Today Child Impact International 13:17 continues to fulfill its commitment 13:19 to the welfare of children who are in need 13:21 and to provide them with an education 13:23 through sponsorship, 13:24 giving them hope and a chance for a better life. 13:29 So they're building lives. 13:32 Students and children they are in darkness. 13:35 They are receiving the light in their lives. 13:39 If they are at home the lights are been off 13:41 or gone away but once they come here 13:43 their light of their lives is being on. 13:47 I think that... 13:49 I feel since I was in this school, 13:51 I'm blessed to be in this position today. |
Revised 2019-08-01