Child Impact International
is an organization giving hope.
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Previously called Asian
Aid, Child Impact International
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is an organization 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 to helping
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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,
giving them a sense of place,
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a home, 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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Bangladesh is small,
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but due to its
mostly rural development,
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the distance is much
larger in between cities.
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KMMS is around
six hours from Dhaka,
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yet SAMS the other
school that we visited
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is a bit farther from KMMS.
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Early one morning,
a hired van started us
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on the journey from KMMS
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to the Seventh-day
Adventists Maranatha Seminary
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or SAMS for short.
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This school which is home
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to many other Child
Impact sponsored children
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is 190 miles from KMMS,
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which would normally take
between two to three hours
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of driving in the United States.
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But the journey
there took nine hours
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due to the
difficult road conditions.
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The conditions we pass
through on our way to SAMS
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showed us many of the challenges
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people face
making a living here.
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This was clear when the faculty
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from KMMS told us how students
might stay there all year,
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because their parents
cannot afford to get them
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during holidays
or school breaks.
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The distance is
too far and cumbersome,
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let alone the
cost of traveling there
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becomes more
than they can afford.
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At one point on
our trip to SAMS,
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we encountered two men
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blocking the
road with elephants.
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They were trying to
get motorists to pay them
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to move out of the way.
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This is apparently quite common
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and people do various tactics
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like this in order to get money.
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Later we were stopped by police
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who escorted us
the rest of the way
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out of concern for our
safety and of all tourists
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who go into their country.
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At the end of that
very long, bumpy day,
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Jim Rennie from Child Impact
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and the camera
crew arrived at SAMS,
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which is on the
outskirts of Saidpur,
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a growing city of
over 200,000 people.
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We were greeted in
a spectacular fashion.
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In Bangladeshi culture,
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ceremony is
considered very important,
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and foreign visitors are rare.
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So the students at SAMS prepared
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an elaborate welcome ceremony
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with songs, cultural
dances and flower garlands.
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To understand how
important this is to them,
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they knew we were headed
there to document the school,
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so they prepared and
rehearsed for three weeks
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just to be
ready for that moment.
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Even after we asked them
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not to worry
about an elaborate show,
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they couldn't see
it as a possibility
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because it is important
for them to show the respect.
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Many times
understanding their culture
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and what they value can
greatly improve relations
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and forward the mission.
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We saw that the
first day we visited SAMS.
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They had a
diverse religion group
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and all work
together learning the gospel
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and being respectful.
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We've been told this at
KMMS, but we saw it firsthand
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because of the
way we were greeted.
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At KMMS, we had a
ceremony of our own
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but small
because we'd asked them
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not to worry
about anything grand.
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Mike at KMMS,
SAMS is very diverse
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with different religious groups,
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and we got to
experience it the first day.
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Well, we're still in Bangladesh
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and we're at what
they call SAMS College,
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which is Seventh-day
Adventists Maranatha Seminary,
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is located right up in
the north of Bangladesh.
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In fact, right up
by the Indian border.
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If we walk probably 10 miles
that way, we'd be in India.
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And yesterday we drove
north from KMMS School.
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Everyone told us
it was going to be
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a seven to eight hour journey.
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But in fact, it was over nine.
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And for one hour, we
were on a rough road.
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Trust me, I'm still
feeling it in my neck.
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There are a couple of things
that come out of yesterday
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that I want to
share with you beside
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it being a long way.
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The first as we drove through
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the countryside, the population.
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Every 30 minutes,
we came to a new town,
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and it was just
packed with people.
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And it really gave
us a sense of feeling
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of why Bangladesh
is one of the most
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densely populated
countries in the world.
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The other factor,
there were no cars,
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or three
wheelers, people don't have
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any money for
motorbikes or cars.
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And so they use very
cheap travel methods.
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The other thing
that struck us was,
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as we drove through the fields,
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we could see hundreds,
if not thousands of people
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working in the
field, very labor intensive,
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but also very poor paying.
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And when there is no
work, there is no work.
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People don't get paid.
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So the
communities are very dependent
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on rural country work,
but also are very poorly paid.
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And this reflects on
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what we see in the
villages we've been to.
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Things are pretty
ragged and half there.
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I guess the other
thing that became obvious
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is the role of women in society.
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Normally, the
girls stay in the village
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from a very young age,
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they're married
off at an early age,
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and they start having
children at an early age.
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And these children
are born into poverty.
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The other thing we've noticed
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is a high ratio
of single mothers.
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The husband has left
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and the mother is
left with nothing.
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He sends so no support,
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and there is no
government support.
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And I was very, I
was amazed at the number
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of single
parents at KMMS School.
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We went out and met one,
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a very dedicated
lady to her children,
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but she has to
work in the field,
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she has to take menial tasks.
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And for her
children to have an education
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is just not an
education for them,
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it gives hope
because of the reality
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was they were at
home or even at home
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and going to the
government school,
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then she could not
afford to feed them.
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And so, the
education, the sponsorship
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has a much bigger impact
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on the family and the community.
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This school, Seventh-day
Adventists Maranatha Seminary
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was established
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as Mohipur
Adventist Seminary in 1993.
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And education was
limited to pre high school.
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It was the first
school of its kind
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in the West Bangladesh mission.
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And despite limited resources,
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it started with
160 enrolled students.
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A few years later,
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thanks to the work of
a single American donor,
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the school was able to
build five campus buildings
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and sidewalks
throughout the campus.
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The school continue to grow.
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This school is very beautiful.
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The architecture is
modern and built to last.
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The attention to
detail is evident.
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The layout of the school
is very well thought out.
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The kids are able to really
take advantage of this place,
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and because of the order
and how nice everything looks,
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it's able to take them away
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from the poverty
that is all around them.
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This lets them not worry
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about tomorrow's income or food,
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but lets them focus on
their educational future
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and ambitions.
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Now in 2020, the
school has a student body
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of over 800 children,
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many of whom are
sponsored to attend,
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and many more who
still need sponsorship.
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The school is dedicated
to keeping as many students
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as it possibly can,
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which often places it at
the edge of financial peril.
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SAMS opened a
vocational school in 2004
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through the work
of the same donor
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who started the construction
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of most of the
campus several years prior.
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The vocational school offers
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classes in sewing, carpentry,
and motorcycle repair.
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Motorcycles are high
in demand in Bangladesh
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as the economy is
largely built around textiles,
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construction is
at its highest rate
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in the country history.
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And most Bangladeshis
do not yet own cars.
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Much like KMMS, SAMS also has
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its own agricultural facilities,
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growing rice and vegetables,
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and maintaining goats and cows.
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The culture at
SAMS is a joyful one,
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and the students find time
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to live full
lives with each other.
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SAMS is very similar
to KMMS in its mission.
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They are mostly
supported through sponsors
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and have a focus on ministry.
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They are much better schools
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compared to the
public schools in the area.
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SAMS and KMMS
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are especially
making a difference
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with the poor communities.
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It's incredible how many parents
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ask for their
children to enter the school.
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Everyone was very happy at SAMS.
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You walk around and see students
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sitting on the grass
together talking or studying,
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while others are
running around playing.
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Our time there was
during their exams,
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so the pressure
was a lot for them.
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But even that didn't
keep them from enjoying life.
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Our presence there
made everybody excited.
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Our first positive impression
kept true throughout the visit.
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The story of our
first day at SAMS however,
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ended with a light moment.
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Ever the attention grabber,
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when we took our drone
00:11:19.24\00:11:20.58
to get aerial
footage of the school,
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the children came
from all directions.
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Word spreads
quickly on the small campus.
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This wasn't even the last time
we intended to use the drone,
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but the children were
happy to see it more than once.
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SAMS is a lovely school
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with many lovely
children and workers.
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Our time there showed us that.
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The affects of sponsorship
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and how these children
are able to have a life
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is only possible
00:12:07.09\00:12:08.42
because of the
support they receive.
00:12:08.46\00:12:09.79
It was truly
heartwarming to see,
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they have a future
because of all your help.
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Hi, I am Jaime Jorge
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and I am honored
to be an ambassador
00:13:18.66\00:13:21.10
with Child Impact International.
00:13:21.13\00:13:23.50
I have traveled
to India and Myanmar
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with Child Impact and
have seen with my own eyes
00:13:26.13\00:13:29.47
the difference that
the sponsorship program
00:13:29.50\00:13:32.07
makes in the lives of
countless needy children.
00:13:32.11\00:13:36.24
A sponsorship provides
an education for the child,
00:13:36.28\00:13:39.65
hope for the family and supports
00:13:39.68\00:13:42.82
an Adventist Mission School.
00:13:42.85\00:13:44.89
Would you consider sponsoring
a child with Child Impact?
00:13:44.92\00:13:48.52