About Us
Child Impact is a Christian nonprofit organization that is committed to making a difference in the lives of children and people in poverty.
Child Impact provides needy children an education in Adventist mission schools through its sponsorship program in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Honduras. As well as sponsorship, Child Impact funds 4 orphanages, a blind school and a deaf school in India. Its Operation Child Rescue program rescues trafficked girls, slum children and abandoned babies in India. Child Impact is a child focused ministry making a real difference.
Child Impact International, Ltd. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
As an accredited supporting ministry to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Child Impact is dedicated to sharing God’s love by addressing the causes of poverty through empowering the poor and building their capabilities regardless of religion, ethnicity, political beliefs or gender.
Humble beginnings
Armed with only a heart full of compassion and a willingness to serve God, Maisie Fook took a leap of faith when she began Asian Aid in 1966. She could not have known how God would multiply her efforts. Today, as we look back on our 40 years, we thank God for our family of donors and sponsors who sacrifice to make Asian Aid’s work possible and we give praise and honour God for the way in which He has guided Asian Aid through the years.
1960s
In the early 1960s Maisie saw an ad in a magazine inviting people to sponsor a child in a developing country. She loved the idea and wondered if it could be done through the Adventist Church. She wrote to an orphanage in Korea and joined as a sponsor of two delightful orphan children. A few years later, Maisie and Dennis had the idea of adopting the children and in 1966, with this in mind, Maisie visited Seoul in Korea.
1970s
She was so impacted by what she saw, that on her return, with help from husband Dennis and the Long and Hon families, Maisie registered Asian Aid to get the shipping concessions needed to send clothing and blankets. Soon after the team began sending clothing to Korea, they identified needs in Vietnam and children were sponsored there until it was no longer possible due to the fall of Saigon in 1975.
With a willingness to go where God called, Maisie heard of the enormous need in Bangladesh and in 1977 began working with Leon Powrie, then Director of SAWS (now ADRA). Asian Aid established a food distribution centre in the refugee camps of Bangladesh and began to consider other needs. Access to education became a focus and sponsorships began. 1979 saw the Asian Aid team step in to save Monosapara school which was destined for closure. Asian Aid Sponsors ensured its survival and today, Monosapara is one of the largest Adventist Schools in Bangladesh, helping to transform hundreds of lives each year.
1980s
In 1980, Pollywog was established to train slum women and help them generate an income through embroidery. Pollywog continues in Dhaka to this day, changing lives through training and the opportunity to earn an income with dignity.
Helen Eager worked as a volunteer with Maisie and established the Hunter Valley office of Asian Aid in Cooranbong in 1981. Helen eventually took up the reigns when Maisie finally retired in 1989 and was instrumental in building Asian Aid’s work in India and later Pakistan. She helped establish schools for the blind, the hearing impaired, the Elim School and Home and she has played a key role in the support of Sunshine Home and School over the years.
Asian Aid began to work in Nepal in the late 1980s, establishing Zenith School and the Nepal Children’s Home. Mobile health clinics and a program for poor women suffering from uterine prolapse were established more recently as part of Asian Aid’s work there.
1990s
In the 1990s, with the support of a very generous donor in the USA, Monosapara School in Bangladesh was rebuilt and another large academy, SAMS was also built in the North. Today, each of these campuses provide an education to over 700 boys and girls – these children have been given a gift many would never have experienced otherwise.
2000s
In 2002, after years of renting, a permanent home was built for the School for the Hearing Impaired in Kollegal, India. A new school for the Blind followed shortly after. With the generosity of ASI, major donors and a very special partnership with Maranatha Volunteers International, the new Blind School was opened November 21, 2003, Bobbilli, India. Today, 160 blind and partially sighted students receive an education there.
In 2005, a long anticipated extension was added to the school for the Hearing Impaired and work commenced on a second floor for Elim School and Home which was opened in September 2006. The same year, Asian Aid embarked on an education project in Sri Lanka and today, Asian Aid sponsors a small group of needy children in that country.
In March of 2006, the new Immanuel School in Jeypore was opened – made possible by Marantha Volunteers and a band of very dedicated donors. This school has capacity for 700 students and just 8 months after opening, already has over 600 students. What an important opportunity for these children in this remote area of Orissa, India.
How God has blessed! From very humble beginnings sponsoring just two children, to now, where the Asian Aid family around the world sponsors over 6500 children in Adventist schools and also plays an important role in providing clean water for villages, basic health care, vocation training and tertiary education for nurses and teachers. We remain committed to showing God’s love to those in need.
The organization has now grown to over 6,000 sponsored children. The USA office has been operating for 15 years, has its own Board and full 501(c)(3) tax status.
As we consider our past, the Asian Aid team is enormously grateful to each person who has contributed over the years. Some sponsor a child, some pray for our work, some volunteer their time, some sponsor projects and others partner directly with us overseas. Whatever your contribution, we say thank you! All that has been achieved has only been possible because of your willing sacrifice. We pray that Asian Aid will continue to be an organization of ordinary people doing extraordinary things together for God!
Above all, we give thanks to our awesome God for His amazing love and goodness to Asian Aid and we place our trust in Him to guide and lead our future.
Believing that all children are precious to God:
Child Impact gives hope by fostering permanent positive change in the lives of disadvantaged children and their communities.”
In India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh we will assist:
• Sponsor over 3,500 poor children in over 100 Adventist schools and institutions
• Over 200 deaf and blind children and support to their schools.
• Over 150 orphans
• Women’s health
• Poor children in community schools
• Nurses and university students from very poor families
• Operation Child Rescue
In total, we assist over 3,500 children or young people through school sponsorship. We also operate a health clinic, educate women about the cause of prolapse, build classrooms, repair existing buildings, clothe children, and work hard to keep our sponsors and donors informed. Central to our mission is building the infrastructure of the local school, empowering it to meet the needs of its own community.
We are a supportive ministry of the Seventh Day Adventist church. Full member of ASI and OCI.
We believe in Jesus! We acknowledge His command to take His love into all parts of the world. Following Jesus’ example we also seek to give.
We believe Jesus has a heart for the poor. He was born to a humble family and became a refugee soon after. From a developing country, he dressed like a common man, lived simply and made time for the unlovely. He ate with unbelievers, taught in the fields, healed untouchables and sought out sinners. He was compassionate!
We believe in people. Encouraging the spiritual development of our own staff, we recognize that all humans are created equal in the eyes of God. Religion, ethnicity, culture and gender play no role in whom we assist. In our work we seek to empower the poor and build their capability.
We believe in good stewardship. Acknowledging that all funds donated to us belong to God, we will endeavor to be transparent, accountable and honest in all our dealings. We will be cost-effective in all that we do. We also recognize that a professional, well-resourced and well-informed staff is vital to good stewardship.
We believe in accountability and professionalism. We are also responsible to those we help, our many donors, the Church and the U.S. Government. In all communications we commit to honestly representing our work. Our programs, annual reports and policies are available on request. We seek to network professionally, recognizing that we can achieve more together.
We believe in service. All Child Impact staff are ‘fishers of men’. We are opposed to grinding poverty and social injustice. We condemn all that impoverishes children and denies their potential. Called to serve needy children and their families, we commit to sharing our resources with the poor.
We believe in the potential of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As an independent, accredited ministry we seek to work with the church in developing countries to meet the needs of its communities.
1. Child Impact is committed to the open and transparent disclosure of all relevant information concerning our agency finances, programs, and governance.
2. Child Impact is committed to being an effective steward of the resources provided to us. We will do this by minimizing our overhead costs in an effort to maximize the resources available for use overseas.
3. Child Impact is committed to utilizing donated funds only for the purposes for which they were given. Up to 15% may be used for administration purposes and a small amount of sponsorship money may be held in a 2 year emergency buffer fund
4. Child Impact will protect the privacy and confidentiality of our donors and sponsors at all times. Our mailing lists will never be lent, sold or otherwise made available to any other organization.
5. Child Impact is committed to ongoing improvement and the achievement of excellence in our work.
6. Child Impact is committed to high standards of financial accountability and commits to compliance with all U.S. federal and state requirements. We will publish and disclose on request, our complete and independently audited financial statements.
7. Child Impact commits to honesty and truthfulness in all organizational statements including; presentations, reports, advertising and media releases. We commit to the use of current material including photographs, case histories and project data. We will accurately reflect the needs of those we seek to assist and accurately report the outcomes achieved by our programs.
