Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000228S
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00:05 Child Impact International is an organization giving hope.
00:09 Previously called Asian Aid, Child Impact International 00:13 is an organization fostering permanent positive change 00:16 in the lives of disadvantaged children and their communities. 00:20 Child Impact is committed to making a difference 00:22 in the lives of children and those who are in need, 00:25 serving communities in India, Nepal, 00:28 Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, 00:29 Myanmar, and will soon expand to other countries. 00:33 For the last 50 years, Child Impact has invested 00:36 in the futures of people, and their investment 00:38 has proven infinite returns, driven by the dedication 00:41 to helping those who have the least. 00:43 Child Impact is an organization focused 00:46 on the welfare of children, implementing diverse 00:49 development projects 00:50 and sponsoring thousands of children. 00:52 Their outreach spans from child rescue operations 00:55 to providing an education for orphans, deaf, 00:58 and the blind children giving them 01:00 a sense of place, a home. 01:03 But above all, Child Impact is an organization giving hope, 01:07 giving hope to children, giving hope to communities, 01:10 giving hope to the ones who need it the most. 01:13 This is Hope in Motion. 01:26 Welcome to Myanmar. 01:28 Child Impact international has been sponsoring over 01:31 600 children in Adventist schools 01:34 all across the Southeast Asian nation. 01:39 Over 95% of the population here in Myanmar practices Buddhism, 01:43 in fact, Myanmar is one of the most religious 01:46 Buddhist countries in the world. 01:48 The Seventh-day Adventist Mission was established here 01:51 115 years ago and Adventist education 01:54 has played a central role 01:55 in spreading the gospel in Myanmar. 02:00 The challenge is that a decent education is expensive. 02:03 Most people can't afford it. 02:05 This is where an organization like Child Impact 02:07 has such a great impact. 02:09 They are concerned and committed to the welfare 02:12 of children in need here. 02:15 Today, we joined Jim Rennie on a visit 02:17 to Myanmar Union Adventist Seminary 02:20 and see what Child Impact is doing to bring hope, 02:23 salvation and the future to needy children in Myanmar. 02:32 Well, I'm back here in Myanmar, and I've just had 02:34 a four to five hour drive here to the seminary. 02:38 And on this trip, we really want to meet 02:40 some of the students that you have sponsored 02:43 and see the difference 02:44 that we're making in their lives. 02:46 Come and join me on this trip as we meet these students 02:49 and see the impact on their lives, 02:51 which is very real. 02:53 Come with me 03:01 Myanmar Union Adventist Seminary or MUAS, 03:05 as it is commonly known 03:06 is the only Adventist institution 03:08 of higher learning in Myanmar 03:10 and it plays a very important role 03:11 in developing young minds 03:13 who are the future torchbearers of the church. 03:15 Presently there are 600 students at the college, 03:18 taking religion, education 03:20 and business as their fields of study. 03:22 Most of them come from 03:24 financially difficult backgrounds, 03:25 and 160 students are sponsored by Child Impact. 03:30 These young people come from all over Myanmar 03:33 and Child Impact is making it possible 03:35 for them to be able to learn and acquire skills 03:37 needed for employment. 03:39 I'm here at Myanmar Adventist College, 03:42 where there are a group of over 160 students 03:45 that are sponsored by Child Impact International. 03:49 And just meeting with them and just talking with them, 03:51 it's so exciting to see the real difference 03:54 that sponsorship is making in their lives. 03:57 Standing behind me are the future doctors, 04:00 the future dentists, the future nurses, 04:03 teachers and pastors, 04:04 and this will impact on their lives. 04:07 This will impact on their family's lives. 04:09 But most of important, have a big impact 04:12 on the church in Myanmar. 04:14 Just looking at their faces, you can see the difference 04:17 that sponsorship is making, 04:19 not only in the lives of their children, 04:21 but of their families, their community and the church. 04:25 Just shows the success of sponsorship. 04:28 For us in our union, 04:30 the Child Impact sponsors international 04:34 sponsorship is very important 04:36 because it is among the many sponsorship program. 04:40 It is the biggest, it sponsor more than 04:46 600 students in our union. 04:50 We have more need 04:54 for the sponsorship. 04:56 The Child Impact International 05:01 can sponsor mort students, 05:04 more students can learn and mort student can be... 05:10 What to say, in one or other way 05:14 they can help the child 05:16 when they finish their education. 05:24 Education is vital in this country. 05:27 It is important education is subsidized so that 05:29 we can create the environment 05:31 in which children have an opportunity to learn 05:33 and achieve their dreams. 05:34 And the Adventist school system not only helps children 05:37 grow mentally and socially, but they also have 05:40 an opportunity to grow spiritually. 05:43 Well, as we all know, Seventh-day Adventist 05:45 education was prepared and launched through 05:50 very intensive information that God gave through Ellen White 05:56 as to how Seventh-day Adventist education 05:59 ought to be different from other places. 06:01 It was to reach the head, the hand and the heart. 06:06 It was to help people following in Christ's ministry, 06:09 helping children, young people physically, 06:12 mentally, socially and spiritually, 06:15 helping them to become 06:16 a whole person so they can be sent from 06:19 those schools to be 06:21 wonderful testimonies for the lord. 06:23 Seventh-day Adventist education is unique and it is powerful 06:28 because it's from heaven. 06:29 To move forward with its focus in Myanmar, 06:32 Child Impact has established the Educate Myanmar Fund. 06:35 The purpose of this fund is to help sponsor children 06:38 in Adventist Mission schools here in Myanmar 06:40 and help with resources 06:42 and other needs such as classrooms. 06:44 The college has many needs and Child Impact also address 06:48 another important issue of congestion in the dorms 06:51 and other infrastructural needs. 06:53 Currently, it is helping the college 06:54 in finishing the building 06:56 of classrooms for theology students. 07:10 Well, it's quite exciting to see 07:12 what is happening with this building. 07:13 Yes. 07:14 I'm here with Dr. Connolly, who is the president 07:17 of the Myanmar Adventist Union College 07:20 and in talking with him, I can now see 07:22 how important that the theology and religious training 07:26 is from the Myanmar Adventist Union College. 07:30 It's the only source of Bible workers 07:33 and pastors for the country of Myanmar. 07:36 And so Child Impact International 07:38 is really excited that with the help of our sponsors, 07:42 we can sponsor Bible students and theology students, 07:46 but also if possible, we can help 07:49 with the finishing of this new theology department building. 07:53 So let's go in. 08:00 How many boys do you think there are in college? 08:04 Forty eight boys in SDA International. 08:13 The Educate Myanmar Fund is fully committed 08:15 to helping Adventist schools in Myanmar. 08:18 But more importantly, it is committed to helping 08:20 give young boys and girls from difficult backgrounds 08:23 an opportunity to receive an education 08:26 through sponsorship. 08:28 I'm here in the boys' dormitory 08:30 at Myanmar Adventist Seminary. 08:33 It's a large room where there are 20 boys 08:35 sleeping on the floor, 08:37 which to us is a little strange. 08:39 But in fact, culturally, this is how they probably 08:42 live at home in their village house 08:45 and they sleep on the floor. 08:47 I'm here with Sanga, who is an inspiring story 08:51 from sponsorship. 08:53 He comes from a very large family of seven siblings 08:57 and he's the only one getting an education. 09:00 His father is a farmer, a poor farmer. 09:03 And the rest are at home, working in the field. 09:07 Sanga at an early age was given the chance 09:10 to go to an Adventist school. 09:12 And he's been through the high school, 09:14 and now he's at the seminary doing the religious studies 09:18 and theology course. 09:20 And we're real proud of his achievements today. 09:23 Just to show the pressure for finance 09:27 and how poor his family is. 09:29 In those three years. 09:30 Sanga's only been home twice, 09:33 because he has to do a job in the holidays. 09:36 He has to work just to cover the rest of his overhead 09:40 and costs in getting through college. 09:43 And he's really got a dream. 09:45 And, Sanga, tell us about your dream. 09:48 What do you want to achieve? 09:53 I want to be a good pastor, 09:55 so I'm taking here religion major. 09:58 Right. 09:59 So Sanga wants to go on to do his MI in theology, 10:03 and he wants to be a pastor, 10:05 and he wants to be a successful pastor. 10:08 And once again, that's real exciting. 10:10 And we want to support Sanga as he goes ahead. 10:13 And it really shows you how sponsorship through 10:16 the different facets of education 10:19 is now turning this young man 10:22 into a real success story, and we're so proud of 10:25 what he has achieved. 10:28 It's been my privilege to be in the role of CEO 10:31 for Child Impact for over 12 years. 10:35 One of the most satisfying parts 10:37 of the job is being able to visit the field 10:40 and meet the children and see the projects 10:43 that you support in six countries. 10:46 It's a privilege to be able to evaluate on your behalf, 10:50 how your generous donations are utilized. 10:53 At this time of year we are very dependent 10:56 on your generous support for our special November, 11:00 December impact gifts appeal. 11:03 This is the key appeal for the 3,500 children we serve 11:08 and the special homes and schools we support. 11:12 There are three projects in our special appeal this year 11:16 and each have a need of $100,000. 11:20 The first appeal is for our Where Needed Most Fund. 11:24 This fund is exactly what it says 11:26 "Where Needed Most." 11:28 It helps with the cost to run our operation 11:31 to serve the kids in the projects we do. 11:35 And it's also for the urgent needs 11:37 that just seem to keep coming. 11:39 The Where Needed Most Fund is key to us, 11:43 serving over 3,500 children. 11:47 I just want to share for a moment a story 11:50 from the blind school. 11:52 This is a story of Mali. 11:53 We found her as a five year old girl 11:56 chained in a family home. 11:58 Now you may wonder why was she chained? 12:01 Did the parents not care? 12:02 But the reality was they were a very poor farming family 12:08 who had no idea how to deal with the blind child. 12:11 And after falling down into a hole, 12:14 they felt it was best to restrain her. 12:18 So we convinced them that she should go 12:20 to the blind school. 12:21 And I was actually there the day she arrived. 12:24 She was shy, she was reserved. 12:27 She sat in a corner. She talked to no one. 12:30 It was sad to see. 12:32 I then came back a month later, 12:34 and you just wouldn't believe the change. 12:37 She was smiling. She was happy. 12:39 She was playing with other children, 12:41 and I even saw her singing during the worship time. 12:46 That shows the difference that it makes. 12:49 Our second project is for the Blind, Deaf and Orphans. 12:53 We fully support the church run schools for the blind school 12:57 and a deaf school in India. 12:59 These special needs children come from poor communities 13:03 and these schools give them hope. 13:06 The orphan supported are at Sunrise Home, 13:09 a very special home located 13:11 in a lovely setting in rural India. 13:15 These special needs children need support 13:19 and so giving to this appeal will make a difference. 13:23 The third project is Operation Child Rescue. 13:27 The key activity in Operation Child Rescue 13:30 is the rescue of young girls from brothels 13:33 in the city of Bangalore, India. 13:36 Child Impact supports a rescue home for these girls. 13:41 In the city of Bangalore, we also support a home 13:44 for abandoned babies. 13:46 The trafficking of girls is simply terrible 13:49 and hard to understand. 13:51 You can make a real difference here. 13:55 Once again, we ask for your support 13:57 and you can make an impact with your generous gift. 14:01 Any gift is a generous one. 14:04 Please go to our website, childimpact.org 14:08 or call us on 14:10 (423) 910-0667. 14:15 Please pray for the people we serve 14:18 and us as an organization, 14:20 and on behalf of the kids, I just wanted to say, 14:24 thank you. |
Revised 2019-12-19