Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000227A
|
00:07 Child Impact International is an organization giving hope.
00:11 Previously called Asian Aid, 00:13 Child Impact International is an organization 00:16 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 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, 00:41 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 need it the most. 01:14 This is Hope in Motion. 01:21 Our television series Hope in Motion 01:24 has been a big success, 01:25 and we want to continue to share with you 01:28 some of the field stories 01:30 that we have filmed over the years. 01:32 So just from time to time 01:34 it may refer to Asian Aid 01:37 as we reflect on these great stories 01:40 as we share them with you. 02:01 With a population of nearly 1.3 billion 02:04 and a vast majority of those people 02:06 living off of less than $2 a day, 02:08 many families in India struggle to survive. 02:16 The joy of having a baby can be tainted by the question 02:19 of how they would provide the basics of food and shelter 02:22 needed for their survival. 02:28 So if a parent loses their job or passes away, 02:31 children are abandoned 02:32 as the surviving parent or family members 02:34 cannot cope emotionally 02:35 and financially with the burden. 02:42 It is estimated there are 31 million orphans 02:44 or abandoned children 02:46 struggling to survive in India. 03:05 Sai Eshwari is a seven-year-old girl 03:08 studying in the first grade 03:09 at the Seventh-day Adventist school 03:11 in the outskirts of Hyderabad in South India. 03:14 Her home is just a few feet away from her classroom. 03:17 This is Elim Home, an orphanage established by the church 03:20 and supported by Child Impact International. 03:23 Although, not an orphan, 03:25 circumstances forced her to be brought to Elim Home. 03:31 Malathi, the director and house mother of Elim Home, 03:34 took Sai Eshwari in 03:36 after a chance meeting with her aunt 03:38 after church on the Sabbath day. 03:40 One day, when I went to church, 03:42 one of our church members by the name Ruthamma, 03:46 she asked me that she want to talk with me, 03:49 and she said that she needs some help. 03:51 I told her she can come any time 03:55 she wishes to meet me. 03:57 Then the next day, Sunday, 03:59 she came along with Madhu and her daughter. 04:04 Madhu was married when she was just 16. 04:07 Although such practices are unlawful, 04:09 customs and social traditions 04:11 dictate life in rural India, especially Mangapur. 04:15 After two months of her marriage, 04:16 her husband and his parents sent her home to get dowry. 04:20 Madhu's parents were unable to pay their demands, 04:22 and when her husband's family found out she was pregnant, 04:25 they refused to take her back. 04:27 The following year, 04:29 Madhu gave birth to her daughter, 04:30 Sai Eshwari. 04:32 Soon her situation at home began to get worse. 04:35 Her mother and her brother forced her to worship idols 04:38 and began to resent her presence at home. 04:41 She was becoming a financial burden to them 04:43 and decided to take matters in their own hands. 04:48 Without any reason, 04:49 my brother and my mother asked me to leave the house. 04:52 They told me we had fed you enough 04:55 and told me I was a burden on them. 04:57 When I refused to leave the house, 04:59 my brother hit me on my arm, 05:02 and my mother punched me on my face. 05:05 Fearing her daughter's safety and that of her own, 05:08 Madhu came to Hyderabad 05:09 to seek refuge at her aunt's place. 05:12 After I heard Madhu's story and her pathetic condition, 05:16 I decided to take Sai Eshwari inside 05:19 because though it is an home for taking desperate children 05:23 and mostly the orphan children, 05:25 but still I took a decision that I should take Sai Eshwari 05:29 because being a female, 05:31 I felt that I should help another female, 05:35 small girl who is in need, and I also heard 05:38 that she is getting only one meal a day, 05:41 and I thought 05:43 that she should be in this home. 05:46 And it's not just people who are orphans 05:48 whose parents are dead, 05:50 you might have people who might have one parent or two parents, 05:54 but then, they just 05:56 do not earn enough money to support a family, 05:59 so they really abandon kids anyhow. 06:03 So extreme poverty 06:05 also puts kids into the bracket 06:08 that need help and need help desperately 06:10 and need help now, 06:12 not in 10 years time because they won't survive 10 years, 06:15 so that's what orphanages do, 06:17 they get the children who really need help 06:20 and don't have anyone to help them. 06:25 I guess most often we think that orphanage means 06:27 they have no parents, 06:29 but in the case of some, there may be a single parent, 06:33 but the driving force can be poverty. 06:36 The reality is that the single parent, 06:39 perhaps like Madhu, 06:40 simply can't cope 06:42 because of their circumstances that trapped in poverty. 06:45 And so the orphanage 06:47 gives them hope for their child, 06:50 give something that they could never deliver 06:52 for their child and that makes a huge difference. 06:58 Madhu with the help of her aunt, 07:00 Ruthamma, found a job at a local hospital, 07:02 cleaning the hospital floor and doing other menial jobs. 07:06 She told us she earns 80 to 100 rupees a day, 07:09 less than $2, 07:10 hardly enough to provide her three meals a day. 07:13 Her hardship was revealed to us 07:15 when we went to see where she lived. 07:17 One can only imagine a situation 07:19 where Madhu had to take care of her daughter, 07:21 Sai Eshwari, in a place 07:22 where there's hardly a proper roof over the head, 07:25 a vulnerable place for a vulnerable young woman. 07:28 In spite of all her hardship and vulnerability, 07:31 Madhu considers herself fortunate 07:33 because her daughter now has a safe place to grow up. 07:37 If I would not have taken the decision, 07:39 the mother would have recovered from her health, 07:43 then afterwards, she would have taken this girl 07:46 also as a child labor 07:47 here and there to some houses as a labor 07:50 because we have taken her 07:52 and Sai Eshwari is very fortunate 07:54 and she's a very bright girl, 07:55 and she always stands first in the class, 07:58 and she has improved a lot. 08:02 I'm thankful to God 08:03 for the help my daughter is receiving right now. 08:06 All this is because I refused to worship idols 08:09 and I worship the true God. 08:11 God has been very gracious to me and my daughter. 08:14 I'm thankful to the sponsors who are supporting her. 08:18 Because of the timely intervention of Malathi, 08:21 Sai Eshwari can now grow up 08:23 in a safe and loving home at Elim 08:25 and Child Impact sponsorship is giving children like Sai 08:29 Eshwari and the 137 other children at Elim Home 08:32 the financial support to grow up in this environment. 08:35 This support is not just getting children 08:38 out of desperate situations, 08:39 but it is also having a wider impact in the community. 08:51 Padma works as a cook at Elim Home. 08:53 Her children, Priyanjali and Akash, live here 08:57 and go to school next door just like Sai Eshwari. 09:00 Her eldest son is also sponsored 09:02 by Child Impact 09:03 and goes to an Adventist boarding school in Nuzvid, 09:06 a few hours from Hyderabad. 09:08 Not long ago, Padma lived a content life 09:11 in her native town with her family 09:13 until a tragic incident brought her crushing down. 09:17 My husband found a job in the Gulf as a daily laborer, 09:20 and after two years, he was coming back home. 09:23 We were all waiting for him. 09:25 On the way back from the airport, 09:27 he met with an accident. 09:37 Padma's husband died on the spot, 09:39 and his death not only brought the tag of being called a widow 09:43 but it also brought her financial difficulties. 09:46 All her relatives and neighbors who cared for her, 09:48 after her husband's death slowly began to desert her. 09:51 She doesn't blame them. 09:53 "How can they help me 09:54 and my three children forever," she asks. 09:56 Although her three children receive 09:58 Child Impact sponsorship for their tuition, 10:01 she was finding it hard 10:02 to take care of their basic needs 10:04 such as a decent meal a day. 10:07 There were three kids, 10:10 and she has no one to raise the kids. 10:12 She is all alone. 10:13 She was broken because her husband died 10:15 in a car accident. 10:17 And immediately, we thought 10:18 maybe Asian should definitely pick... 10:22 Should come forward to help such, 10:23 you know, family was in desperately need 10:25 of educating the children. 10:27 Then that's how I got to meet her 10:28 and got to know more about her, 10:30 you know, her family story, how her husband died, 10:32 and what she's looking for the kids. 10:37 After he heard Padma's story, 10:38 Ravi, field officer for Child Impact 10:41 brought her to Elim Home 10:42 and her three children were taken 10:44 into the orphanage and given shelter. 10:46 Fortunately, for Padma, 10:48 she found a job as a cook in the kitchen. 10:51 In Indian setup, if the husband dies, 10:53 a female has to face a lot of problems, 10:56 especially educating her children 10:58 and providing them meals 11:00 and provide all their needs is very hard. 11:04 If we would not have given her job, 11:07 she would have gone out for fields 11:10 or work somewhere 11:11 or sometime she would have sent her eldest son for work also. 11:15 And she might not have any peace of mind, 11:19 and she might also face 11:20 so many problems in the society. 11:23 Yes, we are a child-focused organization, 11:26 but because we're in the field, 11:28 because we're talking to people, 11:31 we do help the wider community. 11:34 For instance, we gave the widow hope by working in the kitchen. 11:38 We also have given 11:40 some of our previous orphanage children responsibilities, 11:44 and they're now field workers. 11:46 So we're making a difference in the wider community. 11:53 When you travel across India, 11:55 it becomes more evident that there are so many people 11:57 including lay members of our church 11:59 struggling to send their children to school. 12:02 Many of our members not able to send their children 12:05 to the Christian schools, 12:07 and these member children are coming into our schools 12:10 because of Asian Aid, 12:11 they are being supported and they're trained. 12:13 Tomorrow, definitely, 12:14 they are our hope and workers for the church. 12:17 I'm really thankful to the philanthropic people 12:19 who are supporting these children to be educated 12:21 and get Christian education. 12:28 I'm very thankful for Elim Home and the sponsors. 12:32 I'm also grateful to Mr. Ravi who introduced me to Elim Home. 12:37 I'm an Adventist but before coming here, 12:40 I didn't know that church had organizations like this 12:43 that helps children in desperate situations. 12:47 I know about Asian Aid, 12:49 but I didn't know they supported orphanages. 12:52 God has opened the doors for me and my children. 12:55 There are so many other widows like me who are suffering. 12:59 I remember all of them in my prayers 13:01 because I feel I'm very fortunate. 13:05 Today, orphanages like Elim Home 13:07 are not only fulfilling its mission 13:09 to reach out to orphan children, 13:10 but as we found out today 13:12 and thanks to Child Impact International, 13:14 it is also reaching out to children from impoverished 13:17 and unfortunate backgrounds by providing them a safe place 13:21 to live and learn. 13:22 In turn, these children not only receive 13:24 a good Christian education, 13:26 but they grow up to be strong pillars for the church. 13:44 I just got a letter 13:45 from our sponsored daughter, Sheila. 13:47 I've got to tell you, 13:48 there is nothing like getting one of these letters. 13:50 Our family has been able to sponsor her 13:52 through Child Impact International. 13:54 Because of that, she's got a great place to live. 13:57 She's got good food. She's got great clothing. 14:00 Best of all, I now found out she's in college. 14:03 She's in nursing school. 14:05 There's nothing like getting a letter like this. 14:08 You need to start getting these letters too. 14:11 Listen, through Child Impact, 14:12 you can make a huge difference in the life of a child, 14:15 and I promise you, 14:17 it's going to make a huge difference 14:19 in your life too. |
Revised 2019-11-07