Child Impact
International is an organization
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that gives hope and fosters
permanent positive change
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in the lives of
disadvantaged children
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and their communities.
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Countries include
Zambia, Kenya, India, Nepal,
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Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, and Myanmar.
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Child Impacts investment
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in the lives of more
than 3,500 children continues
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to yield infinite returns.
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Outreach spans from
child rescue operations
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to providing an
education and a home for deaf
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and blind children and orphans.
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Above all, Child
Impact's sponsors give hope
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to the ones who
need it the most.
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When we look into
the eyes of a child,
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we are looking into the
future because they are the ones
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who are going to shape and
mold the world of tomorrow.
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It is our
opportunity today to mold
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and shape them
for a better future.
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While there are
many organizations
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that try to do
this, there are few
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that have as long and
successful a track record
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as Child Impact International.
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In this episode, we will
be looking at the history
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and mission of this
Christ-centered organization
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How much
sacrifice Jesus made for us
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and how much God
loves each one of you.
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It all started back in 1966
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with a young
woman named Maisie Fook.
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Maisie wanted to send clothing
to needy children in Korea.
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So she and her husband Dennis
registered Asian Aid Australia,
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which later
expanded to the United States
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as Asian Aid USA,
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and then became
Child Impact International.
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Their efforts
attracted the attention
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of a 26 year old Helen
Eager, who began volunteering.
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I think the first time, I
was involved with anything
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with Asian Aid, we
went to Maisie Fook's house
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to pack some clothes
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that they were
sending to South Korea
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because Asian Aid
actually started in South Korea.
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And, I can
remember I only own one,
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very nice
cardigan, and I took it off
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because it was hot
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and somehow my best cardigan
must have gone to South Korea.
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But, and then we
actually sponsored a girl
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to do her
nursing in South Korea.
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Shortly after, they saw the need
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that Vietnamese
children had for education
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and expanded
their work to help them.
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Unfortunately, they weren't
able to operate there for long.
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War had been raging in
Vietnam for around two decades,
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but the fall of Saigon in 1975
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and the subsequent communist
takeover of the country
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meant that it was no
longer safe to work there,
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but this did
not stop the mission
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of Asian Aid in other areas.
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When Maisie heard of
the need in Bangladesh,
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she knew where they
were going to expand.
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She really loved Bangladesh
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and they had different things
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they were doing there as
well as educating children.
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They had one place where they
had the women making baskets
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and this kind of thing.
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A major milestone for
the still young Asian Aid
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also happened in Bangladesh.
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They saw that Monosapara
School was going to close.
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So they stepped in to save it.
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Today, Monosapara
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is one of the
largest Adventist schools
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in Bangladesh.
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Helen Eager was
inspired to see the work
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that Asian Aid was doing,
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but felt that she could do more
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by starting her
own organization.
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I was living in
Cooranbong back in those days
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and we actually wanted to start
our own charity, but they said,
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New South Wales
was not registering
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any charities at the moment.
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And so we requested to
become a branch of Asian Aid.
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And so we became
the Hunter Valley branch
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in Cooranbong.
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During this time,
Helen did a lot to increase
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the work of Asian Aid,
helping it to expand into India
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and other countries.
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I think it wasn't until 1979
that I started going to India.
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But from about then I
went every year to India
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and then a little
bit later to Bangladesh
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and Nepal also every year
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from 1979 onwards.
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All these trips helped
Helen to know the needs
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that each area had.
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After 23 years of leadership,
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Maisie Fook retired
from Asian Aid in 1989.
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Helen stepped in as CEO
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and led the organization's
continued expansion
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into more countries and
more ways to help children
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and the medical
needs of the poor.
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Helen oversaw the
establishment of orphanages,
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schools and developed a bond
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with many of the
sponsored children
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that helped to
shape their lives.
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I'm like Eager, in this
life, I thought of doing service
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because she has sacrificed
a lot for us, child like us.
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So, I thought this field
that medical field has got
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a lot of opportunities
to serve in the rural areas.
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My early memories of
her, she used to give candies
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and every time
she used to greet us,
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she used to give
us a hug, a kiss.
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She used to tell
us a lot of stories.
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And then she had so many,
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so much to tell us
every time she came.
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Her kind and loving
influence can be seen
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in the smiling faces of
many generations of children
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who have had the
privilege of being around her.
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In 2002, after
many years of renting,
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a school was constructed
for the deaf in Kollegal India.
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This school provides
food, boarding and an education.
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It is also a beacon of
hope to many deaf children,
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since it is located
in a poor rural area
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where it's hard
to get an education,
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which is
especially true for the deaf.
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Many of the
children who have graduated
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from this school have gone
on to have successful careers.
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The next year,
ASI continued growth
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with the blind school
opening in Bobbili, India.
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This school is home
to over 100 children
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who are able to
realize their dreams.
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Some work in government
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while others
have become teachers
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and many other careers.
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After 16 years, as CEO,
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Helen Eager stepped
down from that role,
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but continued to work
with Asian Aid Australia.
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Inspired by the work that
Asian Aid Australia was doing,
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a group in America
decided to form Asian Aid USA.
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After several
years of operation,
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Jim Rennie became
the CEO of Asian Aid USA.
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The organization
expanded the amount of schools
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and orphanages
that it either partnered
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with or directly operated.
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Asian Aid USA later changed
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its name to Child
Impact International.
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In 2016, Jim led the
way in addressing a need
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that he had seen in
his travels around India.
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Over the years as I
visited India, Bangladesh,
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and Myanmar, I became very aware
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of the number of
children being trafficked.
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We've even had children
disappear from our schools.
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They've gone
home for the holidays
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and simply
disappeared from the village,
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they're being trafficked.
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And the problem is huge.
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And I just felt the burden
that we had to do something.
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We had to play a small
part in helping rescue children
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from the various
aspects of trafficking.
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Jim decided that the best
way to address the problem
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would be to form a partnership
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with a non-government
organization in Bangalore.
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Operation Child Rescue
was formed as a project
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of Child Impact
to assist children
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that are abandoned
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or trafficked
beginning in India.
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Child Impact was
excited that it could help
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in some small way in
giving rescued children hope.
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With a desire to
reach more needy children,
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Asian Aid USA
decided to change their name
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to Child Impact International.
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This name
reflects far more clearly
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the critical
work that we are doing
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with very needy students,
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their families
and mission schools.
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Child Impact International
gives momentum and direction
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to a bold road
strategy that will impact
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the lives of thousands
of additional children.
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This name avoids any confusion
in regards to where we work
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and what people consider Asia.
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This name gives
a clear distinction
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between this organization
and Asian Aid Australia,
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which are
completely separate Since then,
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Child Impact International
has lived up to its new name
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by expanding into Zambia.
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We'd always had a
strong request for Africa.
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There are many people
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who have a burden
and a heart for Africa.
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And so we looked at it
and we were very excited
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find Riverside Farms
that we could partner with.
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Riverside Farms
give us good management.
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They operate a good school
so that we can be confident
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that our sponsorship
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on the ground is very effective.
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Riverside Farms has
and continues to grow
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by adding more
buildings to meet the great need
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that Zambia has for education.
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The expansions
includes secondary education
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that will enable up
to 150 sponsored students
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to continue their education.
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In 2017, Helen Eager,
fully retired, but the impact
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that she has had on
thousands of lives continues
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Helen Eager is an amazing woman.
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And just two weeks
before filming with us,
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I was able to
meet her in Australia.
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She's getting on in life,
but she still has a passion
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for the children,
the work that she did
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to establish Asian Aid
and what then in America
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it became Child Impact
is just an amazing story.
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She's really a
mother Teresa in action.
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She's now retired in the
city of Brisbane in Australia.
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Helen's had a
really tough time lately.
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Her husband passed away
and she lost all of her house
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and belongings in
the Australian bushfires,
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but she's still
committed to the children
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even the day
that I picked her up.
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She'd just been down to the shop
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to buy some more wool.
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And she was knitting
jerseys for the kids in Nepal.
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I just ask for
your prayers for Helen,
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and we certainly
stay in touch with her.
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And we certainly
keep her up-to-date
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on the amazing work
that she established
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in so many countries.
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Please pray for Helen.
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In spite of all
of the challenges
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Helen has faced,
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her main focus
continues to be the children.
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I'm just more
grateful than I can express
00:10:56.32\00:11:00.06
that Child Impact is growing
and doing so much to help
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as many young people
as possible and children,
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small ones as
well as bigger ones.
00:11:07.30\00:11:09.33
And Jim Rennie
has been telling me
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some of the opportunities
and some of the extra things
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that you're all doing.
00:11:16.67\00:11:18.01
And I think it's just
wonderful and I'm very grateful.
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Sponsoring a child and
giving them an opportunity
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to get an education
and to do something special
00:11:24.91\00:11:29.25
or useful with
their lives is just,
00:11:29.28\00:11:31.72
it has just changed
the lives of thousands
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and thousands of children
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that I have actually
seen myself with the,
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and many of them
still contact me.
00:11:40.26\00:11:42.23
And I think from
memory in Bangladesh,
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they said once that
about half of the workers
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in the church in Bangladesh
had been sponsored children
00:11:48.40\00:11:53.58
that had grown up
and we're now working in,
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working for God.
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And I just think that
it's an amazing ministry
00:11:58.45\00:12:03.55
and we just want
to thank everyone
00:12:03.59\00:12:06.12
who's been involved.
00:12:06.15\00:12:07.49
It's just...
00:12:07.52\00:12:09.69
Words fail me.
00:12:09.72\00:12:12.63
From its humble beginnings
with Maissie Fook wanting
00:12:12.66\00:12:15.16
to send clothing to
needy children in Asia
00:12:15.20\00:12:17.57
to now operating
in seven countries
00:12:17.60\00:12:19.37
around the world.
00:12:19.40\00:12:20.74
The dedication of
these faithful workers
00:12:20.77\00:12:22.34
can be seen in the
thousands of change lives.
00:12:22.37\00:12:26.11
Lives that would
otherwise have had no hope.
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Sponsors like you have made it
possible for Asian Aid to grow
00:12:29.68\00:12:33.01
over the last 55
years and to expand.
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This is why Asian
Aid USA changed its name
00:12:35.98\00:12:38.35
to Child Impact International.
00:12:38.39\00:12:40.59
Thank you.
00:12:40.62\00:12:41.96
Your sponsorship has
made all of this possible
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Sponsoring
children in activities
00:12:53.47\00:12:57.81
like these mission
schools and opportunities
00:12:57.84\00:13:01.14
is a tremendous way
00:13:01.18\00:13:03.21
to help form the
character of young people.
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As they look to the future,
00:13:07.12\00:13:08.45
they will never
forget their association
00:13:08.48\00:13:11.69
in a Christian environment.
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And by God's grace,
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many of them will become
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members of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:13:16.66\00:13:19.29
It is absolutely a
powerful witness to sponsor
00:13:19.33\00:13:23.63
a child in Child Impact
and so many other organizations
00:13:23.67\00:13:29.27
that help young
people to find Jesus.
00:13:29.30\00:13:34.01
Sponsoring a child, not
only has short term effects,
00:13:34.04\00:13:38.21
but it has a long-term effect.
00:13:38.25\00:13:41.32
Sponsoring a child is
investing in the character
00:13:41.35\00:13:44.62
of a young person for
eternity that we're taping this
00:13:44.65\00:13:48.52
right here in Myanmar
00:13:48.56\00:13:50.79
at the Myanmar
Union Adventist Seminary.
00:13:50.83\00:13:54.16
And about one third of
the students or one quarter
00:13:54.20\00:13:57.80
of the students are being
sponsored by Child Impact.
00:13:57.83\00:14:01.94
People who become
workers in God's church,
00:14:01.97\00:14:05.71
people who make an
impact in the community
00:14:05.74\00:14:08.78
have been people
who have been sponsored.
00:14:08.81\00:14:11.75
Your sponsorship is absolutely
00:14:11.78\00:14:14.48
an investment in the
future of the church.
00:14:14.52\00:14:17.35