Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM001209S
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00:01 Child Impact International is an organization
00:04 that gives hope and fosters permanent, 00:06 positive change in the lives of disadvantaged children 00:09 and their communities. 00:12 Countries include Zambia, Kenya, 00:16 India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. 00:21 Child Impact's investment in the lives 00:23 of more than 3,500 children 00:25 continues to yield infinite returns. 00:28 Outreach spans from child rescue operations 00:31 to providing an education and a home for deaf 00:34 and blind children and orphans. 00:36 Above all, Child Impact's sponsors 00:39 give hope to the ones who need it the most. 01:01 The country of India 01:02 has experienced a great deal of progress 01:04 in the last 50 years 01:06 from being a top technology country 01:09 to having their own space program, 01:11 India's rise has been amazing. 01:14 In spite of all this progress, 01:15 there are still areas of the country 01:17 that have not seen these advancements. 01:20 One of these places is in the Indian state 01:22 of Odisha, 01:23 specifically the mountain area of the Koraput district. 01:27 Here is found a region full of tribes 01:29 that are still living the same way 01:31 that their ancestors have for thousands of years. 01:34 It is usual for girls 01:36 between the ages 10 and 12 to be married off 01:39 and some of the most remote tribes still sacrifice boys 01:42 between the ages of 6 and 11, 01:44 with the hope of appeasing the spirits. 01:47 There are thousands of children here 01:48 who have no hope for the future 01:50 because if they're able to escape 01:52 an early marriage or death, 01:54 the most they have to look forward to 01:56 is malnutrition and poverty. 01:58 I've had the privilege of visiting Jeypore many times 02:02 and it's an amazing drive. 02:04 To get there it's about four hours 02:07 and you see tremendous scenery, 02:09 you see large farms, you see various small villages 02:14 and it takes about four hours. 02:17 Seeing the need, Child Impact International knew 02:20 that they had to help. 02:22 Way back when we first started getting in the state of Orissa, 02:28 it was called then, 02:30 I learned about the Bonda tribal people. 02:34 Now, when I saw these people and I just couldn't believe 02:38 that in a country like India, I mean the ladies particularly, 02:44 the ladies were wearing 02:46 just a piece of cloth around their waist, 02:49 maybe from about here to there. 02:52 And, you know, in India all the women wear saris 02:55 and they're all covered up so nicely. 02:57 And so these ladies had this piece of cloth 02:59 just tied around their waist 03:01 and then on the top they just had beads, 03:04 strings and strings and strings of beads. 03:07 It reminded me of pictures 03:09 that I'd seen about Papua New Guinea 03:11 many, many years ago. 03:13 And I was told that they didn't have any school 03:16 for the children. 03:19 I didn't actually get right up to the village, 03:21 I saw a lot of the women, 03:22 but they said that the children were just totally naked. 03:27 So it was with those tribal people in mind 03:31 that we first started the school in Jeypore. 03:37 And to begin with, we just had one building, 03:40 I think it just had a thatch roof. 03:42 This small school opened in 1998, 03:45 but it soon became clear 03:46 that the facilities were less than ideal. 03:50 There was no campus before and the first time I came 03:53 everything was just like a jungle, 03:56 all the bushes and everything. 03:58 There was no road 03:59 and you can see the hill over here. 04:02 We had to cut that hill to make a road 04:05 and that was the road 04:10 to go to the main road and we could not... 04:14 At nights we could not go. 04:16 And during night, there is to be wild animals, 04:19 like tigers, leopards and there's hyenas and wolves. 04:24 And so the children, 04:26 those who were staying in the room, 04:28 the boys used to sleep on the veranda in the open 04:31 and girls used to sleep on the top floor. 04:35 And so at night it was really scary, 04:38 everything was dark, 04:39 except the building had just very dim lights 04:45 and that was the situation. 04:48 The first couple of years were difficult 04:50 for this fledgling school, 04:52 but it didn't take long for things to change 04:54 in a major way. 04:56 Garwin McNeilus and his wife Marilee 04:58 wanted to see the most needy projects. 05:00 Jeypore was on the top of Helen Eager's list. 05:04 Unbelievable that Garwin McNeilus 05:08 decided to come to that particular area and that is, 05:12 maybe, almost the most beautiful campus 05:16 anywhere in India. 05:18 Do you think, maybe I'm biased. 05:22 All it took was one visit to start the ball rolling. 05:26 And once Mrs. Eager brought Elder Garwin McNeilus 05:31 and his wife to visit this place, 05:34 just, she said just to see. 05:36 Actually, they were working for the blind school 05:40 and then she said let's go and see Jeypore. 05:42 So once when he came over here, 05:45 he was very much impressed 05:48 with the way children are learning over here 05:52 and he felt that he will do something. 05:55 He will take up this project 05:57 and this was completed by Maranatha, India. 06:02 And they worked in two phases, 06:05 first phase, they made the girls' hostel, 06:08 boys' hostel, school building and the dining hall. 06:13 And then second phase, and some staff quarters. 06:17 And in the second phase, they completed children's home 06:19 and the staff quarters and water tower. 06:23 It took just 10 months for construction 06:25 to be completed on eleven new buildings, 06:28 plus renovations to the two original buildings. 06:32 Even with all this new space, 06:34 it didn't take long for the school 06:35 to reach capacity, 06:37 so a system had to be implemented 06:39 in order for all the children to be properly cared for 06:42 and educated. 06:44 So have two shift, standard 4, grade 4 to grade 12, 06:49 their classes are between 7:30 to 1. 06:52 And then exactly at 1, kindergarten classes, 06:56 LKG to standard 3. 06:59 So we have this shift 07:00 because the classrooms are not sufficient. 07:04 We cannot put all the children in the rooms 07:08 because classrooms are not sufficient 07:11 and so we have this shift. 07:12 And secondly, all the students cannot eat food 07:15 at the same time in the dining hall, 07:18 so we have two shifts. 07:20 First the bigger children eat 07:21 and as soon as they eat and go to class, 07:24 then the smaller children eat. 07:28 And that big house is here to manage. 07:32 All of this is a lot of work, 07:34 but it is for a very important cause 07:37 and that is the children. 07:39 Children like Sulochana, 07:41 who dreams of a better life through education, 07:43 a life that her parents 07:44 are desperately working to give her, 07:46 but there is only so much they can do. 07:55 Father says, "I'm not educated, 08:00 I have a great desire to educate my daughters, 08:03 but then the financial problem, due to financial problem, 08:07 I don't think I can continue their education. 08:10 But I have a deep desire at least till high school 08:14 I'll try to educate them and after that, 08:18 if I cannot educate them, 08:20 the other alternative is only to give them in marriage." 08:24 In rural parts of India like this, 08:26 there are not many options for girls and young women. 08:30 Education is almost entirely out of the question, 08:33 so marriage is the only option. 08:36 This means that they're unable to pursue 08:38 any career or education 08:39 which would help them escape poverty. 08:43 The tribal areas are very poor and then you understand 08:47 the benefits of the child being at Jeypore school. 08:53 First of all, they have a bed. 08:55 Back in the village they sleep on the floor with a blanket. 08:58 Secondly, they get fed. 09:00 Many of these tribal families struggle 09:03 because they're just farm laborers 09:06 or they're trying to eke out survival. 09:09 And so when the kids are at the school, 09:11 the parents know the children are fed. 09:14 And thirdly, 09:15 they get a tremendous Christian education. 09:18 They have access to computers, electronic classrooms 09:22 and they get thorough teaching on all subjects, 09:25 which is far more than they would get 09:28 at the local government schools 09:30 in these remote areas. 09:32 Education is the key that unlocks a bright future 09:35 for children like Sulochana. 09:38 While the answer seems simple, 09:39 a lot has to go into providing an education to needy children. 09:44 The one thing that allows 09:45 Child Impact to provide an education is sponsors. 09:49 Without sponsors, none of this would be possible. 09:53 This is something that sponsored children 09:55 and their families are very grateful for. 10:07 He says, "They are very happy that their two children, 10:10 somebody is helping them to study." 10:13 And he says, "With his financial problem, 10:17 he would have never been able to send 10:20 his two daughters to the school." 10:22 And he's so thankful to whoever is helping them 10:26 for the studies and he's grateful to them 10:28 and he says that I pray to the God to bless them 10:32 and give them good health and strength. 10:35 I like to thank them from the bottom of my heart 10:39 because when I was small 10:40 from that time they take care of me. 10:43 And when I came here, 10:46 they helped me for that I'm very thankful. 10:50 If they could not help me, 10:51 I could not be here in this time 10:53 because my parents they could not pay any money. 10:57 For that I thank them from my heart. 11:04 Whether your support is large or small, 11:07 know that the blessings of every penny 11:09 are drastically changing a child's life for the better. 11:13 Thank you. 11:27 I just want to pay tribute to the co-founder Helen Eager 11:31 and the McNeilus family for establishing this school. 11:35 It just delivers a tremendous mission based service 11:40 to these kids from the tribal areas, 11:43 and it's just so exciting to see 11:46 these kids getting an education. 11:48 They have so much energy and they're just so eager 11:52 to get an education 11:54 and to have a future in their lives. 12:10 The story of Sulochana was very compelling. 12:13 To hear her father say he has a strong desire 12:15 for her to have an education, 12:17 but that he can't afford it, so normally, 12:20 he would give her into marriage. 12:22 Well, that's a challenge because most of these marriages 12:24 don't work and the girl is simply, 12:26 either enslaved labor or trafficked. 12:29 To see her getting an education, 12:31 being so happy of receiving hope for the future 12:34 is just so rewarding. 12:36 Jeypore is a school of Child Impact, 12:38 and we're proud of this school 12:40 and the hope that is given to children 12:42 and the opportunity for them to be introduced to Jesus. 12:46 Jeypore serves tribal areas and many of these children 12:50 are able to receive an education 12:52 because of sponsors like you. 12:54 If you would like to support this school, 12:56 we'd invite you to go to our website childimpact.org 12:59 and select the school development fund. 13:03 Again, that's childimpact.org 13:05 and the school development fund. 13:08 Let's make a difference for these children today. 13:16 Unees, bees. 13:27 We're going to learn about? 13:28 Sabbath day. 13:30 The previous day we learned about what? 13:33 Petition. |
Revised 2021-10-21