Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM001104S
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00:04 Hi, I'm Jim Rennie,
00:06 CEO of Child Impact International. 00:10 In the last two weeks, 00:12 we've been telling you about the rice and health appeal 00:16 where we're going to help 00:17 Adventist mission schools in India, 00:20 Bangladesh and Myanmar with rice, 00:23 soap and health education to help them 00:26 in the current crisis. 00:30 I just want to thank you for your support. 00:33 Your response has been a huge blessing. 00:37 Right now schools are shut down, 00:39 but it is also the school holidays. 00:42 We've still rush some soap and some rice 00:45 to key schools as the children 00:48 who come from destitute families, 00:50 orphan and staff children are still there. 00:54 Our field staff have done really well to achieve this. 01:00 In these countries, millions have lost their jobs 01:04 and with no government assistance are in big trouble. 01:07 And the basics like rice are increasing in price. 01:13 We now have the supplies for when the kids return. 01:16 Thanks again, you have been really great. 01:19 You can still give it at our website, 01:22 childimpact.org. 01:26 The program that you're about to watch 01:28 is one in a new series about our work in Bangladesh. 01:32 So please enjoy it. 01:34 And by the way, the kids say thanks. 02:01 As of 2015, the most recent available year for records, 02:05 there are 150 million orphans in the world. 02:10 The South Asia region where Bangladesh 02:12 is located is home to over a quarter of them. 02:17 Bangladesh struggles with child malnourishment 02:20 and child marriage disproportionately 02:23 affects orphans. 02:24 But on the ground, the situation can vary. 02:29 Kellogg-Mookerjee Memorial Seminary, 02:31 an Adventist boarding school in rural Bangladesh 02:34 has about 400 students. 02:37 Half of those students come 02:38 from financially difficult backgrounds 02:41 with parents underemployed or otherwise struggling. 02:45 But the other half of those students 02:46 face a different challenge. 02:48 They have lost one or both of their parents. 02:52 Between the boys' and girls' dormitories on the KMMS campus 02:56 sits a sizable orphanage 02:58 which currently houses around 100 children. 03:03 This is the story of these children 03:04 and the hope they have found at KMMS. 03:10 This story is of Praveen Beroy, 03:12 age eight who has been at KMMS for two years. 03:17 Praveen is in kindergarten and sometimes carries himself 03:19 with a very dry, serious demeanor. 03:22 My name is Praveen Beroy. 03:28 But other times, 03:29 he can be just like any other kid. 03:41 Praveen seriousness may stem from his background. 03:44 Yeah, Praveen, he came from one rural village, 03:50 that village called Kadambari and his father passed away, 03:56 and now he has only his mother 04:01 and elder sister 04:02 and one elder brother. 04:06 And elder brother living 04:08 with his mother and elder sister, 04:12 she's studying here with Praveen. 04:16 And his mother is so poor, though men, 04:22 they are not getting the proper jobs 04:25 and many men's they are not, 04:28 give them proper job and if they're having the job, 04:34 but they're not getting the proper salary or wages. 04:38 So, for that reason, 04:40 his mother is unable to pay their education fees. 04:45 If Praveen could not attend KMMS, 04:47 he would likely follow the path of his brother. 04:49 Most children in Bangladesh will leave school by age eight, 04:53 Praveen's age. 04:54 Praveen's brother Tamale is 11 and already seeking work. 04:58 One of his brother, he's at home with her mother. 05:02 And he is not interested to come to boarding school. 05:06 But I know that her mother is, 05:09 his mother is working very hard to... 05:13 and for family 05:15 and she is hopeless. 05:20 As a half orphan, 05:21 Praveen lives in the on campus orphanage, 05:24 where in contrast to many of the countries 05:26 millions of orphans and half orphans, 05:27 he is safe from human trafficking 05:29 and child labor. 05:34 Child Impact CEO Jim Rennie took time 05:36 to visit the orphanage and learn more about 05:38 their care and keeping. 05:41 While it's time to introduce another sponsored child, 05:45 a child that's sponsored by Child Impact. 05:48 And I'm still at KMMS School in Bangladesh, 05:52 and this is Praveen, and he's eight years of age. 05:56 Now sadly, his father died and his mother is a cook. 06:01 And actually sometimes she goes and works on the road. 06:05 Can you imagine it, doing the heavy lifting? 06:08 She's real desperate for her son to have a future. 06:12 And she's just so excited that he can come to the school. 06:16 And she's grateful for the sponsorship. 06:19 Now he's got a brother aged 11, and a sister aged 10. 06:23 And I spoke to his teacher, 06:26 and he's really good at his schoolwork 06:29 and loves reading. 06:30 And that's so important. 06:32 And as you sit here, you see the difference. 06:35 You look him in the face. 06:36 Look at this young man. 06:38 He's so grateful for sponsorship. 06:40 And his mother is so grateful for sponsorship 06:43 because she's really struggling in life 06:46 to support these three children. 06:48 And you know the exciting thing? 06:50 He wants to be a doctor. 06:52 He wants to have a future and he will have a future, 06:55 and his sponsor is having an impact on him, 06:59 having an impact on his family and giving him a future. 07:02 So sponsorship, when you look at this young man 07:05 on the face is making a real difference. 07:10 Oh, is it true, they're all orphans? 07:12 Orphans. 07:14 Is he an orphan? 07:16 Some are semi. Yeah. 07:18 And some are full. 07:19 And there are a lot of them that are single mothers. 07:21 Yeah. 07:22 One of the unique aspects about the school 07:25 is that right in the center of it, 07:27 it has an orphanage, 07:28 and there are 91 children 07:30 they are either orphans or semi-orphans. 07:33 And Child Impact is just so excited that 07:36 it can play a role in this community, 07:38 supporting these children with a real need. 07:41 And look at these two guys here. 07:43 It's just so exciting to see these kids, 07:46 because not only are they given a chance, 07:49 they're given an education. 07:51 And the mom simply just can't cope 07:54 with the cost of living or even bringing the child up. 07:58 Now the unique thing is here that they're in this building 08:01 for when they're young. 08:03 But when they get to a certain age, 08:05 they go over to the boarding part of the school. 08:08 So they're given a future. 08:09 They feel comfortable here. 08:11 They feel secure here. 08:13 And they're given an education. 08:15 And so we're really excited about the mission happening 08:19 in this school for orphans. 08:21 And we're happy that we can support it. 08:27 We have the opportunity to give Praveen and his sister 08:30 a chance to see their mother again. 08:33 It had been over a year since Praveen 08:35 and his sister had seen her. 08:37 And when we found out, 08:38 we took the opportunity to take them with us 08:41 as we were going to visit other schools. 08:44 Even though they were camera shy, 08:46 they were very excited to see their mother, 08:48 and it was great to see everybody happy 08:50 once the cameras were off. 08:52 They were able to stay 08:54 with each other for half the day. 08:55 And when we got them back, 08:56 Praveen had even gotten a haircut. 08:59 The mother later told us how happy she was to see him. 09:03 With the money the mother makes, 09:05 there's no way of going to see Praveen and his sister, 09:08 so they have to stay at the school. 09:10 Like Praveen, many of these children 09:12 have no other alternative and struggle to make it 09:15 with their families. 09:16 And if it were not for the opportunities 09:18 for paid education, 09:20 Praveen would probably be working 09:22 and helping his mother make money in order to survive. 09:25 It's difficult to see 09:26 these children struggling at such a young age, 09:28 having to grow up fast and deal with hardship 09:30 before they even have a chance 09:32 at living a normal life as a child. 09:34 So we left the school this morning 09:37 and have driven about one and a half hours. 09:40 And we originally 09:42 were going to come and see his mother, 09:43 but the daughter wanted to come 09:46 and she was very excited that they could come 09:48 and then meet the mother. 09:50 And this is where their home is. 09:53 The mother is a laborer and goes out 09:55 and does various cooking jobs. 09:58 And so, it's just given us an insight. 10:01 I want you to come and translate for me. 10:10 She's very happy. Very happy. 10:12 And she one of them, top in the class. 10:16 Yes, last year. 10:19 Everything serves multiple purposes 10:21 at a school like KMMS, 10:23 and the orphanage dining hall is no different. 10:25 Rice harvested from the on campus rice paddy 10:28 is stored there before being taken into town. 10:34 And that serves another purpose too, 10:36 entertainment for the kids. 10:39 Many of the children in the orphanage 10:41 would not be able to attend school 10:43 of any kind without help. 10:45 Without housing or education, 10:47 orphan children are the most vulnerable group 10:49 to human trafficking. 10:51 But the children in the orphanage 10:53 at KMMS are safe. 10:57 Orphans. 10:59 Well, we must sympathize with orphan students. 11:03 And even the donors also very much sympathize. 11:06 And we try your best to take the best care 11:09 within our limitation on means. 11:12 And even our teachers, they should, 11:16 they must love and care for them. 11:18 Because most of the orphans, they come very small. 11:21 So they get, you know, mother care or even father care 11:25 and they are all cared here, 11:27 and we have a very old experienced 11:29 mother here, Mrs. Biswas. 11:32 And she is a registered nurse. 11:34 So she takes good care of these children. 11:38 Even we help our administration, 11:39 we take care even whenever any donor comes, 11:43 we share our, their needs. 11:47 We pass emphasize their needs, orphans needs, not other needs. 11:51 Because they are the more helpless and all. 11:54 And even, whenever thus, 11:56 most of the times orphan student 11:57 they do not have shoes or no dress. 12:01 Even teachers we try to help buying for them. 12:05 Teachers buy from their own pocket. 12:08 Whenever one boy has no shoes, we buy for them. 12:12 Even during the Christmas time, 12:14 we try to make 12:15 a very special program for them, 12:17 and we try to give warm clothes also for them. 12:21 So usually they are... 12:24 We do our best. 12:26 Even I as school principal, 12:28 I don't go home at Christmas time, 12:30 I spent time with them 12:31 because you understand that they feel they will care. 12:37 Are there a lot of orphans? Are there many? 12:39 Yeah, there are many. There are many. 12:42 And we have, actually there are many 12:44 they want to come also from village. 12:46 But we look sponsorship for them 12:50 because once they enter, 12:51 we need to be their all wardens and there are some still, 12:54 they don't have help. 12:56 So we are also looking for them. 12:59 Thanks to sponsorship, 13:00 the colossal undertaking of housing 91 orphans 13:03 becomes possible. 13:05 Most of the children in this facility 13:07 have nothing to their name, 13:09 except the clothes they wear, their school items, 13:12 and sometimes a brother or sister. 13:14 But they face each new day at KMMS 13:17 with a once unthinkable hope for their future. 13:21 And as another day at KMMS ends, 13:24 these children sleep well, 13:26 giving them reprieve from the difficult questions 13:28 of survival that orphans 13:30 around the world face every day. 13:34 And look at these lovely kids. 13:36 It's just so exciting to meet them 13:39 and to see the difference we're making in their lives. 13:43 Education is vital, but being in a safe place, 13:47 and being a child with other kids, 13:49 gives them the opportunity to be happy 13:51 and not worry about the hardships 13:53 they would have had to face. |
Revised 2020-04-23