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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Patrick Woodward.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm Gillian Woodward. Sportlight uses a special English method

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<v Speaker 2>of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no

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<v Speaker 2>matter where in the world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>Around the world, there are almost twelve million people living

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<v Speaker 1>in prison. Every country in the world has prisoners. However,

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<v Speaker 1>one country has a big problem with prisons. It has

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<v Speaker 1>almost seventeen percent of all the world's prisoners. It also

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<v Speaker 1>has the world's highest prison population rate. This country is

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<v Speaker 1>the United States of America.

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<v Speaker 2>Experts have many reasons to explain why the rate is

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<v Speaker 2>so high. They also have many different ideas about how

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<v Speaker 2>they can decrease it. Some people want to fix the

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<v Speaker 2>United States prison system by changing laws or making prison

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<v Speaker 2>terms shorter. These ideas are very important. However, one female

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<v Speaker 2>police officer named Kim Bogouki has another very different idea.

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<v Speaker 2>She thinks that the prisoners have the solution. And Kim

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<v Speaker 2>is asking prisoners one question that she thinks can change everything.

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<v Speaker 3>If someone could have fared or done something that would

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<v Speaker 3>have changed your path to prison, what would it have been.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's Spotlight is on the If project.

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<v Speaker 2>Kim Bogookie has been a police officer in Seattle, Washington

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<v Speaker 2>for over twenty years. Her job is to work with

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<v Speaker 2>the community to decrease crime. In two thousand and eight,

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<v Speaker 2>Kim started working with a child mentoring program called Beyond Bars.

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<v Speaker 2>This program's goal was to help young girls whose parents

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<v Speaker 2>were in prison. The program helped by providing adult mentors

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<v Speaker 2>for the girls. Mentors are adults who spend time with

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<v Speaker 2>and support younger people. Mentors are also role models. They

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<v Speaker 2>provide a positive example and influence for the children.

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<v Speaker 1>Kim wanted the Beyond Bar's mentoring program to be successful.

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<v Speaker 1>She understood that these girls were at great risk. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States, children of prisoners have a seventy

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<v Speaker 1>percent chance of becoming prisoners themselves. So Kim decided to

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<v Speaker 1>learn more about how to support children of prisoners. However,

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<v Speaker 1>Kim did not ask experts or read books about this subject. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>she decided to ask current prisoners the if question.

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<v Speaker 2>So Kim visited the Washington Correction Center for Women in

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<v Speaker 2>two thousand and eight. She asked the prisoners if someone

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<v Speaker 2>could have said or done something that would have changed

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<v Speaker 2>your path to prison, what would it have been. Kim

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<v Speaker 2>thought the women would talk and discuss their answers together. However,

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<v Speaker 2>the prisoners did not answer the question at all, so

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<v Speaker 2>Kim finished talking to the prisoners and returned home.

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<v Speaker 1>Months later, in May of two thousand and nine, Kim

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<v Speaker 1>returned to the prison for another visit. When she arrived,

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<v Speaker 1>she was surprised by a prisoner named Rinata Abramson. Rinata

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<v Speaker 1>gave her many pieces of paper. You see, Rinata had

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<v Speaker 1>been thinking a lot about the IF question. She had

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<v Speaker 1>also encouraged many other prisoners to think about how they

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<v Speaker 1>would answer the question. On each piece of paper that

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<v Speaker 1>Renata gave Kim, a prisoner had written her answer to

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<v Speaker 1>the IF question.

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<v Speaker 2>Kim was shocked by the number of women that answered

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<v Speaker 2>the question, and since that time, many hundreds of prisoners

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<v Speaker 2>have written their answers to the question. Today, the IF

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<v Speaker 2>Question has turned into the IF Project. The project has

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<v Speaker 2>a website. On the website, people can read many of

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<v Speaker 2>the prisoner's IF Question answers. The IF Project has also

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<v Speaker 2>created a short film. The film shows eight female prisoners.

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<v Speaker 2>The prisoners tell about their lives and read their answers.

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<v Speaker 1>To the IF question.

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<v Speaker 2>The purpose of this film is to help educate adult

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<v Speaker 2>mentors and at risk children. The Women's stories show mentors

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<v Speaker 2>how to better help children. The stories can also help

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<v Speaker 2>the children learn from them. Mistakes of the Prisoners.

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<v Speaker 1>Philimina is one of the women in the film. She

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<v Speaker 1>is a forty year old prisoner in the Washington Correction

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<v Speaker 1>Center for Women. She's been in prison for fifteen years

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<v Speaker 1>and will stay in prison for the rest of her life.

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<v Speaker 1>Philamina grew up in a wealthy area. She attended a

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<v Speaker 1>very good school. However, she always felt different from the

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<v Speaker 1>other children in her school. Philimina was the only Asian

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<v Speaker 1>American in her school. She was also an only child

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<v Speaker 1>of older parents. She never had many friends or even

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<v Speaker 1>a brother or sister to talk to. After many years

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<v Speaker 1>of trying to make friends at school, Philimina became friends

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<v Speaker 1>with local criminal gang members. Philamina felt accepted by these

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<v Speaker 1>gang members. However, they involved her in illegal drugs and crime,

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<v Speaker 1>and her involvement in crime led her to prison. Philamina

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<v Speaker 1>knows that she made terrible mistakes and did very wrong things.

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<v Speaker 1>She accepts her responsibility for her crime. However, she also

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<v Speaker 1>recognizes that one thing could have helped her. In her

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<v Speaker 1>answer to the if question, Philmina wrote.

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<v Speaker 4>I needed a friend and someone to trust. I needed communication,

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<v Speaker 4>and someone to believe in me so that I could

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<v Speaker 4>believe in myself. If I had this, I believe I

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<v Speaker 4>would not be in prison for life.

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<v Speaker 2>Philamina believes that just one good friend could have made

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<v Speaker 2>a major difference in her life. She now recognizes that

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<v Speaker 2>joining a gang was not the answer to her loneliness.

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<v Speaker 4>She wrote, I do not know if this will help

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<v Speaker 4>anyone ever, but if there is someone that reads this

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<v Speaker 4>and feels like I did, I hope you find that

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<v Speaker 4>person in your life before you end up like me.

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<v Speaker 1>Every prisoner's answer to the if question is different. Each

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<v Speaker 1>woman has a different life story. They each come from

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<v Speaker 1>different places, different families, and different cultures. However, Kim Boguki

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<v Speaker 1>says that there is a common issue in many of

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<v Speaker 1>the prisoner's answers. Kim told the Real Change News organization.

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<v Speaker 3>The common issue is the lack of a positive role

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<v Speaker 3>model in their life, the lack of a person that

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<v Speaker 3>would just listen.

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<v Speaker 2>All countries deal with the issue of crime, and all

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<v Speaker 2>countries want to decrease crime, But what can individual people

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<v Speaker 2>do to help? Could asking the if question really prevent crime?

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<v Speaker 1>Kim Boguki believes that knowing why people get in trouble

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<v Speaker 1>is powerful. Mentors can use this information to make a

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<v Speaker 1>positive difference in the lives of at risk children. In

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<v Speaker 1>July of twenty ten, Kim was given a Community Service award.

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<v Speaker 1>When she spoke with the organization that gave her the award,

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<v Speaker 1>Kim said.

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<v Speaker 3>I believe role models and mentors are one of the

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<v Speaker 3>most important things in anyone's life, especially for children. In

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<v Speaker 3>my work, I see a great difference in children who

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<v Speaker 3>have a mentor or strong role model in their life.

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<v Speaker 3>They have self respect and they desire to do good things.

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<v Speaker 2>Who has been a positive role model in your life?

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<v Speaker 2>What gives you hope when you have difficulties? For whom

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<v Speaker 2>are you a positive role model? You can leave a

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<v Speaker 2>comment on our website at www dot Spotlight English dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Blue Sky,

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<v Speaker 2>and x. You can also get our programs delivered directly

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<v Speaker 2>to your Android or Apple device through our free official

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<v Speaker 2>Spotlight English app.

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<v Speaker 1>The writer of this program and the producer were from

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<v Speaker 1>the Spotlight team. The voices you heard were from the

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<v Speaker 1>United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted

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<v Speaker 1>for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen

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<v Speaker 1>to this program again and read it on the internet

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<v Speaker 1>at www dot Spotlight English dot com. This program is

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<v Speaker 1>called the IF Project.

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<v Speaker 2>We hope you can join us again for the next

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<v Speaker 2>Spotlight program. Goodbye,