Participants: Narrator: Chet Damron
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000032A
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00:01 Adventist World Aviation
00:02 has a mission outpost in Guyana, South America, 00:05 servicing the northwestern part of the country 00:08 with Aviation Services, such as medivacs, 00:12 delivering supplies, and spreading the gospel. 00:15 This mission outpost has been in existence 00:18 for well over 10 years now and just thriving. 00:21 They use airplanes as a vital tool 00:23 to serve the local Guyanese people 00:26 and share the love of Jesus with them. 00:29 There is such a great need for emergency flights 00:32 from deep in the jungle that they need two aircrafts 00:35 to keep up with the flight request demands. 01:32 In Guyana, South America, 01:34 the Adventist World Aviation missionaries 01:36 run a busy aviation ministry. 01:39 But their project is not just about flying airplanes. 01:44 Oh yes, they use airplanes as tools to save lives. 01:50 But they're also interested in the daily life 01:52 of those in their communities. 01:55 They are interested in helping everyone 01:58 not just those with medical emergencies, 02:01 there are so many needs present around them that 02:04 the missionaries simply cannot ignore. 02:09 Well, the educational opportunities 02:11 here in Mabaruma for local children is, 02:14 I mean, I certainly would not mean to offer 02:17 any offense to the government here in any way. 02:19 But our viewpoint of what we've seen 02:21 of the education system, it's lacking. 02:23 I mean, it's really hard for children to get 02:26 a robust education of any kind. 02:28 Most of them, of course, don't stay in school. 02:30 Many of them just leave after about, 02:32 you know, maybe at about our eighth grade level or so. 02:36 They drop out of school, they figure, 02:38 well, we'll just go to work 02:39 and not bother with an education. 02:41 And unfortunately, I think a lot of them 02:42 have a lack of hope that 02:44 they could ever do anything more 02:45 with their lives 02:46 because they live in a very remote area here 02:48 and the only way they're going to really 02:50 ever get anywhere in life 02:51 is they have to go to Georgetown, 02:52 and the family in most cases 02:54 can't afford to really send them 02:55 not only to get a ticket to go to town, 02:57 but also to, for the education. 03:00 Although, actually, my understanding is that 03:03 the education as far as college in this country is free. 03:06 So I really don't know, 03:07 but I think a lot of them have a hard time 03:09 getting through school here. 03:10 When they aren't making a flight, 03:12 each of the missionaries busy themselves with projects. 03:15 They've started to help the local community. 03:18 They want to provide opportunities 03:20 for growth and a hope for better life. 03:25 Opportunities for employment in the jungle are very few. 03:29 Because of this, 03:30 many do not have enough money for food 03:33 or to send their children to school. 03:36 It's an oppressive cycle. 03:39 And AWA missionaries want to help 03:42 these people break out. 03:45 Unfortunately, even the local Guyanese children 03:47 don't get much in the way of a proper education. 03:50 The government has made efforts 03:52 to provide education to everyone at no costs. 03:56 However, family circumstances 03:58 and lack of enforcement leave a large percentage 04:02 of the children not attending school. 04:06 The education here in the school 04:08 and everything is free. 04:09 But sometimes you have to pay for the books and the, um... 04:15 Just like, so the cost for the uniforms and stuff 04:18 and most of them don't have money. 04:20 Some of my friends, they don't even go to school 04:23 because their mother and father, 04:26 they don't raise up money to get their uniforms 04:30 or tennis shoes to go to the school. 04:34 They just do nothing. 04:38 So the educational system here in Mabaruma, 04:41 basically the situation is that 04:43 you have a lot of kids in this community. 04:44 There's a lot of children running around here. 04:46 And average family is approximately 04:51 somewhere between six to eight kids. 04:55 And there's a lot of families in the area here 04:56 and it's always growing. 04:59 So you have a lot of children, 05:01 and unfortunately very few teachers 05:03 that are willing to work at the school here, 05:05 they're coming from Georgetown. 05:06 The ones that are willing to work, 05:07 a lot of times just graduate from the school here, 05:10 and they just make them teachers. 05:11 So they really have not had a formal educational training 05:14 that would qualify them to be your teachers. 05:17 And that's just the way it is out here and so... 05:22 So the other problem you have is that, 05:24 like in America, and some other countries 05:27 that are developed, 05:28 you have the parents encouraging the kids, 05:30 in fact, making the kids go to schools, 05:32 it's an important thing in their lives. 05:34 They have to be educated. Here it's not really like that. 05:37 If the child doesn't want to go to school, 05:38 the parents a lot of times will just say, 05:39 well, you should but they don't really, 05:41 you know, enforce that belief. 05:43 And so, a lot of the children just drop out. 05:45 They don't see it as a priority. 05:47 They haven't been taught that it's a priority. 05:50 And so, unfortunately you have a lot of kids, 05:52 you know, skipping school and a lot of truancy. 05:55 And so it makes it difficult. 05:58 And getting education here for the local people 06:00 is very, very difficult. 06:02 It's difficult for them to find teachers 06:04 who are qualified, 06:05 they're willing to come out here 06:07 and live in the... 06:08 They call the interior parts of the jungle. 06:10 And so, sometimes you'll have someone 06:12 who's just graduated from high school 06:14 and now they're teaching high school. 06:16 And so, we have children 06:18 who have gone through the system 06:20 and they come out completely illiterate, 06:22 it's very really difficult. 06:26 Sometimes you don't have the parental control there. 06:28 Their parents are off working or a lot of them drink. 06:32 And so, the children 06:34 if they don't want to go to school, 06:35 they don't go to school. 06:36 And so, even if the system's there, 06:38 there's no one enforcing them to go to school. 06:40 And so, you have a lot of illiteracy, 06:43 even within the school system. 06:46 This path leads many adolescents 06:48 to a life of theft and crime. 06:51 What a tragedy. 06:53 Sadly, the fact is that even those children 06:56 that do attend school often graduate 06:59 without basic reading and verbal skills. 07:02 The school systems are not equipped 07:05 or properly staffed 07:07 in the remote jungle communities. 07:10 Not many people want to be teachers 07:12 in these communities. 07:14 Often if a person goes through schooling to be a teacher, 07:18 they opt to stay in Georgetown where the pay is much higher. 07:23 And there are more supplies and materials. 07:26 It's difficult to get teachers 07:27 to stay in small jungle villages. 07:36 For the last seven years we've been here, 07:38 we've opened up our home to children. 07:41 We often sometimes 07:42 had as many as 8, 10, 12, 15 children at times 07:46 in the morning for breakfast. 07:48 They come by our house before they go to school. 07:50 And so, we've got to know them since they were very small 07:52 and now some of them have grown up to be teenagers. 07:55 And they are not encouraged by their parents. 07:58 In some cases, frankly, 08:00 the parents aren't even in the picture. 08:01 They're basically raising themselves, 08:03 and they decide to drop out of school, 08:05 but then they have no way to support themselves. 08:07 And in order to eat and take care 08:09 of some of their needs, 08:11 they end up resorting to crime and stealing, 08:13 breaking into homes and stores. 08:14 And we have a case of that, 08:16 a couple of boys that we raised... 08:18 I shouldn't say we raised, 08:19 but came to our house as young boys 08:21 have now turned a little bit 08:22 to crime to try and support themselves, 08:24 but they are not bad children. 08:26 And so, deep down inside actually both of them, 08:28 I think have a fair amount of intelligence 08:30 there that if fostered could really do something. 08:34 Dani and Micah are daily faced 08:37 with harsh realities that surround them. 08:40 They see the unfortunate circumstances 08:42 that come from broken homes. 08:45 Most of their friends come from poor family structures 08:49 and the LaBore children 08:50 see the pain that their friends endure. 08:55 Rather than becoming discouraged, 08:57 Dani and Micah do all they can to help their friends. 09:01 They want better lives for them 09:03 and they constantly share Jesus message of hope, 09:07 empathizing with their friends, and look for ways to help them. 09:11 Most of them have really hard lives 09:14 and some of them don't have enough food 09:16 to feed all their kids. 09:18 Some of my friends, they... 09:20 Some of them don't even have homes. 09:23 They just wander out. 09:25 And they don't even have mother or father. 09:29 They just hang out anywhere, wherever they go, 09:34 they are there. 09:37 They're just, they don't really have anything about the gospel. 09:42 Without an education, 09:44 Guyanese children are incredibly limited 09:46 to future work prospects. 09:48 Jobs in remote villages are scarce, 09:51 and their chances 09:52 of earning a living drastically decline 09:55 when they have no education. 09:58 Opportunities for work here is very, very slim. 10:02 Even people who do go to colleges 10:04 sometimes don't get work here locally, 10:07 but without education the chances are even slimmer. 10:11 The way people make money 10:12 here is mostly by maybe farming something, 10:16 you know, growing some vegetables 10:17 and trying to sell them at market, 10:19 maybe a little fishing. 10:21 Some people do work for the government 10:23 so as a secretary or some become nurses, 10:27 and there's you can become a doctor too. 10:29 But I think a lot of children here especially in our region 10:32 just don't grow up with the concept 10:34 of they can do some of these things. 10:36 No one asked them when they're little, 10:37 what do you want to be when you grow up? 10:39 And, so there's not that thought process of, 10:42 you know, I can be something better, 10:43 I can do something better. 10:45 [inaudible]. 10:47 What you want to be? 10:50 Well, you can't be pilot, or doctor, or pastor. 10:53 None of those things if you don't study 10:55 your maths and English, right? 10:58 You got to be in school. You study hard. 11:01 You're good, look like you're smart. 11:03 You look smart. Let me see. 11:06 Actually you're really smart. What about you? 11:07 Let me see. Wow! 11:09 You look really smart. And you're not even in school. 11:13 I know you could go to be a teacher, 11:15 you can come back and teach everyone. 11:17 Wouldn't that be cool? Yes. 11:19 With an education, if you had a trade, you know, 11:22 and skill, then you can do so much more 11:25 because you can come back. 11:27 If you can paint houses and do some carpentry, 11:30 you can help people build things, fix their cars. 11:34 Their chances of life are so much greater. 11:37 Yeah, the future of kids here, 11:39 if they don't get an education which most of them don't, 11:42 I mean, beyond a, you know, real basic level of education. 11:45 Really, for women, it's all about having children 11:48 and becoming mothers 11:49 and that's what happens at a very young age here. 11:52 Teenage pregnancy is rampant here. 11:54 So that's the typical scenario for a girl. 11:57 Boys, they'll go into the back jam and they'll do mining, 12:00 which is a very rough environment for kids. 12:03 There's a lot of drinking, prostitution. 12:06 You have, you know, working with strong chemicals 12:10 and harmful substances that basically 12:12 they're exposed to on a daily basis. 12:15 Some of them do a little construction 12:17 or they might do some agricultural work. 12:19 But their opportunities are very, very limited, 12:22 and most of them know that and that's why they lacked 12:25 the hope that really strives a person 12:29 to go on to learn more and become more educated. 12:32 Living in Guyana can be very difficult. 12:36 Creating a future for oneself is tough 12:39 when there aren't many opportunities. 12:42 Employment options are limited, 12:45 and this often causes people to lose hope, 12:48 and they don't strive to better themselves. 12:51 Even these young missionaries realize the harsh realities 12:55 that exist around them. 12:58 Their young hearts hope to find solution 13:01 to the difficult future that awaits 13:03 these Guyanese friends of theirs. 13:07 My friends need hope to get an education, 13:12 to get a job to learn about the gospel, 13:17 and so they so they don't have to break in, 13:21 steal to get food and or anything like that 13:26 and they can go to school. 13:28 Just it's hard without anybody here. 13:33 I wish they could have a better life 13:35 and they will get job, 13:39 so they could support their families. 13:42 My friends, they have the future, 13:44 if they don't go to school 13:46 that their life is in danger since they keep on 13:49 breaking the houses, breaking into stores stealing, 13:53 and it makes people mad. 13:55 So they're pretty much good as dead. 13:59 The AWA missionaries are saddened 14:01 by the lack of hope and the grim future 14:04 they see for these children in their villages. 14:07 Many of them can't reach beyond their circumstances 14:11 and make a better life for themselves. 14:14 But the AWA missionaries do not just sit idly by. 14:18 Instead, they reach out 14:21 and offer these children a better way, 14:24 a better future with Jesus. 14:44 Adventist World Aviation missionaries 14:47 are actively involved with saving lives, 14:50 both physically and for eternity. 14:53 Providing a future for students 14:56 and giving them an opportunity to make a life for themselves 14:59 falls into the type of work AWA does here in Guyana. 15:05 The missionaries have found 15:06 an Adventist school in Georgetown 15:09 that has agreed to accept a couple 15:11 of well deserving students into their program. 15:16 Jos-el is an Adventist Academy 15:18 that was started by Elizabeth Gonzales. 15:21 And she's a Guyanese American. 15:24 And she has funded the whole thing. 15:28 She really saw a need for Adventist education 15:30 and it's a really great opportunity. 15:33 We have a couple children here from Region 1, 15:35 they're now attending the school 15:37 and we're very excited because they graduated 15:40 from the system here the interior, 15:42 but they still did really poor on their tests. 15:45 And it will be like are our, 15:48 the American SAT scores were still low. 15:51 And so, now they're going to repeat 15:52 one of the years 15:54 at this Adventist Academy in the city. 15:56 And we're hoping that their scores will come up 15:58 so then they can better get into college courses. 16:02 Chrystal Van Fossen has lived and worked in Guyana 16:06 for three years now. 16:08 She spent all her free time, tutoring 16:11 and reading to Guyanese children. 16:14 She was instrumental in helping two students, 16:18 Kim and Rich 16:20 get into the secondary school in Georgetown. 16:23 Kim lives below us. 16:25 And, so we've gotten to know her pretty well. 16:27 Kim has not had the opportunity to have textbooks. 16:33 So when you're in a class, 16:35 a lot of times you want to review 16:36 what the teacher said. 16:38 She has to write down everything 16:39 that the teacher says, 16:41 everything that is on chalkboard. 16:42 And then the teacher will assign reading assignments 16:45 or homework based on a workbook that she cannot afford to have. 16:48 And a lot of the textbooks you can't even get here. 16:52 You have to get them in Georgetown, 16:53 which means you need a Georgetown connection. 16:56 Someone in Georgetown 16:57 that can pick it up and send it to you. 17:00 So she had start coming 17:03 to the Thomas Hill meetings 17:07 that we were having. 17:09 For the last two years, she was one of the first ones 17:11 that started attending down there, 17:13 and has been throughout the Bible studies and stuff. 17:16 And she had decided that 17:19 even though she was not doing as well in school 17:23 as what she wanted to do that 17:24 she was not going to go to extra classes on Saturday. 17:28 She decided that God was going to bless her 17:30 for not attending school, 17:31 and she would tell them, tell the kids at school, 17:35 you know, I'm not coming to class on Saturday, 17:36 and God's going to help me. 17:38 And so, we were really pleased with that expression of faith. 17:44 And she got her CXC, 17:47 which is the exit exam for high school here. 17:49 Results back about two weeks 17:51 after we returned from furlough, 17:54 and she was really disappointed in her results. 17:57 They were high enough that 17:58 she could get a job teaching on the river. 18:01 But they were not high enough that 18:03 she could get a job teaching here in Mabaruma. 18:06 And so, we talked to her about going to Bible training, 18:10 but that didn't give her any opportunity to earn money. 18:15 And she really need some way of supporting herself. 18:18 So we talked to her about going to Jos-el 18:20 which is an Adventist school in Georgetown. 18:23 And she was really excited about that possibility. 18:25 So I called Jos-el and talk to them 18:28 because she's a little older, and they said that 18:30 they would be happy to take her. 18:32 And so, we made arrangements to take her and her mom. 18:36 And we went into Georgetown and I spent 10 days 18:38 with her getting her school supplies and clothes 18:41 and all the little things you need 18:43 when you're not living at home, and got her rolled in Jos-el. 18:47 And we've gotten her some tutoring, 18:50 extra tutoring classes 18:51 because she's coming from an area 18:53 where some of the subjects weren't even taught 18:57 to where there's a much higher standard. 19:00 And so, she's having to do some catch up, 19:02 but she's loving it. 19:03 And the teachers at Jos-el have been 19:05 able to help her get more interconnected 19:08 with the youth there in Georgetown 19:10 and the different churches there. 19:12 I'm happy to be here at Jos-el. 19:15 So I can finish and get good grades. 19:19 A teacher, I would like to be a teacher to help. 19:23 As in my region they need help, 19:27 especially at the primary level they need a lot of help. 19:32 Up there they hardly have teachers 19:35 and trained teachers. 19:37 So I want to finish school training and then teach, 19:41 so they can have a better education. 19:43 I'm very happy. I'm very happy. 19:47 I'm very thankful to the people 19:51 who has helped me be here. 19:56 Adventist World Aviation believes in being 19:58 a part of the long term solution 20:02 by helping Kim get a better education 20:05 and giving her the tools to become a teacher. 20:08 AWA is impacting not only her life, 20:11 but also the lives of her future students. 20:16 So helping Kim become a teacher in her small village 20:20 will hopefully impact the village 20:22 and bring about a great change. 20:24 By having a well educated and dedicated teacher, 20:28 while hundreds of lives can potentially be changed. 20:31 It all started with one student and one missionary 20:36 who saw great potential in her. 20:40 Rich is another student 20:42 that Chrystal has greatly helped. 20:43 Rich, he has also been down 20:47 in the youth department at Thomas Hill, 20:51 and that he was chosen to lead out 20:54 while we were on furlough, 20:56 so he was leading the youth while we were on furlough. 20:59 He found that to be quite a challenge 21:01 because he found his Bible knowledge was not... 21:04 He wasn't comfortable with teaching. 21:06 He wanted to do more learning. 21:08 But he did a satisfactory job at doing that. 21:12 And he was a little frustrated because he has planned A 21:18 where he wants to be a pilot, 21:19 but that costs like 2 million Guyanese 21:21 and he does not have that. 21:23 So his plan B was to do medicine. 21:25 But the secondary school 21:27 here doesn't offer chemistry or physics. 21:30 And because of Josh's tutoring and Brendan's tutoring, 21:33 and Brian Solder Bloom, he was from two years ago, 21:39 tutoring in math. 21:41 So that would help him get into medical school, 21:44 but he didn't have any of the physics and chemistry. 21:48 So I called Jos-el which is an Adventist school 21:51 up in Georgetown to see 21:53 if they offered chemistry and physics and they did. 21:56 So we talked to his mom, and she thought that 22:01 it would be a really good experience for him. 22:04 So we have, I took Ann and Rich on the boat. 22:08 We went to Georgetown. 22:10 We spent 10 days getting all the supplies that 22:12 we needed for that and found housing. 22:16 And now he's enrolled in at Jos-el, 22:20 and he's getting his chemistry and physics and he's loving it. 22:24 And the teachers 22:26 there have taken interest in him 22:28 and have gotten him connected 22:30 with the Pathfinder group at a local church 22:34 and have introduced him to a lot of the youth 22:37 so that he doesn't feel like 22:39 he's just attending some small little group 22:42 out in the jungle somewhere. 22:44 He's actually part of a bigger picture. 22:47 Well, I would really like to say that 22:48 I am really thankful for what they have done. 22:52 I will do my best to make everything out of it. 22:56 The Van Fossens have undoubtedly changed 22:59 the future of these two students. 23:02 They have given them the opportunity to rise 23:05 above their circumstances and achieve success. 23:09 That hope fuels both Kim and Rich, 23:12 and they're excited to take this opportunity 23:15 and in return spend their lives helping others. 23:20 They've been given the opportunity 23:22 to make something special of their lives, 23:26 and the opportunity to help hundreds 23:28 more gain an education 23:32 and find the love of Jesus. 23:36 You help people, 23:37 it doesn't really matter what age. 23:39 You always, it's always a very satisfying experience. 23:42 And Christ spent His entire earthly ministry 23:45 helping people and ministering 23:47 to whatever their current need was. 23:50 When, with Kim and Rich in particular, 23:54 they're young Christians. 23:56 They want to live a committed life to Christ 23:58 and we would like to give them the tools 24:00 where they can do that. 24:02 They also are willing 24:05 to do leadership roles 24:08 and to train them to do those roles more effectively. 24:13 I think it's really just a wise decision. 24:16 Each of those kids 24:18 has a sphere of influence that is, that is significant. 24:24 And as they change and people see them change, 24:29 it creates a ripple effect. 24:31 And when, say Kim, she gets a job. 24:37 She will send money back to her home. 24:41 Her parents will be able to help 24:45 her younger brothers and sisters go to school, 24:48 because they'll have more income. 24:50 As it is now, it's really hard for them 24:52 to come up with the money to buy shoes, 24:53 and backpacks, and bus fare, and all of that stuff. 24:58 So she will be helping her younger siblings 25:01 get an education. 25:02 When you have an education, it's easier to read your Bible 25:06 and understand what your Bible is saying. 25:08 And when you understand and read the Bible, 25:11 then that gives you your opportunity to make 25:13 a relationship with Christ. 25:15 And it's just such a basic 25:21 skill and desire that people can read their own Bibles, 25:26 not have to take what someone says, 25:30 but actually read it for themselves. 25:33 It will help them not to be deceived so easily. 25:37 And the impact that 25:40 they can have as Christians 25:44 and leaders is just immense. 25:47 We've already seen where they're starting 25:49 to do Bible studies with other people 25:51 of their own age group and minister to them, 25:55 and they're just new in the faith. |
Revised 2020-07-09