Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000221A
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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 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, 00:28 Nepal, Bangladesh, 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 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 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, giving hope to communities, 01:11 giving hope to the ones who needed the most. 01:14 This is Hope in Motion. 01:32 Bobbili, a small town 01:34 near the coastal city of Vizag in India 01:37 has nothing to offer to a visitor. 01:39 Its streets often bustling and chaotic 01:41 are typical of rural towns in India. 01:47 Poverty is widespread 01:49 and people struggle to meet ends, 01:51 doing menial jobs 01:52 and often attending to paddy fields 01:54 owned by landlords. 01:56 Visits to villages around here 01:58 only amplify one's perception of abstract poverty 02:01 people live in on a daily basis. 02:04 But it is in this despairing and gloomy environment, 02:07 we often get to see and experience 02:09 hopefulness and optimism. 02:13 Over the last 15 years, Child Impact International 02:16 has undertaken numerous developmental work 02:19 in and around the Bobbili area. 02:20 It has supported schools through its sponsorship program 02:23 and built a school for the blind. 02:27 One of its recent projects is the construction 02:29 of a brand new orphanage in Karada village, 02:32 the Sunrise Children Home. 02:42 From its humble beginning in a cramped building in town, 02:45 the orphanage has shifted to a spacious campus 02:48 in the countryside, 02:49 situated about 10 miles from Bobbili, 02:52 the new campus gives the children 02:53 an ideal place to live, learn, and play. 03:00 How many of you like this room? 03:04 Okay. 03:05 So you want to sleep here? Yes! 03:21 You know, it's taken time to build the new orphanage 03:24 and the children have been brought along the journey. 03:27 So they were given an idea 03:28 that you're going to have a better home. 03:31 It's like asking, you're going to go to heaven 03:32 and we've got a better home. 03:34 So they had this idea of having a better home, 03:37 and they've been asking questions 03:39 as this whole thing was in progress, 03:41 and now they have it and they are just so excited. 03:44 It is such a wonderful place 03:46 to go from such a cramped environment 03:49 to such an expansive free environment. 04:03 The children still attend 04:04 the Seventh-day Adventist school in town. 04:07 But Sunrise Home has its own bus 04:09 that takes them to school every day. 04:11 And the bus ride is something 04:12 that children look forward to every morning. 04:20 August 2nd, 2014 was a special day 04:23 for Child Impact International and everyone at Sunrise Home, 04:27 a new boys' dorm was inaugurated 04:28 by renowned Adventist violinist, Jaime Jorge. 04:32 It was very emotional for me to be here 04:35 at the opening of the boys' dormitory. 04:38 It was just so great that Jaime Jorge could be here 04:41 to do the dedication 04:43 and arguably we could say it's the end of the project, 04:46 but it's not. 04:48 Yes, the donors have build a great facility, 04:51 but the ongoing need for orphans in this home, 04:55 the ongoing operating needs, 04:57 the ongoing needs to sponsorship simply means 05:01 it's not over. 05:06 Although there is ongoing need for sponsorship 05:08 and other needs at Sunrise Home, 05:10 it is encouraging knowing that 05:12 this facility has the capability 05:14 to double the number of children 05:15 and in the future, 05:17 there is facility to build another floor, 05:18 thereby having the capacity to facilitate 05:21 the ever increasing inflow of children 05:23 arriving at Sunrise Home each year. 05:26 In my union, we have 850,000 members 05:33 and there are hundreds of needs in this union, 05:36 especially there are orphan children, 05:38 there are semi-orphan children, 05:39 and therefore we really face challenge. 05:41 Today, expanding and adding these facilities 05:43 in the boys' hostel will really be a great blessing 05:46 because these children are adjusting somewhere 05:48 and they don't have proper facilities. 05:50 They want to feel with their friends 05:52 as if it is their own home 05:54 and this will be a unique identity 05:55 that will build confidence in them, 05:57 and they will really develop in the proper way 05:59 in the Adventist atmosphere. 06:27 Twelve-year-old Durga Prasad 06:29 and his 11-year-old brother Rajesh 06:31 came to Sunrise Home three years ago. 06:33 They were rescued from the streets 06:35 by a local NGO Child Line, 06:37 after a newspaper article appeared in a local daily 06:40 with the title "mother for sale." 06:42 Child Line immediately followed up the story 06:45 with the concerned people and rescued the boys 06:47 and took them in their custody. 06:51 After we brought them here, 06:53 we came to know that their father died 06:56 and the mother found another man, 06:58 and she moved in with him. 07:00 But he forced her into prostitution 07:03 and forced the boys on to the streets 07:05 to beg and sell newspaper and fruits. 07:08 He used that money, drinking and gambling. 07:21 Durga Prasad and Rajesh woke up every day 07:24 to the blaring sound of train horns 07:27 or the screeching halt of its iron wheels. 07:29 The buzz and hustle of the street 07:31 near the train station at Vizianagaram 07:33 was their domain 07:34 and the railway platform their shelter. 07:37 The boys were forced to go and beg 07:39 or steal by their mother's boyfriend, 07:41 and when they refused, they were beaten. 07:43 Fearing the beatings that awaited them at home, 07:45 they spend most of their time living on the railway platform, 07:49 earning some money selling fruits or begging. 07:51 After they were rescued 07:53 and taken into custody by Child Line, 07:55 Durga Prasad and Rajesh were brought to Sunrise Home. 08:01 I'm from Bobbili town 08:03 and I used to live very close 08:05 to where the old Sunrise Home was. 08:07 Then I informed my superiors about it 08:10 and recommended these two boys to Sunrise Home. 08:15 Sunrise Home is highly regarded throughout the district 08:18 for its work with the shelter it provides to orphaned 08:21 and abandoned children like Durga Prasad and Rajesh. 08:24 Most of the children are coming to Sunrise Home 08:27 recommended by police department, 08:30 and non-governmental organizations, 08:33 and the Child Line, 08:35 and rescued children, most of them are here, 08:38 the rescued children. 08:40 In this whole of the Vizianagaram district, 08:43 only this home is best home 08:45 and the government will recommend 08:47 all the children to stay here only. 08:50 Okay. Wow. 08:52 At our homes like Sunrise, 08:54 we have children from varied backgrounds, 08:57 varied stories, and honest 08:59 some of them are hard to comprehend, 09:01 and just like these two boys 09:03 who were found on a railway platform 09:06 at the train station, could you imagine it, 09:09 could you imagine living there 09:10 having to scrape up an existence? 09:13 They were exploited by many people 09:16 and they had no hope. 09:18 Now, at least they have come to Sunrise Home 09:21 where they have a new direction, 09:25 and now they have hope of an education, 09:27 they have a hope of the future, 09:30 and the Asian Aid sponsorship program 09:32 will have a big difference in their lives. 09:36 Durga Prasad and Rajesh are in a place 09:38 where they can leave behind 09:40 the fear of being beaten and exploited, 09:42 leave behind the struggles of growing up in the streets 09:45 and instead are in a safe and comfortable place, 09:48 a place where they don't feel like they're orphaned 09:51 or abandoned. 09:52 So by having an orphanage, 09:53 we can access these children 09:55 who really won't have the basics in life, 09:57 who now can have the basics in life to go forward. 10:01 So that's what orphanage is doing. 10:03 They get the children who really need help 10:06 and don't have anyone to help them. 10:10 Child Impact is giving them that help. 10:12 Child Impact is giving them that new life 10:15 through its special need schools, 10:16 at an orphanage like Sunrise Home, 10:18 and is giving them an opportunity 10:20 to receive a proper education. 10:22 One of the great blessing is 10:24 that we cannot do everything by on our own 10:26 because of certain reasons. 10:28 I thank God for special organizations like Asian Aid. 10:33 They are uniquely tuned to meet exactly our needs, 10:37 where we really need, 10:39 especially we need next generation 10:41 to be prepared for the church work 10:43 and these children who are trained up in the homes 10:46 and with their help, with their support, 10:48 we educate our poor children, they're the next generation, 10:51 faithful workers for the church. 10:53 And it is really transforming. 10:55 I really thank God, 10:56 every sponsor that is supporting this work, 10:59 every leader in this organization, 11:01 they are really doing the work with dedication and commitment. 11:04 They reach unto us, they openly talk their ideas 11:07 and we tell our needs, and they really fit in. 11:10 I'm proud of this important organization, 11:12 and they are truly beneficial to my union here 11:15 in East Central India. 11:17 It was painful for us to learn 11:19 that the boys' mother is still making her living 11:21 through prostitution 11:22 and does not know the whereabouts of her sons. 11:25 Taking the children away from the mother 11:27 may sound cruel and callous, 11:28 but extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures 11:32 for the welfare and the future of the children. 11:35 Like Rajesh and Durga Prasad, there are so many children 11:38 who are having very bad family backgrounds. 11:42 Sunrise Home is giving them good directions in their lives. 11:48 Today, Child Impact International 11:50 is reaching out to children in need. 11:52 And Sunrise Home is a safe haven for these children, 11:55 providing not just their basic needs 11:57 and an opportunity for an education, 11:59 but giving them parental love and affection, 12:02 the chance and hope for a brighter future. 12:27 A couple of years ago, 12:28 my daughters and I had a wonderful opportunity 12:31 to travel to India, 12:33 and while we were there, 12:34 we met yet another part of our family 12:36 and that's our sponsored daughter, Sheila. 12:38 We had the privilege of sponsoring Sheila 12:41 through Child Impact International 12:43 for more than three years now. 12:45 And you know, while we were there, 12:47 she shared with us 12:49 that her dream was to become a nurse. 12:52 Now, what a wonderful privilege it is for us 12:55 now as a family to know 12:57 that she is fulfilling that dream. 13:00 Sheila is now studying to be a nurse. 13:02 She is in college 13:04 and we could not be happier for her. 13:06 It's been wonderful to be part of that journey with her. 13:10 And you know, sponsoring a child through Child Impact, 13:13 it's made an incredible difference for our family. 13:16 And I know that for you sponsoring a child 13:18 can make a difference for you too. 13:20 And most importantly, it can make the difference 13:23 in the life of a child every day. |
Revised 2019-08-29