Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM001112S
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00:02 Child Impact International is an organization
00:05 that gives hope 00:06 and fosters permanent, positive change 00:08 in the lives of disadvantaged children 00:10 and their communities. 00:13 Countries include Zambia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, 00:18 Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. 00:20 Child impacts investment in the lives 00:22 of more than 3,500 children 00:24 continues to yield infinite returns. 00:27 Outreach spans from child rescue operations 00:30 to providing an education 00:31 and a home for deaf and blind children and orphans. 00:35 Above all, Child Impact sponsors 00:38 give hope to the ones who need it the most. 00:57 The average citizen of a developing country 00:59 faces many challenges. 01:01 Some of those challenges are due to armed conflicts 01:04 or religious persecution. 01:07 But it is usually economic. 01:09 Few experience more struggles than women, 01:12 whose plight is especially difficult 01:13 in Bangladesh. 01:15 Women have made 01:16 immense progress in the country 01:17 since its establishment almost 50 years ago, 01:20 with the country's Prime Minister 01:22 and speaker of Parliament, both being women. 01:26 And some statistics indicate education 01:28 has improved as well, 01:29 with girls almost reaching parity with boys in schooling. 01:33 But those numbers don't tell the whole story. 01:35 Girls are much more likely to drop out of school 01:37 in the later years than boys due to a variety of factors. 01:42 In Bangladeshi society, cultural and economic reasons 01:45 lead many parents to force their daughters 01:47 into marriage 01:48 before they have completed school. 01:51 Twenty eight percent of girls in Bangladesh 01:53 and schooling and enter forced marriages 01:55 before they turn 15. 01:57 Before reaching 18, 01:59 an astounding 65% of Bangladeshi girls 02:02 can expect to be placed in a marriage, 02:05 ending any hope of completing their education. 02:09 Though marriage under 18 is illegal, 02:11 it is still widely practiced. 02:13 And the Prime Minister recently introduced a law 02:15 lowering the age a person can marry to 16. 02:18 Women's literacy in Bangladesh is lower than men's 02:21 as a result of this 02:23 and women who do not marry as teenagers 02:25 face their own difficulties. 02:27 Freedom of movement is limited for women, 02:30 inhibiting their ability to pursue work opportunities 02:33 outside their communities. 02:36 This is where the mission 02:37 of Seventh-day Adventist Maranatha Seminary or SAMS, 02:41 a boarding school in northwest Bangladesh 02:43 becomes crucial. 02:52 Several hundred girls from diverse backgrounds, 02:55 some are orphans 02:57 while others need protection from people 02:58 on the outside 03:00 which can be difficult to handle. 03:02 But the responsibility is placed entirely 03:04 on one woman, Dulali. 03:07 Jim Rennie of Child Impact sat down with Dulali, 03:09 the girls' dean, 03:11 during our recent visit to SAMS. 03:12 To find out more about how she helps girls 03:15 live a better life at the school. 03:18 We're going to have a chat with a very important lady, 03:20 Mrs. Dulali. 03:22 And she's the girls' dean here at SAMS. 03:27 And she has over 290 girls in the dormitory. 03:32 Now, it's tough enough bringing up two daughters 03:35 as I know, 03:37 but could you imagine 03:38 if you had to bring up 290 girls. 03:41 So she carries out a big role in the running of the school. 03:46 And how long have you been doing this? 03:50 More than 11 years. 03:52 Eleven years, okay. 03:54 How important is an education for a girl? 03:57 Our country is poor mainly for educational status, 04:03 they are very poor. 04:04 Their background is not capable. 04:06 They're not capable. 04:08 And from their background, their poor background, 04:11 they're coming from there to here. 04:14 And we are supporting them, we are giving them, 04:18 we are trying to give them best quality of education. 04:21 And I have seen from my, 04:24 that working place I have seen from the beginning, 04:27 whoever coming from a rural or village level, 04:31 they don't know anything, but when they're coming here, 04:34 they're learning, they're getting education, 04:37 better education. 04:38 This way, 04:40 they don't know anything at home 04:41 when they're staying at home. 04:43 But when they're coming here, 04:44 they are learning many things and they're becoming educated. 04:48 Right. 04:50 And so a girl has a better chance 04:52 of getting a career if she is educated. 04:55 Otherwise she just goes back to the village? 04:56 No, no, no. 04:58 Without education, nothing is possible. 05:00 Yeah. 05:01 So they would just go back to the village? 05:03 They don't know acquire anything, 05:05 it is impossible. 05:06 But when they're coming here by the help of our donor, 05:10 with the help of our teachers, day by day, 05:13 they're growing by education and supporting. 05:16 And so, sponsorship is giving them hope, 05:20 making a difference? 05:21 Yes, difference. 05:22 Sponsorship is very much needed for them. 05:25 And with the help of the sponsorship, 05:27 our donor, 05:29 so they are getting the great help for their life. 05:32 And because of that, they're growing by education. 05:37 So what did you do before you were a dean? 05:40 For 11 years ago, I was the teacher in classroom, 05:44 subject teacher here. 05:46 Okay. 05:47 And before that, 05:48 I was the teacher 05:50 in English medium school Adventist, 05:51 English medium school, not here, 05:53 in the different parts of Bangladesh. 05:55 Okay. 05:56 Yeah, but I have come here since 2008 from here. 06:00 Right. 06:01 So before girls' dean, 06:03 I was mainly teacher, subject teacher. 06:06 And do you like being the girls' dean? 06:09 Yes, I like it very much, 06:11 not an easy job, very difficult. 06:14 But I'm trying from my level best 06:16 by the help of God. 06:18 I'm trying my level best. 06:20 Well, I have to say 06:21 that I have the privilege of visiting many schools. 06:25 And when you walk into a school, 06:27 you get a feeling. 06:28 You can sense discipline. 06:30 You can sense happy children. 06:33 But you can also sense when something's going wrong. 06:36 And I know that in this dormitory, 06:39 there is a strong sense of loving the Lord 06:44 and a strong sense of discipline. 06:46 Now, that doesn't mean to say this lady has her problems. 06:50 I'm sure they're not all little angels, 06:53 but at the same time, 06:55 it's just so exciting to come to school, 06:59 a beautiful built school like this and see the impact 07:02 that it's having on girls. 07:04 Girls who really if they'd stayed at home 07:07 would have no future at all. 07:10 After talking to Dulali, there was more to learn. 07:13 She graciously allowed us inside the girls' dorm 07:16 where we got to see the everyday life of girls 07:18 in a Bangladeshi Mission School up close. 07:21 The girls sleep in large rooms full of bunk beds, 07:24 dozens to a room. 07:26 When we went inside, 07:27 we and our cameras were subject to great attention 07:29 from the students. 07:31 Two girls who felt comfortable speaking English with us, 07:34 told us about their lives here. 07:36 Kogli has been at SAMS for four years 07:39 to hear her tell it. 07:40 I like it very much because the rules are very good 07:44 and the teachers, they teach us very well. 07:48 When I finished school I wanted to do nursing 07:51 because I like to help others when they're like, 07:55 they need have the best friend. 07:58 My best friend is Mariam. 08:00 When I came here, it was new to me. 08:02 So I was very scared 08:04 that what I'm going to do or not 08:07 so like I was feeling sad with no friends, 08:11 but then in a class when I was alone, 08:14 so Mariam came and talk with me 08:17 so every day we used to talk and we get friends. 08:21 So now we're free. 08:23 My life, when I was little, my mother and father, 08:27 they left me at the hospital. 08:30 So the nurse, she gave it to me mommy, daddy, 08:34 who, like now they're in Bangla Hope. 08:37 So they brought me to Bangla Hope, 08:41 so that I can study and fulfill my future. 08:45 So now I'm at Bangla Hope now. 08:47 Like in Bangladesh, the people are so poor, 08:50 but when we get help, 08:51 it is good for us to study and then we don't feel alone 08:55 that we don't have persons to help us. 09:00 But when some people help us, then we are very happy. 09:04 They had given us a lot of things 09:06 like mosquito nets 09:07 and they are helping us with money to study 09:10 and some notepad so we can write down, 09:14 and some soap 09:15 so that we can take good care of us, 09:18 and some bed sheet 09:19 so that we can put in the bed and sleep. 09:21 Very thankful for our sponsor 09:23 because they're helping us a lot 09:25 to make our dream fulfilled 09:30 so that we can also have others. 09:32 So I'm very thankful to our sponsor. 09:37 We also met Teesha, 09:38 who has been speaking English 09:40 since her early childhood, 09:41 thanks to the Adventist school efforts. 09:44 Understandably, she had a lot to say. 09:47 My favorite thing about the school is like 09:50 when we have lots of foreigners come 09:53 and we get to spend time with them, 09:55 talk to them and like going to school 09:58 having lots of friends, 09:59 making friends 10:01 and also like all the programs that we have. 10:03 I like all of them. 10:05 I'm from the KMMS. 10:08 I'm from beside the village like Kaligram, I'm from there. 10:11 And actually I was abandoned by my mother 10:13 and she wanted to bury me alive. 10:15 So foreigners went there and then they brought me. 10:20 They brought me back here. Like, he was at Dhaka. 10:23 And then from Dhaka, I moved to another school, 10:25 and then I came here. 10:26 And so, if I wouldn't come here, 10:29 I don't know what my life would be, 10:30 maybe like, 10:32 I wouldn't get a chance to study 10:34 or I'd get married in this little age. 10:36 So I'm very excited. 10:38 Like, I'm very happy that I'm here 10:40 and that God brought me here. 10:42 When I'm finished with school, I want to be a dentist, 10:44 because when I was a little girl, 10:46 I always used to think 10:48 that I was going to be a doctor. 10:49 And then I grew a little bit older, 10:51 and I said, "Well, I'm going to be a teacher." 10:53 And then I said, "I'll be a nurse." 10:55 And then I'll say, "I'll be a singer 10:57 and I used to sing a lot, " 10:58 and then I thought that I would be dentist. 11:00 So now I'm thinking to be a dentist. 11:03 Lots of kids that have sponsors 11:05 and some of them doesn't. 11:06 Like when we have time to write sponsors letters, 11:08 I mean thankful letters, 11:10 then we get to like write letters, 11:12 and I like to ask sponsors about them. 11:15 And then I also like to hear from them like, 11:17 what they want to say to me and what I like for my grades. 11:21 Like, I feel like I want to show my sponsors 11:24 the best grade that I can do so that they feel proud of me. 11:28 So my every happiness they share with us 11:30 find its way back to them. 11:33 On this filming trip to Bangladesh, 11:36 we've got two new perspectives. 11:38 One, the perspective of poverty 11:41 and the other perspective of the impact 11:43 of our sponsorship program. 11:45 In rural Bangladesh, 11:47 35% of the population live below the poverty line. 11:52 And amongst women, it's even higher. 11:55 There are statistics 11:56 like the people only earn $1.98 a day 12:00 and the absolute poor are 32% of the population 12:04 and the extreme poor are 19%. 12:08 And both those categories are above poor. 12:12 We've heard from the children 12:14 the stories of struggle of their parents, 12:16 of their solo moms 12:18 and we've heard 12:20 how that they've been struggling 12:21 to feed them. 12:22 And so we see that sponsorship is much greater than education. 12:27 Sponsorship is supporting the family. 12:30 It's giving the parents hope, 12:31 and there's a huge benefit to the community. 12:35 Sponsorship is effective. 12:37 And sponsorship is making a difference 12:39 on a wider scale here in our program in Bangladesh. 12:45 And these girls who are developing skills 12:47 that can take them very far in a country 12:49 that still poses tough challenges for women 12:51 wouldn't have the opportunity where if not for sponsorship. 12:58 The life of a young girl in Bangladesh 12:59 is complicated 13:01 and includes challenges and questions 13:03 that would be unfathomable 13:04 for the average American teenager. 13:07 But nevertheless are always present. 13:10 At Seventh-day Adventist Maranatha Seminary, 13:12 life gets a little less complicated, 13:15 which gives them a lot more time 13:16 to focus on the things that matter. 13:19 Things like education 13:21 and the saving message of Christ, 13:23 which helps to ensure a quality future. 13:26 In other episodes of the series, 13:28 the effects of quality education 13:30 and the sponsorship that enables it, 13:32 has been shown repeatedly. 13:34 Thanks to sponsorship, 13:35 child marriage, human trafficking, 13:37 and confinement to unpaid domestic roles 13:40 is averted 13:41 which opens the door for opportunity, 13:44 hope, and spiritual fulfillment to take their place. |
Revised 2020-06-25