Hi,
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welcome to the Child
Impact television program
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Hope in Motion
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which is showing
our work in Bangladesh.
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I just wanted to share
with you before the program,
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our current status with our work
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in many countries.
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In India,
Bangladesh and Myanmar,
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it is currently
the school holidays.
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And although the government
has closed the schools,
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in fact that would have
been a holiday at this time.
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I have to be honest with you,
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we don't know
when they will reopen.
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And we are monitoring
that very, very carefully.
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Our focus at the moment
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is ensuring that the
schools open properly
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and focus to ensure
us that they have food
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and that they
have health supplies
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for when they open.
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Many of the
families are struggling
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back in the villages
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and it is very, very difficult
for us to contact them.
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And we are
monitoring the situation
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very, very carefully,
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as it varies from
country to country.
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I just want to thank
you for your support.
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And I also want to tell you
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that this series was
filmed before the pandemic.
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And it shows the challenges
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and the
excitement that we praise
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for our work in Bangladesh.
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I just want to thank
you for your support.
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It's been overwhelming,
and we are very, very grateful,
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the kids are grateful.
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And if you want to help us,
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I have to be honest
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that our where needed most fund,
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and also our blind
there from orphans run
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currently could
do with some funds.
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But we are grateful
that the Lord has blessed us
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and I just hope
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that you will enjoy this program
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about Child Impact
work in Bangladesh.
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A school's mission
is far from singular,
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not dedicated to a
single course of action
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or problem to be remedied.
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In most cases to
simply educate a child
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is not enough.
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This is true everywhere
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but even more so in
developing countries
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where the needs of a
child are so dire and broad.
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An example of this broadening
of a school's objectives
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can be found in Bangladesh,
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where Seventh-day
Adventist Maranatha Seminary,
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an Adventist Mission School
of 800 students is located.
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For a mission
school in the country
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facing extreme poverty,
two more objectives are key.
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The first is to
share the message of Christ
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with an unfamiliar
population of young people.
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The second and
perhaps equally challenging
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is to elevate the
standard of living
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of the children who study there.
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The economy creates
barriers to education
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for many children in
Northwestern Bangladesh.
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If a child's parents are so poor
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that they must use their
child for economic purposes,
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such as arranged
marriage or child labor,
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their shot at
education disappears.
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If a child is too far
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from traditional
educational outlets
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or cannot leave the
home for other reasons,
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once again they lose
out on a chance to learn.
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Sponsoring students
allows them to overcome
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both of these barriers
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and place them in an environment
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where they're fed,
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housed and able to
focus on their studies
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in safety and peace.
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But more central
to the whole process
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removing these
barriers and placing students
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in a positive
boarding school environment
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is only one part
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of how the school aims
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to affect the
lives of its students.
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Another significant part
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is opening
opportunities for students
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as they reach adulthood,
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which allows them to
break the cycle of poverty
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and elevate their communities.
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In this episode,
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we learn the stories
of several former students
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of Seventh-day
Adventist Maranatha Seminary
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or SAMS
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and see the impact that quality,
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faith centered education
has had on their careers
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and their
ability to serve others.
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After the Child
Impact team arrived at SAMS,
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they met the faculty
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and surveyed the
conditions around campus.
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The stories of
several different SAMS' alumni
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came to light
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and Child Impact CEO Jim Rennie
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made sure to sit
down with each of them
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and learn more
about their stories.
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The first story we
encountered was actually two,
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but to paraphrase
the Book of Genesis,
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the stories had
long since become one.
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We got another interview,
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but this time it's with a couple
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who work here at SAMS College.
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And, in fact, the
lady was here as a student
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when this college was built.
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So as well as finding out
about them and what they do,
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we're going to find out
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about when the
college was built.
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So good morning. Good morning.
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So tell me your name.
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I am Mrs. Putoi Pronoti Toppo.
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Right. My name is Prodip Toppo.
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Okay.
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And tell me what
do you do in Bangla?
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And you, a teacher?
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Tell us, you were a student.
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How long were you a
student at the school?
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So were you at the school
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when Mr. McNeilus
family built this school,
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were you here?
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Yes.
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So you were a
student? Yeah, I am a student.
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At that time I
was a student. Right.
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So you saw all
these buildings go up?
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Yeah.
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And when did you come?
Were you a student here?
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Yeah. Yes.
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You met here?
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Yeah. Yes, yes.
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And you have family? Yes.
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What children do you
have? Two children, daughter.
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We have two daughters.
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You have been here a long
time you have seen the school?
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Yes.
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So you must have
seen many students?
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Yes.
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Do you see the difference
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it make to other
students learning well?
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A wide range of aspects of life.
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Yeah.
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Tell me, do you think
sponsorship makes a difference?
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Tell me is
sponsorship effective?
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Is sponsorship a good
thing for the children?
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So tell me about your
family, your mother and father,
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did you come from a village?
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Where did you come from?
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So once again we
hear these tough stories
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of where one of the
parents passes away.
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She came to the school,
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had no sponsorship
for the first two years.
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Just after she came
here, her father passed away.
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And her mother really
struggled with six children.
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She really just
had no income at all.
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And, in fact, we
met a girl yesterday
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that simply doesn't
go home in the holidays
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because her mother
doesn't even have the bus fare.
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It's just so heartening to hear
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the difference
that we're making.
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Here's this girl that
her mother had no hope
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and yet here
she is now teaching.
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She's the
secretary to the principal.
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And it just shows you the impact
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that sponsorship had.
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And now she's got a family.
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It makes a real difference.
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Tell me about your family?
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While the ability of the school
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to create the
professionals needed
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to sustain its own
operations is extremely useful,
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the work opportunities
for students of such schools
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extend well
beyond the campus walls.
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We also were
told of Jenifer Ekka,
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a SAMS alumnus who has
found gainful employment
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providing IT
services for the government,
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Panchbibi Upazila,
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the equivalent of a
county in the United States.
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Jenifer sat down to
talk to us through her job
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and how the
education she received at SAMS
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enabled her to
secure the position.
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Jenifer's background
threatened to limit her future
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ability to provide
for her basic needs.
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It was the intervention
of schooling at SAMS
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that changed this prospect
made possible by sponsorship.
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Jenifer, tell me
you came to SAMS,
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you were at the school?
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And when you left SAMS College,
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where did you do
your tertiary training?
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Well, this young
lady's got ambitions.
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She graduated, she
did university studies.
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And now she's
studying her master's
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as well as working as
well as helping others.
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And she wants to be
a college professor.
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And this is so encouraging
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to hear someone
that has gone so far,
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and is still
determined to go further.
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So, Jenifer, well done.
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And we wish you well
in becoming a professor.
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And it's just so
great to hear these stories,
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because girls
face many challenges
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in a poor society.
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And Jenifer's
not only succeeded,
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she's helping others.
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A great story.
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Through the stories
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of Mr. and Mrs.
Toppo and Jenifer,
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the compounding benefits
of Adventist Mission schools
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like SAMS
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and the sponsorship that allows
for much of the student body
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to attend becomes clear.
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Education is not meant to be
a momentary benefit to a child,
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but a lasting one,
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something which
is especially crucial
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in economically
depressed environments,
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where upward mobility
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often requires
outside assistance to happen.
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The benefits of education
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are supposed to last a lifetime,
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whether they be
basic life skills,
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the knowledge needed
to seek a gainful living,
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or most importantly,
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a relationship
with Jesus Christ.
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