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, Sri Lanka,
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Myanmar, 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, deaf,
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and the blind children,
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giving them a
sense of place, a home.
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But above all, Child Impact
is an organization giving hope,
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giving hope to children,
giving hope to community,
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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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Situated amidst the lush
green paddy fields of Bobbili,
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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 Asian
Aid School for the Blind.
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In a world where
blindness is considered a curse
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and blind
children are abandoned,
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this campus is a refuge
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for children
seeking care and comfort.
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The Asian Aid
School for the Blind
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was established here mainly
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by the efforts of
Asian Aid co-founder
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Helen Eager.
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The Asian Aid
School for the Blind
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is very important to me
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because actually I did
find that we were supporting
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a few blind
children up in Jharkhand
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and they were being
supported by someone in the US
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and I thought, oh,
this is so wonderful,
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I'm so glad our church is
doing something for the blind.
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And then I went
home to Australia
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and then I got a
letter just few weeks later
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saying this person in
US is no longer supporting
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these children so
we sent them all home.
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So that was basically the
start of our blind program.
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I said, well,
bring them all back
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and we supported
them there in Jharkhand,
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and then we
started the blind school
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actually in Andhra Pradesh.
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Started with just a few children
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at its new location in Bobbili,
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the number of
children at the school
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steadily
increased each passing year.
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There are various circumstances
that have contributed
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to these children
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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The main reason
children are born blind
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in these parts of Andhra Pradesh
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is due to socioeconomic practice
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that is prevalent
in these cultures.
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We have found
that with the children
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that we support
in the blind school
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that nearly all of them,
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the parents are blood relatives.
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Now, the reason they do
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this is
basically poverty as well.
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Because if there is, you know,
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a small piece of land
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they don't want
that piece of land
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to leave the
family kind of thing.
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And so they will often...
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It's often uncles
marrying their nieces.
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And, of course,
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if your daughter
marries a relative,
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then you don't
have to pay a dowry.
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While rural traditions
and socioeconomic difficulties
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dictate life in rural India,
their children pay the price.
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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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But for all its
traditions and practices,
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the fact remains that all
parents love their children
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and want the best for them.
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It's very difficult
for you as a caring parent
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to find a way of giving
your child a better life.
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So not only are we making
a difference for the child,
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we are actually
giving the parents some hope,
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they all care for their child.
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And they overcome with
guilt and community pressure
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because their child is blind.
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So it helps
overcome all these issues
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in giving the child a chance,
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but giving the
parents hope that they simply
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have no other way of getting.
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Jagan is a ninth
grade student at the school.
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He comes from a small village,
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about an hour's
drive from the school.
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Jagan's parents are
dhobis, a washermen community.
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In a class divided world,
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they are at the bottom
of the social structure
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and are pushed to
the edge of the village.
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When my first son
was born, I was happy.
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My second son was
born, and I was very happy.
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But when my
third child was born,
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my wife and I
became very depressed.
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As if living at
the edge of the village
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wasn't bad enough,
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their hardship was compounded
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when their third
child Jagan was born blind.
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I am a dhobi, I go to
the pond in the morning
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and come back in the evening.
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He was left alone at home.
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When he goes into the street,
other children made fun of him.
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This is how he
spent his childhood here.
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He is blind, God made
him that way, what can we do?
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In rural villages
where being handicapped
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is considered a curse,
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blind children face
an uncertain future.
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This is where Asian Aid
School for the Blind in Bobbili
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serves as a refuge
for children born blind.
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These children
have very special needs.
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Their needs are even
greater than people who have,
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who do not have sight
in the western system,
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in a first world country.
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Because they are ostracized,
their families are ostracized.
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So creating this environment,
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their focus is on them
gives them an education
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and gives them an opportunity
to live a normal life.
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It's so transformational,
not just now for the child
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but the parents,
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because now they
don't have the same stigma.
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Their children can get on
and live a productive life
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and contribute to
society, a huge difference.
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This environment that
gave them an opportunity
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to live a normal life
is indeed transformational.
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With the help of a
local school teacher,
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Jagan was brought to the
school for the blind in Bobbili
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far away from the
struggles of his parents
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and his community.
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I'm so happy he is
studying there at the school.
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When he gets a good education,
he will get a good job.
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I'm really happy about that.
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Now, he can become
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whatever he
wishes to be in life.
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The appreciation
from these parents
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sometimes is just overpowering
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because they are so proud
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that their child
can go to the school
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and they are so proud that
when their child comes home,
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they can see a
dramatic difference.
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Okay, read that first adding.
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First adding, sir.
Twenty four thousand.
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Child Impact International
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sponsors the
majority of children living
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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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I really thank the
Asian Aid sponsors,
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the owners.
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If it may not,
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if the sponsorship is not there,
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my life would not be there.
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Today is a special day
for the staff and students
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of Asian Aid
School for the Blind
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in Bobbili, India.
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Standing on both
sides of the entrance,
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the students and staff welcome
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the arrival of a
special guest Garwin McNeilus.
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Garwin is an
Adventist businessman
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from Minnesota who has sponsored
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hundreds of children in India.
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He and his family has supported
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and built a number of
urgently need buildings
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for Adventist schools,
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including the school
for the blind in Bobbili.
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The needs of the blind school
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were first brought
to me by Helen Eager.
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And Helen showed a
video of where they were,
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the conditions they
were and how they had to take
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their sleeping mattresses out,
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lay them outside,
sometimes it's raining,
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put the desk in
have their class,
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and it made an impression
that just wouldn't go away
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on my heart.
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Moved by the plight
of the blind children
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in an old crowed
building in town,
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Garwin drew out a plan to
move them to a bigger campus
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just outside Bobbili town.
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He also designed the buildings.
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This is beautifully
designed for the blind children
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who cannot see.
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And once they get
inside they take a single walk.
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They can easily understand
which side is a boy's hostel,
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which side is the girl's hostel,
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there is nothing to be confused.
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The children now
have a beautiful campus
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where they can
feel safe and secure,
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their own home away from home.
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The Asian Aid
School for the Blind
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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
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them for the world outside.
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And remember when they
finish year 12 for example,
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I'm talking about the
sight impaired children,
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they can go into university
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and by giving them
these opportunities,
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they can get
jobs that are already
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there that
government has set aside
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for people with
these sort of disabilities.
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So we are channeling
them, giving them the skills,
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giving them the qualifications,
preparing them for employment
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but also we are
giving them life skills.
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These children may not
have the ability to see,
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but this
disability does not deprive
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them 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
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to them not as
disabled but differently abled.
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And the Asian Aid
School for the Blind
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provides them an ideal place
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for these differently able
children to acquire skills.
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Without individual sponsorship
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these children
would not be here.
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Today, because of Child
Impact sponsorship program
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and individual
supporting its program,
00:11:10.80\00:11:13.03
hundreds of differently
able students like Jagan
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can receive an education,
00:11:15.64\00:11:17.27
an education that will help
them to lead a dignified life.
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Whether one is able to
contribute in a small way
00:11:21.31\00:11:23.88
or in a big way, sponsorship
endows these children's future.
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Whether the Lord has
blessed in different ways,
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we are
accountable for what we have.
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We all know the Bible
parable of the widow's mite,
00:11:36.79\00:11:40.76
how she gave what she could.
00:11:40.80\00:11:42.96
Some can do a child,
some can do half a child,
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some can do many child,
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but the combination of
what the Lord has blessed
00:11:49.37\00:11:52.37
you with is essential
00:11:52.41\00:11:54.54
for the welfare of the children
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and it will make a
difference in eternity.
00:11:57.51\00:12:01.52
Thanks to the untiring
efforts of Helen Eager,
00:12:05.69\00:12:08.19
organizations like
Child Impact International
00:12:08.22\00:12:10.89
and individual
sponsors like Garwin McNeilus,
00:12:10.93\00:12:13.63
children at the blind
school not only have a place
00:12:13.66\00:12:16.10
where they can
acquire life skills
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for the world outside,
00:12:17.67\00:12:19.00
but they have a place where
they can prepare their souls
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for the world to come.
00:12:21.70\00:12:23.04
I think of the blind school
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if not daily
sometimes several times a day.
00:12:26.41\00:12:29.18
And I think of the story
00:12:29.21\00:12:32.45
when we were taking the children
00:12:32.48\00:12:35.18
to get their eye
operation and Dorothy Watts,
00:12:35.22\00:12:41.72
a long time friend of India
00:12:41.76\00:12:45.53
who is not with us anymore
00:12:45.56\00:12:48.00
and I were sitting on the bench.
00:12:48.03\00:12:51.33
Had a little girl,
00:12:51.37\00:12:53.97
and the little
girl Dorothy says,
00:12:54.00\00:12:56.60
what do you want to do
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if your operation is successful?
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What is the first
thing that you want to see?
00:13:00.34\00:13:03.81
And she said,
"Well, I've held a kitty,
00:13:03.85\00:13:09.45
I petted a cow, she
says, I want to see Jesus."
00:13:09.48\00:13:14.39
And Dorothy said, "Well,
00:13:14.42\00:13:17.16
we can see but
we can't see Him."
00:13:17.19\00:13:20.93
And she says, "Well,
then show me a picture."
00:13:20.96\00:13:26.27
And Dorothy said,
00:13:26.30\00:13:27.64
"Well, your operation
may not be successful."
00:13:27.67\00:13:31.74
And she said, she thought,
00:13:31.77\00:13:34.11
she had a look on
her face she says,
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"That's okay, I'll
see Him in heaven."
00:13:36.18\00:13:38.05
Wow.
00:13:38.08\00:13:39.41
Here this little girl,
00:13:39.45\00:13:41.05
the first thing she want to
see if she could see is Jesus.
00:13:41.08\00:13:45.45
And I think when we
wake up in the morning,
00:13:45.49\00:13:48.32
is that our thought?
00:13:48.36\00:13:50.13
The first thing we
want to see is Jesus,
00:13:50.16\00:13:52.39
it has such an effect.
00:13:52.43\00:13:54.76
Jim, I think about it daily.
00:13:54.80\00:13:57.80
The faith of a blind
child cannot be explained,
00:13:57.83\00:14:03.20
you need to come and feel it.
00:14:03.24\00:14:05.14