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Interview With Sam Worthington of Childreach

Aired January 24, 2003 - 13:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's not about the Golden Globes and it's not about the Oscars. It's "About Schmidt." This movie is not only winning awards, it's winning hearts. The film features this picture drawn by a 6-year-old from Tanzania. Now, drawing movie-goers into helping needy children around the world. Art imitating life, maybe? Art touching life, yes.
The group getting all the attention is Childreach. Sam Worthington is the national executive director. He joins us now from Providence, Rhode Island -- hi, Sam.

SAMUEL WORTHINGTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHILDREACH: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this little boy, Abdallah. Tell us about him, and how the crew connected with this young boy.

WORTHINGTON: Abdallah is the child that is featured in the movie "About Schmidt" that Warren Schmidt, played by Jack Nicholson, sponsors. But the real crew, the film crew that put together, Alexander Payne and the rest of the crew actually sponsored the child in Tanzania, and Abdallah is that child. He lives in a small village called Epicara (ph) in Central Africa.

PHILLIPS: So how did producers find out about you? Why did they choose Childreach and focus the movie around this little boy from this program?

WORTHINGTON: Alexander Payne was wanting to look -- work with a real organization, and to tell a story that had meaning to an individual who was struggling with the end of his career and finding meaning in his life.

And he contacted us several years ago, and wanted to see, was the sponsorship experience like what -- the one depicted in the movie. And we told him that, Yes, many sponsors that sponsor children around the world do find that this experience is something that touches them deeply. Not only in how it changed the life of the child, that child's family and community, but also their own life by reaching out.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Since the movie hit the screens, how has it affected your sponsorship? Are more people interested in sponsoring a child?

WORTHINGTON: Well, it's an incredible experience to have Hollywood portray an organization like ours, and the power that an individual could have in reaching out to children. And yes, we are seeing more people sign up as sponsors, as they see that they too can reach out, give something to a child, and change a life, but also perhaps change their own.

PHILLIPS: So, Abdallah, who lives in Tanzania, I'll told the average family makes a dollar -- what was it, a dollar a week?

WORTHINGTON: It's about a dollar a day.

PHILLIPS: A dollar a day.

WORTHINGTON: Very poor area. They survive off the land, what they grow. It's a beautiful area with giraffes and so forth, but very poor.

Lots of malaria, and what we do in this area is work with the families to provide health care. In this case, school for Abdallah to go to, access to clean water, and try to make a difference. Very basic difference in the life of some children.

PHILLIPS: Does Abdallah even realize how he has affected the United States, Hollywood, all these people?

WORTHINGTON: Well, I don't think he'd ever seen even a television. I had the opportunity of visiting with him several months ago, and told him about the story, and I think the realization of -- Abdallah had and other children in that village, that they are, in essence, ambassadors of their village and thousands of other villages in Africa and other poor countries, to the American public through Hollywood, and making the public realize that, perhaps, we could reach out, help these children, but at the same time really help ourselves.

PHILLIPS: Well, how is this going to help Childreach, and how is it going to help more children? This movie, the attention, the sponsors, the money donated?

WORTHINGTON: Well, the resources we receive don't go directly to children. But anyone who signs on to our Web site at www.childreach.org can see how our organization works, sign up to sponsor a child at $24 a month, and then those resources go into classrooms, access to health care, basic support for the livelihood of that family in a partnership so that these people, with our help, can lift themselves out of poverty.

PHILLIPS: Now, did Jack Nicklaus (sic) or any of the other actors or the crew involved with this movie, have they gotten involved with any of these children or Childreach?

WORTHINGTON: Well, it was interesting. The child, Ndugu, who was featured in the movie, was really Abdallah, was sponsored by the entire film crew and they decided to raise some $5,500 for Abdallah's community so that these programs could make a difference in the child that is depicted in this movie as we -- they try to reach out to the American people. A funny story, but a very important message.

PHILLIPS: By the way, Sam, thanks for not correcting me. I'm a golfer, I said Jack Nicklaus, I meant Jack Nicholson, and I'm sure you knew that.

WORTHINGTON: Yes, I did. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know what we decided to do is, as we end this interview, we're going to show some pictures of some of your kids that are waiting to be sponsored. I know you sponsor three kids. Thanks so much for just being with us and talking about the organization, and I'm sure a lot of people now are going to go out and see the movie, and probably contact you.

WORTHINGTON: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: All right. Sam Worthington, thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 24, 2003 - 13:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's not about the Golden Globes and it's not about the Oscars. It's "About Schmidt." This movie is not only winning awards, it's winning hearts. The film features this picture drawn by a 6-year-old from Tanzania. Now, drawing movie-goers into helping needy children around the world. Art imitating life, maybe? Art touching life, yes.
The group getting all the attention is Childreach. Sam Worthington is the national executive director. He joins us now from Providence, Rhode Island -- hi, Sam.

SAMUEL WORTHINGTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHILDREACH: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this little boy, Abdallah. Tell us about him, and how the crew connected with this young boy.

WORTHINGTON: Abdallah is the child that is featured in the movie "About Schmidt" that Warren Schmidt, played by Jack Nicholson, sponsors. But the real crew, the film crew that put together, Alexander Payne and the rest of the crew actually sponsored the child in Tanzania, and Abdallah is that child. He lives in a small village called Epicara (ph) in Central Africa.

PHILLIPS: So how did producers find out about you? Why did they choose Childreach and focus the movie around this little boy from this program?

WORTHINGTON: Alexander Payne was wanting to look -- work with a real organization, and to tell a story that had meaning to an individual who was struggling with the end of his career and finding meaning in his life.

And he contacted us several years ago, and wanted to see, was the sponsorship experience like what -- the one depicted in the movie. And we told him that, Yes, many sponsors that sponsor children around the world do find that this experience is something that touches them deeply. Not only in how it changed the life of the child, that child's family and community, but also their own life by reaching out.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Since the movie hit the screens, how has it affected your sponsorship? Are more people interested in sponsoring a child?

WORTHINGTON: Well, it's an incredible experience to have Hollywood portray an organization like ours, and the power that an individual could have in reaching out to children. And yes, we are seeing more people sign up as sponsors, as they see that they too can reach out, give something to a child, and change a life, but also perhaps change their own.

PHILLIPS: So, Abdallah, who lives in Tanzania, I'll told the average family makes a dollar -- what was it, a dollar a week?

WORTHINGTON: It's about a dollar a day.

PHILLIPS: A dollar a day.

WORTHINGTON: Very poor area. They survive off the land, what they grow. It's a beautiful area with giraffes and so forth, but very poor.

Lots of malaria, and what we do in this area is work with the families to provide health care. In this case, school for Abdallah to go to, access to clean water, and try to make a difference. Very basic difference in the life of some children.

PHILLIPS: Does Abdallah even realize how he has affected the United States, Hollywood, all these people?

WORTHINGTON: Well, I don't think he'd ever seen even a television. I had the opportunity of visiting with him several months ago, and told him about the story, and I think the realization of -- Abdallah had and other children in that village, that they are, in essence, ambassadors of their village and thousands of other villages in Africa and other poor countries, to the American public through Hollywood, and making the public realize that, perhaps, we could reach out, help these children, but at the same time really help ourselves.

PHILLIPS: Well, how is this going to help Childreach, and how is it going to help more children? This movie, the attention, the sponsors, the money donated?

WORTHINGTON: Well, the resources we receive don't go directly to children. But anyone who signs on to our Web site at www.childreach.org can see how our organization works, sign up to sponsor a child at $24 a month, and then those resources go into classrooms, access to health care, basic support for the livelihood of that family in a partnership so that these people, with our help, can lift themselves out of poverty.

PHILLIPS: Now, did Jack Nicklaus (sic) or any of the other actors or the crew involved with this movie, have they gotten involved with any of these children or Childreach?

WORTHINGTON: Well, it was interesting. The child, Ndugu, who was featured in the movie, was really Abdallah, was sponsored by the entire film crew and they decided to raise some $5,500 for Abdallah's community so that these programs could make a difference in the child that is depicted in this movie as we -- they try to reach out to the American people. A funny story, but a very important message.

PHILLIPS: By the way, Sam, thanks for not correcting me. I'm a golfer, I said Jack Nicklaus, I meant Jack Nicholson, and I'm sure you knew that.

WORTHINGTON: Yes, I did. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know what we decided to do is, as we end this interview, we're going to show some pictures of some of your kids that are waiting to be sponsored. I know you sponsor three kids. Thanks so much for just being with us and talking about the organization, and I'm sure a lot of people now are going to go out and see the movie, and probably contact you.

WORTHINGTON: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: All right. Sam Worthington, thank you so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com