MID-YEAR REPORT 2014
UPDATE | 2014
EMBRACING THE FUTURE
FOR THE CHILDREN
WE SERVE
HOLT INTERNATIONAL / Mid-year REPORT 2014
I am always energized by the start of summer — memories of summer camps, family road trips and BBQs complete with fresh corn on the cob and watermelon! Summer activities are in full swing at Holt as well! At our headquarters in Eugene, Oregon, we recently hosted our adoptee camp counselors who came for a week to receive camp training. This summer, these wonderful guys and gals embarked on a five-camp tour around the United States, serving as mentors to young adoptees who are ready for a week of fun. Holt adoptee camps are a very popular and meaningful part of Holt’s post adoption services, and serve as a wonderful opportunity for adoptees to learn about adoption culture in a safe and welcoming environment. As summer ramps up, I find myself looking back on the incredible start to a year of serving children and families, providing financial resources, and building on faithful partnerships. Summer is all about recharging, looking ahead and focusing on teamwork in love. Our vision at Holt International is all about loving children and families, and creating a team of supporters to help us in our mission. On a recent trip to Vietnam, I was blessed to see this spirit of teamwork firsthand. Our Holt Vietnam staff are experts at developing relationships with government officials and community leaders for the benefit of vulnerable children
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and families. For so many children in countries like Vietnam, summertime — or any other time — is not easy. Life is filled with obstacles. And as we come to our mid-year point, it’s a great time to join together as a team, reflect and take action for these children! All of us at Holt International are grateful for your generous support of the children in our care, for your help with specific projects in the countries where we work, and for your prayers and acts of kindness as you help advocate for our mission of serving the world’s most vulnerable children. On my trip to Vietnam, one of my greatest joys was spending time with children, especially those with special needs. As I got to know these precious children and the Holt Vietnam staff, I was filled with great hope and a renewed commitment to continue supporting my sponsored child. With my determination bolstered by this trip, my wife and I will also continue to support Holt’s work through project funding and “where most needed” opportunities — opportunities like our Molly Holt Fund, a specific fund for children with special needs. There is no greater blessing than to care for these children. If we don’t, no one else will!
For so many children, life is difficult without a loving family. But there is always hope. Thanks to the amazing work of Holt International, we have an opportunity to support children with great faith, hope and love. May your summer be filled with joy — creating lasting memories with family and friends. Thank you for supporting the work of Holt International. Be encouraged, live inspired and go in peace,
Bob Bowen | V.P. of Marketing & Donor Relations
You can partner with Holt and give to programs with the greatest need by scanning this QR code or going to... holtinternational.org/wheremostneeded
IN JUST 6 MONTHS, ANEMIA RATES AMONG CHILDREN
NUTRITION | INDIA
DROPPED
HOLT INTERNATIONAL / Mid-year REPORT 2014
Last year on the Holt blog, we shared a story about Rajeesh* — a staff favorite at the Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT) informal school in Bangalore, India. “A 4-year-old charmer with deep brown eyes that gleam with an impish twinkle, Rajeesh bounces around from one activity to the next and often offers to help his teachers in class,” wrote Jennifer Goette, our then director of strategic initiatives. Two years before Jennifer met him, Rajeesh was nowhere near the energetic kid described in this story. Younger than 2-years-old when he was found abandoned, Rajeesh was quickly diagnosed with severe anemia and moderate cognitive delays. At the time, Rajeesh was not able to speak and could not sit up without assistance. This little guy was immediately given a blood transfusion for anemia and started on iron, zinc and calcium supplements. The staff at VCT balanced his diet and began to regularly monitor his anemia. It still took more than a year before Rajeesh’s iron tests reached normal levels. In many countries where Holt works, our partner agencies are seeing more children like Rajeesh coming into their care. Some partners estimate that as many as 85% of all children now entering care have significant nutrition and health-related problems. This bleak statistic becomes even more frightening when compounded by the fact that annually, malnutrition
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80%
causes more deaths among children under 5 than any other factor. For those who survive, the long-term effects of early malnutrition can be devastating. Two years ago, Holt teamed up with the nonprofit SPOON Foundation to begin addressing this critical issue. Truly the first organization worldwide to take a special focus on improving nutrition and feeding for orphaned, fostered and adopted children, SPOON worked with us to implement a nutrition screening system and train caregivers and staff to properly track the growth and nutrition of children in care. At pilot sites in Haiti and India, SPOON looked at the diet and feeding practices at each care center and suggested small changes that could dramatically reduce malnutrition. In India, where Jennifer met Rajeesh, these small changes included — among other things — introducing cow milk to infants at 6 months instead of 3-4 months and providing iron supplements with Vitamin C to increase absorption. Although some nutritional measurements such as stunting and head size will take longer to show impact, one outcome was immediate. Just six months after SPOON implemented these changes, anemia prevalence among the children dropped from 45 percent… to nine. At one site, anemia was completely eliminated.
“Anemia is the big issue children face in orphanage care,” says Dan Lauer, Holt’s vice president of Africa programs who helped forge Holt’s partnership with SPOON. Long-term studies of anemic children have shown that they have lower IQs and perform more poorly in school. As Zeina Makhoul, SPOON’s nutrition scientist, explains, “For a child between 0 and 5-years-old … their brain is developing at an accelerated rate. So having a deficiency in iron at that time is really going to impact their brain development.” For children living in institutions, malnutrition and anemia may also impact their ability to join an adoptive family — or rejoin their birth family. Children who are anemic lose the “twinkle in their eye.” Not only are they cognitively and physically delayed, they also have a harder time forming healthy attachments with adults. These factors are instrumental in a child’s potential for successful placement in a family.
For Rajeesh’s peers in India who have overcome anemia with the help of SPOON, the future is also hopeful. But thousands of children in care remain vulnerable to malnutrition due to lack of training in proper diet and feeding. With positive outcomes from SPOON’s pilot program, Holt and SPOON recently secured a four-year grant from a private foundation to expand the nutrition screening and caregiver training in five additional countries. This year, SPOON will focus on China and Vietnam and through 2017 will expand the program to Ethiopia, the Philippines and Mongolia. For those of us at Holt, this partnership is nothing short of groundbreaking. As Phillip Littleton, Holt president and CEO, says, “We believe this program is critical to elevating the standard of care for children through our overseas programs. Knowing that nutritional deficiencies are largely preventable and treatable, Holt’s orphan nutrition program will have wide-ranging implications for how we establish our programs overseas.” * name changed Partner with Holt to strengthen nutrition for children. Scan this QR code or go to... holtinternational.org/nutrition
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For Rajeesh, the outcome could have been much different. But thanks to actions taken early to address his anemia and malnutrition, Rajeesh regained his twinkle. A few months before his third birthday, he went to live with a foster family. Although he continued to struggle with concentration and speech — signs of the irreversible damage of early malnutrition — he showed vast improvements in his energy and overall health. And in May 2013, he joined an adoptive family
in the U.S.! Rajeesh is now 5 years old and has made enormous progress.
PEACE HOUSE | CHINA
“WE KNOW IN OUR HEARTS,
WITHOUT A DOUBT,
SAVED THE PEACE HOUSE NANNIES
OUR DAUGHTER’S LIFE.”
HOLT INTERNATIONAL / Mid-year REPORT 2014
Today, Maya and Payton are home with their loving families in the United States. Their journey was a difficult one. Maya’s mother, Ashley, says that Maya’s condition before entering Holt’s care was extremely poor. “She was so tiny and frail,” Ashley says. Found on the steps of an orphanage in Guangdong province, Maya suffered from cleft lip and palate. Four months later, little Payton was also found and brought to the same orphanage. She too suffered from cleft lip and palate. In 2013, Holt worked to match these girls with families. In September of that year, we matched Payton with Kris and Kelly Furman. And two months later, we matched Maya with Max and Ashley Simpson. But soon, staff in China realized that the little girls would need extra attention before they could begin their journey home. They found that care at Holt’s Peace House. A medical foster home that Holt oversees in Beijing, the Peace House offers children waiting for corrective or lifesaving surgeries a place to prepare and recuperate. Holt took over operation of the Peace House in 2011, and currently cares for 35 children a year on average. When Holt staff learned about Maya and Payton, they desperately tried to bring them to the Peace House. Their first few attempts to transfer the girls were unsuccessful.
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“Their orphanage was quite a distance,” Holt China staff says. “But we knew we couldn’t give up on these girls.” Desperate, Holt staff sent “before and after” photos of children who had previously been rehabilitated at the Peace House to the girls’ orphanage. Finally, the orphanage agreed to send the girls. “We were overjoyed when we were notified that she would be transferred to the Peace House for surgery and rehabilitation,” Ashley says of her daughter, Maya. “When she entered their care, they immediately took pictures and videos of our sweet baby girl, and sent them to us.” Upon entering the Peace House, the girls had rashes on their heads and faces, and Maya had alopecia areata, a condition that made her hair fall out. Both were severely underweight. Maya was unable to support her head. “In the first few days when they got to the Peace House, they seemed not interested in anything,” members of the Peace House staff say. “We tried putting toys in their hands, but the toys were easily dropped. Payton was so weak, and her immunity was low.” Two days after Payton and Maya’s arrival, Holt staff and board members from the United States visited the Peace House. Jian Chen, vice president of Holt’s China programs, believed the girls would blossom with more stimulation. So Peace House staff started giving Maya and Payton healing massages and helped them achieve their developmental milestones.
Before the staff knew it, a month had passed. The girls began rolling and sitting. “They changed so much,” the staff reports. All Payton’s rashes were gone, and her appetite was getting better. Both girls had gained a significant amount of weight, they were crawling and their personalities were emerging.
given the opportunity to spend time there.” Since Payton’s arrival home, she has blossomed. At 17 months old, she can walk, and has no medical problems beyond her cleft lip and palate. The Furmans hope to have Payton’s second surgery completed soon. Once abandoned and weak, Maya and Payton are now thriving in the arms of their loving families thanks in large part to the excellent care provided by Holt’s Peace House.
“We knew from the pictures that she was receiving all the nourishment and love she so desperately needed to survive,” Ashley says. In March, Max and Ashley traveled to China to bring Maya home. While there, they visited the Peace House. “The moment we walked into the door, and met all the precious nannies and witnessed the love they were giving those children, our hearts melted,” Ashley says. “We know in our hearts, without a doubt, the Peace House nannies saved our daughter’s life.”
“Every day when we look into Maya’s breathtaking eyes, we are amazed at the miracle before us,” Ashley says. “We will be forever grateful for the Peace House angels.”
Maya has been home for just two months. Ashley says witnessing her progress has been an overwhelming experience. “She has taken her first steps, can feed herself, and loves to take baths. She has completed her second surgery for her cleft palate and has recovered beautifully.”
holtinternational.org/wheremostneeded
You can partner with Holt and give to programs with the greatest need by scanning this QR code or going to...
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As for little Payton, she, too, recently went home to her family. “We are very grateful for the staff at the Peace House for taking such good care of Payton,” Kris and Kelly say. “We hate to think of what may have happened to her if she wasn’t
OUR WORK | MID-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
31 ,131 1,188 Sponsors IN THE FIRST 3 MONTHS
HOLT INTERNATIONAL / Mid-year REPORT 2014
OF 2014, HOLT ENROLLED
MORE CHILDREN
Are NOW changing the lives of children in Holt's Care
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INTO OUR SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
SO FAR THIS YEAR, HOLT AND
OUR PARTNERS PROVIDED
26,419
LIFE-CHANGING SERVICES TO
CHILDREN 8,069
New sponsors since the
16 ,372 CHILDREN SERVICES ARE HELPING
STAY IN THE LOVING CARE OF THEIR BIRTH FAMILIES
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Holt International.org
beginning of 2014
FAMILY strengthening
FAMILY STRENGTHENING | VIETNAM Loan* and her husband were still just kids when they decided to get married. At 18, Loan became pregnant with their first child — a son— and they moved into a small house in a rural farming community outside Hanoi. On their living room wall they hung their wedding photo — a framed image of a beautiful young couple with warm, genuine smiles.
Holt International / Mid-year Report 2014
Looking at them, you would never know the struggles they have faced.
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Loan was 16 when she developed the sickness that created a crisis within her family. Cancer of the cervix, the doctors told her. The treatment plan included radiation and chemotherapy, and medicine at a cost of $50 per month — taking over half the salary her husband earned as a carpenter. Loan helped her family farm their small rice plot when not too weak to work, and the couple borrowed some money from relatives to pay Loan’s hospital bills. But they struggled to support their growing family. Just months after Loan gave birth to her son, she became pregnant with a second child — a daughter. In early June, several Holt staff members visited Loan and her family in Vietnam. Now a 26-year-old woman with streaks of gold in her dark hair, Loan invited us into her home where her two children sat at a small table, coloring. Sparse but neat, the room smelled lightly of incense and a fan blew overhead.
Holding her daughter in her lap and her son at her side, Loan began to share her story. Her eyes filled with hot tears as she told us about her cancer struggles, and the fear she felt as the hospital debt mounted. “At first, I did not intend to treat it. I thought, I will just get sicker and sicker and then I will die,” Loan shared. “But then I looked at these two children and kept trying.” In November 2013, the local government referred this family to Holt Vietnam. By now, our staff is known in the community for the services we provide to struggling families like Loan’s. Holt provides resources and funds to help parents build small businesses and generate income to support their children. We help families open shops selling produce. Or, like Loan’s family, provide small grants to invest in livestock. In just two years in this community, Holt Vietnam has helped over 60 families become stronger, more self-reliant and better equipped to care for their children. When Holt Vietnam staff met Loan and her family, they identified their strengths — including an available pigsty on the family compound. Holt provided funding for three pigs to raise and breed. Although one of the pigs died, they were able to sell the other two in April of this year — earning about $150 in profit. With the income, they bought two more pigs and saved some funds to pay their children’s upcoming school
"I want to see
my children
have an education
and grow to become
good people." fees. Loan and her husband also used some of their profit to purchase clothing wholesale and open a small clothing stall near their home. Their decision to diversify their income through a combination of raising pigs and selling clothing was a strategic one. “They are trying not to put all their eggs in one basket,” Hang Dam, our Vietnam country director, explains.
big compared to the debt our family has,” Loan said, “but I feel warm because there are still people caring about us. I am very touched and am very thankful.” * name changed
The family’s clothing stall stands by a river on the edge of the village. During the rainy season, large umbrellas shield the hanging rows of sport shorts and colorful patterned pants. Loan cheered up after our interview — and she laughed as she helped us select clothing items to bring home.
As we leave, we see Loan and her husband stand before their clothing stall with their hands on their children’s shoulders — a strong and beautiful family. Their lives are not easy, but they feel encouraged by the support of Holt donors. “The amount of capital assistance provided was neither small nor
You can partner with Holt and give to programs with the greatest need by scanning this QR code or going to... holtinternational.org/wheremostneeded
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Holt International.org
“I just wish God gives me enough health to earn money to pay all the debt I have. I want to see my children have an education and grow to become good people,” Loan told us during our interview. Now in remission and doing well, Loan has great reason to hope. Her children are healthy and in school. Her family business is growing. And her health is returning.
200 Initially, we expected about 50 students,
DEAF SCHOOL | ETHIOPIA
but on the first day more than
children
showed up, eager to learn.
HOLT INTERNATIONAL / Mid-year REPORT 2014
Dennis arrives on foot, dressed in his best outfit — a blazer quite obviously intended for a larger man, with sleeves that drape past his fingertips and tails that hang to his thighs. His baseball cap shades his weathered face, and he pulls it down snug on his forehead. Below the cap’s bill, Dennis’ face tells the story of a man who has survived a great struggle. He looks old — much older than he actually is, with deep wrinkles across his brow. However, in his heart, he beams with warmth and joy. It’s Saturday, and it is his favorite day of the week because he has the opportunity to go to school where, for the first time in his life, he is learning to speak to his children — but not with spoken words. He’s learning to bend and curl his fingers into sign language words. Dennis is partially deaf, a physical limitation that kept him from receiving an education as a child, from pursuing his career of choice as an adult, and that tied him to a fate he also fears for his three deaf children — a life of isolation, marginalization and prejudice. In rural Ethiopia where Dennis lives, the rate of deafness is abnormally and alarmingly high. No one is quite sure why. There are only guesses, ranging from genetics to an adverse
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side effect from malaria or malaria medications. And despite the high number of children and adults with deafness, it can be difficult for those with disabilities to find support. In Ethiopian culture, disabilities are heavily stigmatized and resources are scarce. For many years, this cultural reality meant that Dennis couldn’t have a relationship with his children. He couldn’t ask about their day or tell them bedtime stories. He couldn’t pass on words of wisdom or even tell them he loved them. Dennis says he has lived a life of chaos, and he feared that his children might have the same life. Then, in 2010, something miraculous happened. The community of Shinshicho saw the tremendous need for a school for deaf children. Holt partnered with the people of Shinshicho to help hire teachers and provide materials like desks and books, and a community member provided the land and a four-classroom building. Initially, we expected about 50 students, but on the first day more than 200 children showed up, eager to learn. Quickly, we prepared to expand. Seeing the need for parent education and a larger student capacity, the school started hosting Saturday classes for parents and made plans to add at least 100 new students per year until every deaf child in the
area has the chance to attend. Then, recognizing that many children often walked miles to the school on an empty stomach, Holt helped the school provide daily lunch to students — ultimately helping them retain more of what they learn. Holt also found sponsors in the United States for some of the students, and still needs sponsors for several older children. In addition to educational assistance, sponsors and other Holt donor partners help strengthen these families by providing them with medical care and livestock or other resources to generate income. While these services help create a stable home environment, the education the deaf children receive at the school is essential to their overall health and wellbeing. Without a way to communicate and get by in society, many would otherwise end up on the streets — vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. In many ways, supporting this school is an important part of achieving our mission in Shinshicho — helping children thrive, and keeping families together.
Holt’s Africa programs coordinator, Aloura DiGiallonardo, visited the school in January and she says families were very excited for her visit. “We showed up and there were three classrooms with 30 to 50 parents, divided by their sign-language competency level,” Aloura says. “They were so grateful
Aloura says she was struck by how devoted these parents are to their children. She says many of the parents were eager to finally have a relationship with their child, and other families were aware that through education, their family could grow more stable and successful — including Dennis, his face full of emotion under the rim of his baseball cap. Dennis shared with Aloura that for his family, the school is so much more than classrooms — it’s a place of support and refuge, a place that binds him to his children, and a place of hope for the future.
You can partner with Holt and give to programs with the greatest need by scanning this QR code or going to... holtinternational.org/wheremostneeded
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Holt International.org
Now, Dennis and his children attend school — which has provided them so much more than just a place to learn.
to see Holt. They know we can’t fix all their problems, but that we are dedicated to helping them succeed.”
By showing that children MOLLY HOLT | KOREA
with special needs
can love and be loved —
and most of all,
be part of a family —
Molly helped change the culture of adoption.
HOLT INTERNATIONAL / Mid-year REPORT 2014
Last month, several of us visited Molly Holt at her home at Ilsan Town — the care center in South Korea built by her father, Harry Holt, in the early 1960s. Over the years, as Ilsan has become recognized as a world-class model of care for children and adults with special needs, so has Molly become renowned for her role in this effort. In many ways, she helped revolutionize how people with special needs are seen and treated, and it was a true honor to finally meet her. As those who know Molly can attest, however, she is a humble person and during our visit, she emphasized that she does not like to be characterized as a hero. But after spending a day with her, it also became very clear that to the residents of Ilsan who she has lovingly cared and advocated for throughout her life… Molly is nothing short of a hero. On a warm, overcast Sunday in early June, we arrived to discover that we had inadvertently timed our visit with an annual tradition at Ilsan — their outdoor church service and picnic. Molly cheerfully greeted us at her house, a modest brick structure that sits — appropriately — at the heart of Ilsan Town. As she led us down the hill to the lawn, various residents came up to say hello. Molly shared a unique tidbit about each one — where they came from, how they liked to spend their time, whether they were married.
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“Oh, you have to meet our outside people,” she said excitedly, referring to former residents who, through the life skills they developed at Ilsan, are now able to live on their own. Many are married to other formers residents. Some have children. “One couple will have their baby’s first birthday celebration on June 14th,” Molly shared — a date I noticed she had circled on the large calendar sitting over her mantelpiece, notated simply as “babies, 6 p.m.” For a woman in her 80s, Molly seemed to have the energy of a woman half her age — and the social calendar to match it. Although Molly now serves as board chairperson for Holt Korea, she remains as hands-on as ever in her oversight of the daily activities at Ilsan. Every day after breakfast, she makes her rounds — visiting residents’ home to make sure the housemothers are properly caring for them. She checks to see that they have variety in their meals, and that the residents who can walk or feed themselves are in fact using their skills. Molly is a strong advocate of building self-reliance among the residents, which she believes is key to happiness and satisfaction with their lives. Joining the residents on the lawn, Molly points out one cute little guy. “That’s our youngest. A little baby with Down syndrome,” she says. “He’s spoiled.” Molly tells us that most of the children at Ilsan come from foster care after being declared “unadoptable.” Here, they receive physical, speech and occu-
pational therapies and nurturing care from specially trained housemothers. “We find homes for about half of them,” she says. This matter-of-fact statement alludes to perhaps Molly’s most heroic act through the years. By showing that children with special needs can love and be loved — and most of all, be part of a family — Molly helped change the culture of adoption. Today, hundreds of children who were once considered “unadoptable” are joining loving adoptive families every year. As we say goodbye to Molly, I feel grateful that I had the chance to meet this smart, funny, humble woman and to glimpse Ilsan through her eyes. She may not see herself as a hero, but others do — some even going so far as to call her the “Mother Teresa of Korea.” It’s fitting that we have named our effort to raise funds for children with special needs the “Molly Holt Fund” in her honor. Through her compassion and devotion to children, she has touched thousands of lives. And she continues to inspire us in our efforts to advocate for orphaned and abandoned children with special needs. Robin Munro | Managing Editor
Partner with Holt and give to the Molly Holt Fund by scanning this QR code or going to... holtinternational.org/mollyholtfund
Our VISION: A world where
every
child has a loving and secure
home Holt Relational Development Team President & CEO Phillip A. Littleton VP of Marketing & Donor Relations Bob Bowen Director – Relational Development LaDonna Greiner
Director – Relational Development Rose McBride South Region Development Associate Danielle Walter East-South Region Development Associate Courtney Young Central Region Development Associate Isabell Zhu
P.O. Box 2880 | Eugene, OR 97402 | www.holtinternational.org