Several weeks ago, my team and I returned from the Philippines where we met and assessed 40 children for our Special Needs Project. We sat down with each of these children one-on-one, learning about their needs, personalities and desire for an adoptive family. And now, we have six months to advocate for them to find a families.

These children were truly incredible, and it is our hope to find the right family for each one of them.

In our travels, we visited many different child caring agencies, and experienced so many wonderful aspects of these facilities and the Philippines adoption program. Below are three unique characteristics of this program that I hope will stand out to families interested in adopting a child from the Philippines.

Most of the children we met in the Philippines…

Have a Strong Faith

All children in child caring agencies in the Philippines are raised and educated in Christianity or Catholicism. Most have daily prayer and Bible education as part of their routine – this typically happens in the evenings as a whole group. Children raised in Catholic child caring agencies have received their rites (depending on their age). For most children, their faith is important to them and they pray for an adoptive family every night.

Can Speak English

All the children we met can speak at least some level of English! Many could complete our entire interview without the assistance of an interpreter. A lot of school is taught in English, so children also know how to read in English. For older children, having a good foundation of English really helps them when they are placed with an adoptive family in the U.S. Without a huge language barrier, it is easier for them to make friends at school, and express their needs and wants with their adoptive family.

Receive Mental Health Support

Every child we met has had a psychological exam completed and most have access to counseling at their child caring agency. This is unique from many other adoption programs. The counselors at these child caring agencies talk with the children about their previous life experiences, help the children learn how to cope with negative memories and feelings, give them tools for dealing with frustration, and talk with them about adoption. One child caring agency we visited is strictly for girls who experienced sexual abuse. This facility has counselors and social workers on staff who help the girls work through their experiences, help them with the prosecution of their abuser, and prepare them to live in a healthy family setting.

There were so many children who touched our hearts — and all of them are so needing and deserving of a loving family. The children we met are very familiar with adoption, and they have regular conversations about it with their caregivers. Each one of them is excited about the possibility of adoption, and many of them express their desire to be adopted one day.

“For most children, their faith is important to them and they pray for an adoptive family every night.”

If you or someone you know wants to learn more about the children we met, we would love to talk with you! We were able to gather lots of photos and information about each of them, and would love to share about their specific needs and personalities.

Email our Waiting Child Team!

Get in touch with our team of expert advocates for the waiting children we feature.

Email us!

The post 3 Things to Know About Philippines Older Child and Special Needs Adoption appeared first on Holt International.

Our Special Needs Project team is currently in the Philippines, meeting children to help them find adoptive families. In between long days of travel and assessing dozens of children, our social workers sent the following report — to share about the children who have especially touched their hearts.

By the end of our trip, we will have spent 12 days in the Philippines, traveling by car, ferry, van and plane to meet 42 children — in hopes of finding them loving, adoptive families once we return to the U.S.

Each of these 42 children has sat down with myself, Luisa or Brooke (all of us Holt social workers from our Special Needs Project [SNP] adoption team) while we conduct interviews and assessments, and gather photos and videos to try and get a true sense of their personality, strengths and needs.

We all have children who have especially touched our hearts — children we have cried after talking with because of how special they are, how much they desire an adoptive family to love and support them…

Some of the Children We’ve Met

I think of Bernila*, a 14-year-old girl who is very talented in music and art. She was initially shy, but started to open up after talking for a few minutes. She was very inquisitive and wanted to know all of our favorite things. She admitted that she is teased by the other children because of her acne and it makes her sad when that happens. She wants a family who enjoys traveling because she wants to travel the world.

Another child who Luisa fell in love with has been waiting for a family for such a long time. She has a significant medical condition that has made it more difficult to find a family for her in the past. But part of this is because families that have seen her on the special home finding list don’t have access to a full description of her condition or an updated picture of her. After spending time assessing and playing with this child, it’s clear that she is a true gift, has many talents, and does not allow her medical condition to get in the way of her love for life or faith in being adopted by the right family.

There was a sibling group of two boys where the younger boy has a medical condition and the older boy clearly loves and is protective of his little brother. The older brother describes trying to protect his brother from being teased by others and watched out for him while we visited them. You could see their loving bond just from how they looked at each other.

Another older girl we met was so friendly and engaged — such a sweet and giggly teenager who loves to talk with her friends and has a crush on a boy in her class. She has traumatic and sad memories of her life with her biological family, and desires a family where she can receive love and undivided attention.

The Children Waiting for Families

Each of the children we’ve met is such a joy! Because most of them speak English, we were able to talk with them with only minimal assistance from an interpreter. Some children are extremely outgoing and ready to engage with us, and others are very shy and reserved. They’re all very familiar with adoption and most have seen friends get adopted. Adoption is an everyday conversation these children have with their caregivers.

The children range in age from 4 to 15, with the majority being in the 10-12 age range. We have seen sibling groups and single children, children who wish to be an only child, some who want older siblings and others who want (and would thrive with) younger siblings. We met with two children who have very significant medical conditions, but who are so happy and wish to be with a family. Other sibling groups we’ve met all love each other and want to be placed together. There’s even a sibling group of six! The older children in the sibling groups know that it will take a unique family to move forward with their adoption, but they still have hope…

And that is exactly why our trip, and this adoption program, is so important: hope. As we return to the U.S. with in-depth information and photos of each child, it gives them greater hope of joining a family.

Adopting a Child From the Philippines SNP

Families who would be a good fit for adopting a child from this program should be understanding of developmentally appropriate pre-teen and teenage behaviors, be supportive of a child’s faith and how they choose to worship, and have a true commitment to lifelong parenthood. They need to be flexible, understanding, accepting, loving, good advocates, and have large toolbox of resources — as well as a great sense of humor! Ideal families will meet a child where they are at, can sustain delayed gratification when it comes to attachment, are invested in the Filipino culture, and will utilize TBRI in their parenting.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about any of the children we’ve met on our trip, we ask that you come to a Lunch and Learn to hear more about them. And please don’t hesitate to reach out to Luisa or Brooke if you see a child on the SNP photolisting that you feel a connection to — they’d love to tell you more about them!

*Name changed

Sign up for an Adoption Information Meeting!

Are you considering adopting a child? Attend a free Zoom adoption information meeting to learn about country requirements, parent eligibility, the profile of children waiting for families — and ask any other questions you have about international adoption!

Register here

The post Children Who’ve Touched Our Hearts appeared first on Holt International.

Holt’s Special Needs Projects (SNP’s) are the only ones of their kind in the U.S., setting them apart from other programs. Through these programs, Holt social workers from the U.S. travel to meet children in person! Holt currently has SNPs in the Philippines and Thailand, and hopes to utilize this advocacy strategy in more countries in the future. By visiting children waiting for adoptive families and meeting them face to face, Holt social workers can learn about their personalities and interests, and review any medical, developmental, cognitive or emotional needs they may have. This helps our clinical social workers best determine the kind of family they will thrive in — maybe yours!

If you’re a prospective adoptive parent concerned about the unknowns in adoption, one of Holt’s Special Needs Projects may be the right choice for you because of the detailed information our highly trained social workers are able to provide about children in these programs.

February 2024 Trip to the Philippines

During this February 2024 trip, the Holt social workers will visit and gather information about these children and their daily lives. They’ll also speak with a variety of people who work with the children, including teachers, caregivers, nurses and social workers. Having a comprehensive portrait of the child’s life, personality and environment, Holt staff here in the U.S. will better position our social workers to advocate and talk with prospective adoptive parents about the individual needs of these children.

And when prospective families reach out to Holt, we will now have a wealth of information and photos to share! Often, we can even direct families to a staff member who traveled to the Philippines and interacted personally with the child. They can then give their impressions and perspective on the child’s needs! In the world of international adoption, this kind of interactive approach is transformative for children and families alike.

While the team is there, they will also have real conversations with the children. They get to talk to them about adoption and their wishes for the future.

The Benefit of Conversations about Adoption with Children

Celeste Snodgrass, Holt’s senior director of clinical services, was part of the team that visited the Philippines in 2023 on Holt’s first SNP trip. She participated in many of these conversations — including how the children felt about the possibility of adoption.

“We discussed the topic of adoption often. The majority of children have seen friends be placed with adoptive families,” Celeste says. “When asked what they would wish for if they had three wishes, most children said their first wish would be for an adoptive family. Many children said they pray every night for an adoptive family.”

“It is so nice to meet with these children!” Celeste continues. “Their personalities really come alive when we talk with them about things they enjoy and games they like to play. Meeting them and getting to sit down and engage in both play and discussion with them means we are able to highlight who they are as a person. This helps us advocate to find them an adoptive family!”

The children in the program tend to be older, between 9 and 15 years old. For these youth, a dialogue about adoption is especially important.

“I hope that these children will feel that they have a voice in communicating with prospective families,” says Luisa Barnes, Holt social worker and director of adoption for Korea and the Philippines. “Since most of these children are older, their input is so important for a successful adoption. Their wishes, dreams and the vulnerability that they shared with us are so impactful. There is no doubt that families will see how incredible they are!” 

Last year some children said they want to be adopted into a two-parent family, others said they wanted a single mom. Many children wanted adoptive siblings while others were looking for pets. Whatever their wish, our SNP team listened and assured them the agency would do everything to advocate for them when they returned to the U.S.

Want to learn more about the children who need families through this special project? Our agreement with the Philippines government requires us to only share the children’s profiles with families who have an active application with Holt. If you fall into this category and you would like to view the children who are waiting, please email our waiting child team at waitingchild@holtinternational.org.

Email our Waiting Child Team!

Get in touch with our team of expert advocates for the waiting children we feature.

Email us!

The post Holt’s Unique Adoption Program in the Philippines Is Growing appeared first on Holt International.

From the Philippines to Uganda, from India to Haiti and beyond, children were overjoyed with their celebrations and gifts. For children living in poverty or in an orphanage this is especially meaningful — because there are rarely enough resources for a celebration like this.

But every child deserves to celebrate! Thank you for making these special Christmas parties and gifts possible for children around the world every year. (And let’s do it again this year!)

Here’s what our staff and sponsorship partner organizations around the world had to say about last year’s parties:

Christmas in the Philippines

“The children and families prepared songs and dances and wore sparkly reindeer antlers and Santa hats. They laughed hysterically as they played silly games for raffle prizes. They ate fried chicken and spaghetti from Jollibee, a favorite bee-themed Filipino restaurant chain, and opened presents generously provided by Holt sponsors and donors — including new backpacks for all of the students.” — Holt staff in the Philippines

Christmas in Colombia

Children at our partnership organization in Bogotá loved their Christmas celebration, provided by Holt sponsors!

Christmas in Uganda

“Children always look forward to Christmas due to the great fun it comes with. We share with the children the story about the birth of Jesus: the amazing gift from God. Children present songs and skits about the birth of Jesus Christ.” – Holt Uganda

Christmas in India

“Christmas was celebrated by organizing a wonderful party for the children. The school hall was decorated with colorful stars, bells and ribbons, a beautiful Christmas tree with lights and many gifts.” – Holt orphanage partner in India

Christmas in Haiti

“The children played, danced and took part in a talent show. They shared festive and yummy foods together, ate cakes and many of the children received Christmas cards from sponsors – a mark of kindness they cherish each year.” — Holt orphanage partner in Haiti

Give a Christmas Party & Gift

You can give a festive meal, party and hand-picked gift to a child in need this Christmas!

give now

The post Thank You for Giving Joy! appeared first on Holt International.

Members of the Holt team recently returned from the “17th Philippine Global Consultation on Child Welfare Services.” This conference was put on by the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) in the Philippines. Hang Dam, director of programs for the Philippines, Luisa Barnes, director of adoption for the Philippines, and Nate Schiffer, Holt’s camp director, traveled to Quezon City.

As the NACC is a newly established government body, Holt’s adoption team aims to strengthen their relationship with the organization so they can better advocate for children waiting for families in the Philippines.

This conference was a wonderful opportunity!

Recent Success of the Philippines Special Needs Project

Luisa presented about the Philippines Special Needs Project (SNP). This is a new initiative in the Philippines designed to help find families for children in the Philippines who are older, have special needs or are part of a sibling group. It is modeled after a similar project in Thailand that Holt has run for many years. 

Through these unique special needs projects, Holt social workers travel to meet and assess the children in person. This enables them to learn about each child’s personality and offer a personalized recommendation about the kind of family in which they believe they would thrive.

“I think moving forward, all of us are on the same page that adoption is moving toward older children and children with special needs. We want to advocate by being collaborative and creative in talking to the NACC about paths to make that happen.”

Luisa Barnes, director of adoption for the Philippines

Holt social workers traveled to the Philippines in February 2023 to establish the Philippines SNP. As Luisa shared in her presentation, 11 children from the Philippines SNP have been matched with families in the last six months! The youngest child was 9 years old, and three of those 11 children were a sibling group — an especially amazing success!

“Our goal was to share some of these findings with in-country participants, like orphanages and the NACC,” Luisa says. “Since the NACC is a newer organization, we are working hard to build trust with them and demonstrate that we are a leader in child matching.”

Holt adoption team leaders like Luisa and Hang are working especially hard to develop this relationship so that the Philippines SNP, and other child advocacy initiatives like it, can grow!

Holt Hopes to Expand the Philippines SNP

The next phase of the Philippines SNP is to welcome new children into the program. There will be another round of in-country child assessments conducted by Holt social workers. To do so requires permission and support from the NACC.

“Overall, the government in the Philippines supports this initiative,” Hang Dam says. “Because it is a way to advocate for children who have been waiting for a long time to find families.”

The NACC has been looking for new initiatives to help find families for children. They focus on children who are older, have special needs or who are part of a sibling group. Because of the program’s proven success at uniting children with families, Hang and Luisa are hopeful that the SNP will continue to expand in the Philippines!

“I think moving forward, all of us are on the same page that adoption is moving toward older children and children with special needs,” Luisa says. “We want to advocate by being collaborative and creative in talking to the NACC about paths to make that happen.”

One of the ways the NACC brought innovation to the conference was by inviting adoptees to share their adoption stories. This was the first year they invited Filipino adoptees to speak!

Nate’s Adoption Story — Why He Shared It

Toward the end of the conference, Nate Schiffer and a fellow Filipino adoptee from Wisconsin, Hannah, both shared their stories. They stood in front of a packed room of government officials and talked about how adoption had influenced their lives.

Nate is Holt’s current adoptee camp director, which is part of why he agreed to travel so far to talk about something he hasn’t always thought about much — his identity as an adoptee. The first time Nate shared his adoption story was on the Holt blog. The blog went live soon before he left for five weeks to run Holt Adoptee Camp 2023 in Oregon, New Jersey and Wisconsin.

“I wouldn’t have presented at the conference without the blog, honestly,” Nate says. “But a lot of the campers saw the blog and asked about my story and about my reunion with my birth family. We all want to talk about those things at camp, but we don’t always. It takes so much vulnerability.”

After reading Nate’s story on the blog, many kids approached him at camp with their deepest questions. They asked things like: What was it like meeting your birth family? How did you do a birth search? What did you think about? What were you thinking when you met all your biological siblings, but your adoptive family was there too? Would you do it again? How would you prepare if you did it again? What advice do you have for me?

At camp, Nate was struck by how his willingness to share his story invited so many campers to open up about the feelings and questions burning inside them. He had many deep, vulnerable conversations with campers that were some of the most meaningful parts of camp for him.

“Those conversations never would have taken place without that blog post,” Nate reflects. 

Which is why, anticipating another summer of camp, Nate agreed to speak at the NACC’s 2023 conference.

“I wouldn’t have shared if I didn’t think that it would help spark conversation with other adoptees, especially adoptees who have questions,” Nate says. “I want them to know that I’m comfortable sharing my story. When leadership can share, it helps everyone.”

Nate also says that speaking at the conference was meaningful because he sees it as coming full circle.

Did you know Holt provides support to all adoptees?

Every adoptee has a unique and complex life experience. Holt strives to support all adoptees, regardless of their placing agency, by providing help with birth search, citizenship and more.

adoptee support

Coming Full Circle for Nate

“It felt full circle that the first time I ever shared my story publicly was in my birth country,” Nate says. “Being placed in an orphanage the day I was born and then coming back 22 years later to share my story at a conference in the Philippines with government officials and politicians was very surreal. I never dreamed that I would be doing that, but I’m so glad for the opportunity.”

When Nate thinks about his childhood and adolescence as an adoptee, he knows he would have benefitted from more opportunities to talk about his adoption.

“Adoption was never who I was,” Nate says. “For me, this identity is new, but now it is an important part of my life. I didn’t have an adoptee mentor to help me navigate my adoptee identity when I was campers’ age. I didn’t go to camps. It would have been so amazing to have those resources, and now I and my camp staff are that resource.”

Taking Insights Back to Camp

Nate knows how much it takes to be vulnerable with others. He wants to do everything he can to model this openness to campers.

“As a camper, it takes a lot to be vulnerable to adult adoptees, let alone adoptee peers,” Nate says. “Most kids don’t have adoptee friends growing up until they get to camp. I think if we want to give these kids a chance to be vulnerable, we need to be willing to be vulnerable ourselves.”

In his presentation, Nate walked the audience through his story. He talked about what it was like growing up in a predominantly white community and growing up with adopted siblings. Nate also reflected on his reunion with his birth family, and shared things he recommends that parents know before adopting. He finished by talking about camp and Holt’s post-adoption services department — and what they’re doing to support kids.

“This is the first year Filipino adoptees spoke at the event,” Hang says. “I think that representation gave a very strong impact on the participants. Everyone was so quiet and rapt during their presentations. It was so powerful.”

The Take-Away

Hang, Luisa and Nate all appreciated their time at the global conference in the Philippines. They came home feeling accomplished and touched by what happened there.

“It was really amazing to hear how many people had a heart for what we’re doing. There are so many partners in our mission of finding permanent, loving families for children,” Luisa says. “One of the biggest take-aways we had is that we can work together to find homes for children in need of permanency and love.”

As the landscape of adoption continues to shift, Holt is grateful for opportunities to advance the conversation and advocate for children. Because every child deserves a loving, stable home where they can thrive!

Children with special needs are waiting for families!

Meet some of the children waiting for loving adoptive families. Could you be the right family for one of these children?

visit waiting child photolisting

The post Holt Staff Share Stories and Successes at Philippines Adoption Conference appeared first on Holt International.

When Gabriel was 6 years old, he came down with a fever that worried his mom. She took him to a private doctor, who prescribed antibiotics. But he soon developed a heat rash all over his body and his fever continued going up. Doctors struggled to figure out what was going on — first misdiagnosing him with a viral infection, then hand, foot and mouth disease. Eventually, they realized that he had a rare condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome. The first doctor he saw had also prescribed too high a dose of antibiotics. As a result of his illness and the overdose of antibiotics, Gabriel suffered severe health issues as well as permanent, partial vision loss.

Today, Gabriel is 16 and in the tenth grade at a local public school in Metro Manila, Philippines.

On a cloudy day in late August, Gabriel and his mom meet us on a street corner to guide us to their house, which would be impossible to find without their help. We follow them into a concrete labyrinth of dense urban housing, the overcast Manila sky barely visible between strips of sheet metal roofing and jumbled telephone wires that dangle haphazardly overhead. The streets along the narrow corridors are wet from recent rains, and lined with motorbikes, bicycles, sleeping cats and windowsills full of plants that add some welcome green to this “barangay,” or neighborhood, where hundreds of families live side by side — with no breathing room between them.

“We call them ‘depressed areas,’” says Glady Bunao, executive director of Kaisahang Buhay Foundation (KBF), Holt’s partner in the Philippines. “Most of the scholars we’re serving are really the poorest of the poor, and this community is included in those that are considered poorest of the poor.”

In his community, Gabriel is one of 66 students — or “scholars,” as Glady lovingly calls them —who receive monthly support from a Holt sponsor. Across the Philippines, over 1,150 children living everywhere from rural sugarcane plantations to urban barangays — in child care centers or with their families — are part of Holt’s child sponsorship program.

Because of his sponsor, Gabriel receives everything he needs to go to school — including basic supplies such as notebooks and pencils, uniforms required to attend class, new clothes and shoes every year, and the funds to cover fees charged annually by his school. Although primary and secondary school is technically free in the Philippines, every year schools charge anywhere from $75-$200 in building, maintenance, teacher and academic fees. And that’s just for one child. For a family of five like Gabriel’s that earns maybe $60 per week, the high cost of fees and supplies can make school unaffordable and cause children to drop out early. Sometimes, it means a family must choose which of their children get to go to school — and which stay home.

“When we’re providing for the needs of the children, we prevent family disintegration. We prevent families from surrendering their children for adoption. That’s the goal also — so that kids will stay with their family.”

Glady Bunao, Executive Director of KBF, Holt’s partner in the Philippines

“There are a lot of families who prioritize their children if they cannot send all their children to school,” Glady explains. “Somebody’s going to be sent, somebody’s going to stay.”

Although gender bias is no longer as much of an issue in the Philippines as it used to be — and still is in many countries where Holt works — other prejudices continue to determine who is most likely to succeed and who is most likely to be excluded. As in many countries, discrimination toward people with disabilities is still firmly entrenched in the Philippines, with few resources or opportunities available to them.

“There are such limited services for special education in the Philippines. There are opportunities, but there are more children with special needs availing it so that’s the problem,” Glady says.

For people with disabilities who are living in poverty, the odds are even more stacked against them.

Due to the severe medical condition he suffered when he was younger, Gabriel can only see a white reflection out of his left eye and can only partially see from his right one. But Gabriel has persevered and, in many ways, overcome his limitations. For a long time, his mom had to walk him to school. Now, he navigates the labyrinthine corridors of his neighborhood with ease. He helps with household chores, sometimes cooks meals for his family and even helps his mom with the small food stand she runs outside of their home. He also manages to do pretty well in school, though he struggles with reading. In class, he sits in the front row so he can see the blackboard better, and sometimes his fellow students will help him take notes.

As his social worker writes, “Despite his disability, he is determined and can compete with others in the school.”

But if Gabriel’s parents were forced to choose which of their children get to go to school, and which stayed behind, they may have kept Gabriel home.

“The income of the father is not stable. The income of the mother is also not stable,” Glady says of Gabriel’s parents. “The mother even expressed when we were there that sometimes, she just wanted to give up. If there is no educational assistance, then it will add to their problems. So we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Keeping a child home from school because their parents can’t afford supplies and fees is devastating as it is. But sometimes, out of desperation, parents living in poverty in the Philippines will make an even more heartbreaking decision.

“When children are surrendered for adoption, one reason is because of poverty. The parents are not able to provide for their needs. For House of Refuge, most of the children there are older and they are abandoned,” Glady says, referring to a Holt sponsor-supported care center we later visit in Manila. “When we find their families, they will say it’s better for them to be in your care instead of staying with us because we have no opportunity — we cannot send them to school. If they get sick, we cannot bring them to a doctor.”

But when sponsors help meet the medical, nutritional, educational and other basic needs of children, it has a profound effect not just on the child — but the parents, too.

“For a visually impaired student like me, it has not been easy. But because of CISSL teachers and everyone who makes up KBF and Holt International, it is not just with things for learning but help to have self-confidence that I have the ability to finish my studies and reach my dream in life.”

Gabriel, sponsored scholar in the Philippines

“We also provide parent support like training — equipping the parents on how to help their children, because it’s not enough to provide educational assistance. We have to equip the parents on how they will teach the children, support the children in their homework. Be an encouragement to their children,” Glady says, adding that they also emphasize the importance of parents’ caring for their own mental health.

With support, parents feel more empowered and capable. They are less likely to lose hope, and less likely to place their children in someone else’s care. 

“When we’re providing for the needs of the children, we prevent family disintegration,” Glady says. “We prevent families from surrendering their children for adoption. That’s the goal also — so that kids will stay with their family.”

For a child with special needs like Gabriel who may need costly medical care, specialized therapies or special education, families face even greater struggles — and are at even greater risk of relinquishing them to a care facility that can meet their needs.  

“For Gabriel, if he wasn’t given the opportunity,” Glady says, “we don’t know what’s going to happen to him.”

Thankfully, he was given an opportunity — not only by the social workers at KBF who know him well, but by a few kind and generous people who he has never personally met.

Learn more about Holt’s work in the Philippines!

See how sponsors and donors create a brighter, more hopeful future for children and families in the Philippines!

view philippines programs

Who is Behind These Generous Gifts?

Gabriel’s home is the last one in a row of homes, with an icon of the Virgin Mary set into the adjoining wall and a few plants reaching for the thin strip of light that shines down from above. Inside, the living space is small and dark, but welcoming and neatly organized. Gabriel lives here with his mom, dad and two younger siblings. His younger brother is in 14 and his younger sister is 7. They have two floors, with the second-floor loft area accessible by ladder. Upstairs, boxes of clothes, toys and other belongings line the edges of the tiny space where the whole family of five sleeps on the floor each night. Through the thin walls, we can hear the neighbors talking and playing music. A barking dog sounds like it’s somewhere inside Gabriel’s house, but it’s a neighbor’s dog.

“They have to make do with whatever is available,” Glady later says of families who live in the cramped, often makeshift housing of Manila’s impoverished barangays — adding that many families live in worse conditions than Gabriel and his family. “You know, Filipinos are very resilient so whatever is available,” she says, “they will live with it.”

The families living in this area are especially vulnerable to Manila’s tropical weather. Typhoons are year-round in the Philippines, but the last big one that hit Manila — in 2019 — caused flooding up to the second floor of Gabriel’s house. With sponsor and donor support, KBF hired a military truck to deliver food, medicine and other supplies to the families living in the community. Gabriel and his family made it to safety and hunkered down at his nearby school, but they lost many of their possessions — including a special magnifying glass that Gabriel used to read with.

With sponsor and donor support, KBF has since replaced his magnifying glass — and also provided Gabriel and his fellow sponsored children with large plastic containers in which to store their school supplies so they won’t get ruined when it floods. For children and families in educational sponsorship in the Philippines, even notebooks and pencils are valuable possessions that they can’t risk losing.

“One dollar is precious for them,” Glady says. “They don’t want to spend a lot of money on something that is not an actual necessity.”

That’s why, every two months, Gabriel and his family marvel at the boxes of food, hygiene and school supplies that KBF delivers to their home. Inside, they find precious goods such as rice, milk, shampoo, toothpaste, rulers, notebooks, shoes, bags and uniforms. During the pandemic, sponsors even made it possible to provide electronic tablets for Gabriel and his fellow sponsored students so they could attend school remotely.

“They ask, ‘Who is behind this?’” Glady says of Gabriel and his family. Who are the generous people who provide all of this for them?

Although Gabriel knows he has sponsors in the U.S. — he has received birthday cards from them, and every so often he writes letters in response — he and his family are still beside themselves that anyone could be so kind to someone they’ve never met.

In his letters, Gabriel always expresses his gratitude and shares about his progress in school. Recently, he wrote a letter saying, “Thank you very much […] for all the help that you are giving for our necessary school supplies. It’s not just school supplies that you provide through the various activities that you do, you also teach us various things that can help not only in learning, but also in our being human as a student.”

As a visually impaired student, Gabriel does struggle a bit to keep up with his classmates. His KBF social workers are exploring opportunities for him to attend a school for visually impaired students that can give him the specialized education and support that he needs. But as Glady explained, special education programs are limited and often at capacity in the Philippines. At the same time, Gabriel’s mother has struggled to accept that her son would benefit from special education.

His mom cries as she shares the story of Gabriel’s traumatic childhood illness. Her son almost died, she says, and his eyes were nearly destroyed. Although she says she has nearly lost hope at times, her love and devotion for her son is obvious. During the pandemic, when Gabriel attended online classes, she would often read lessons aloud to him and describe what was shown on the screen during Google Meet classes. She understands why he feels that he can’t keep up with his classmates’ pace of learning, and has come around to the idea of enrolling him in a school for visually impaired students — if KBF can find a spot for him.   

“For Gabriel, his family is his main source of support, particularly his mother who assists him with the things he cannot do, especially matters related to his studies,” Gabriel’s social worker writes. Gabriel is also very close with his younger brother, with whom he loves to jam on the guitar. Gabriel’s social worker says he has open communication with his parents, who are always checking in with Gabriel and his siblings — asking about school, their friends, their lives.

The love and support they give him shows in how he feels about himself. “Despite his condition, Gabriel remains to have high self-confidence,” his social worker writes. “He rates his self-confidence as an eight out of ten.”

Educational Sponsorship Gives Hope and Opportunity

During our visit with Gabriel, he eagerly jumps up to show how he helps cook meals in the family’s small kitchen.

After he graduates high school, Gabriel hopes to become a chef. He already takes cooking classes at school, and he helps his mom prepare the foods she sells at her roadside stand. When sponsored students graduate, KBF social workers will try to help them get scholarships to attend college — or find employment if they don’t plan to go on to college. For Gabriel, the social workers will do their best to find a vocational training program that can accommodate his special needs.

But just graduating high school is often a significant achievement for children living in some of the most impoverished barangays in Manila.

“If they finish high school at least, some of the job opportunities available usually require ‘high school graduate,’” Glady says, explaining the importance of a high school education in the Philippines. “Like for houseparent, when caregiving institutions hire houseparents or caregivers, they say ‘at least high school graduate.’ So finishing education is very important for them. If they don’t finish, it may be very difficult to find opportunities to get out of poverty.”

Among sponsored students in the Philippines, the graduation rate is very high. They don’t take the opportunity given by their sponsors for granted.

“They’re always thankful because if not for sponsors from Holt, they would not have this kind of opportunity to graduate from school,” Glady says.

For Gabriel, graduating high school is the first major step to achieving his dream of becoming a chef. And with the support of his family, his social workers, his teachers and his sponsors, he feels confident he can get there.

In concluding his last letter to his sponsors, he wrote, “For a visually impaired student like me, it has not been easy. But because of CISSL teachers and everyone who makes up KBF and Holt International, it is not just with things for learning but help to have self-confidence that I have the ability to finish my studies and reach my dream in life.”

Become a Child Sponsor

Connect with a child. Provide for their needs. Share your heart for $43 per month.

sponsor now!

The post Empowered to Achieve His Dream appeared first on Holt International.

Angel lives in the Philippines, where a challenging early childhood brought her to the loving arms of an amazing foster family that gives her all the care and nurturing she needs.

Angel has a strong bond with her foster family, especially her foster parents. She loves their dog, a dark gold-colored mutt with patient eyes and the pointy ears of a terrier.

When Angel first came into care, our local partner in the Philippines pursued reunification with her birth family, but it was unsuccessful. Now, while she stays in foster care, they are carefully looking for the perfect adoptive family for her.

Holt staff have meet Angel, and say she was “the sweetest girl with the best smile!”

When Angel isn’t playing with the dog or getting cuddles from her foster mom, she loves wearing pajamas and holding on tight to her foster brother while he rides his motorbike through their neighborhood streets.

In many countries where Holt works, foster families are the unsung heroes of our commitment to uplifting children. They welcome hurt, neglected children into their homes — sparing them from institutional care — and offer abundant love and the kind of healing only a family can provide. You can see the difference this makes in Angel’s big smile!

Learn more about Holt’s work in the Philippines!

See how sponsors and donors create a brighter, more hopeful future for children and families in the Philippines!

view philippines programs

The post The Best Smile appeared first on Holt International.

China 

In-person visits to our family strengthening and education programs have resumed in China! In May, Holt China conducted 263 online visits with families and 195 in-person visits. They also held 73 tutoring sessions for 1217 students. 

For International Day of the Chlild on June 1, children in Meheikou had special outings and activities.  

Colombia 

One of our partner organizations in Bogotá, Bambi, continued with parenting workshops for parents and grandparents in the PROMEFA program, including sessions which aim to develop sensitivity to a child’s needs by considering underlying emotional states, beliefs and attitudes. 

Ethiopia 

Following continuous advocacy with the local government, families set to graduate from the economic empowerment program obtained licenses to organize as a savings and credit association. This helps the families receive additional support, such as loans to expand their personal income-generating projects as they graduate from Holt’s program.   

Haiti 

Children participated in an event for International Day of the Child on June 1. As part of the celebration, they read books that promote child rights, competed in a reading contest, and made presentations for slogans about child rights and protection. 

India  

Thirty-five children from two child development centers in Bangalore successfully graduated from the informal school program and moved to formal schools.   

Mongolia 

Holt Mongolia staff, in cooperation with the joint social welfare and mental health team from the Khuvsgul province, conducted a training for parents and guardians on the prevention of violence against families and children, family education and the formation of positive attitudes in society that support stable relationships. The empowerment training aims to increase parental responsibility in engagement in the care of their children. The trainings focused on understanding children’s psychological health and needs, the influence of parenting styles on children, the ability to manage emotions, individual counseling for teenagers and individual counseling for adults, as well as provided professional and methodological support to area teachers. 

Philippines 

In coordination with the local government, our partner agency’s family and community outreach program successfully conducted a seminar on the First 1000 Days of a Baby’s Life. The seminar aimed to increase the understanding and motivation of pregnant women to provide nutritional and developmental support to their babies during the first 1000 days of life. We also helped distribute kits of essential baby items and baby bathtubs to further support to participants.   

Uganda 

Holt Uganda conducted a hygiene and sanitation competition with 1,151 households across three districts. After participating, households are assessed and the winners were awarded prizes at a ceremony in June.  

Vietnam 

During May, Holt Vietnam provided growth and anemia screenings and provide deworming medication to 306 children at a kindergarten in Khanh Hoa province. The program will now provide iron and vitamins for the 63 children who were assessed to have anemia.  

Learn more about Holt’s work and history!

At Holt International, we help children thrive in the love and stability of a family. But our services extend far beyond the adoption work we are known for.

learn about holt

The post Notes From the Field: July 2023 appeared first on Holt International.

Cambodia 

Our new foster care program in Phnom Penh placed the first child into foster care in late April. After being found abandoned at a hospital in Phnom Penh, the child’s case was referred to Holt Cambodia — which led to them now living safely in family-based care. 

China 

Two staff in China attended the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children’s (CCFAC) annual meeting, where our work received the “Outstanding Contribution” award. Our programs in Meheikou, Huinan and Menyuan were selected as national model counties for the protection of minors by the State Council Leading Group for the Protection of Minors.

Ethiopia 

Construction of an early childhood care and development classroom in Soda was successfully completed, including the establishment of a potable water point, and segregated bathrooms for the boys and girls. This new preschool will provide critical early education to more than 200 children. 

Haiti 

A total of 751 children received medical screening, including 125 children ages 0-5. In addition to the health screenings, all children received nutrition and hygiene training, HIV/AIDS screening, deworming meds and all children under 5 received Vitamin A supplements. Children identified with vision vision impairment, skin infections, and nutrition-related issues will receive follow-up care. 

India  

In Pune in the surround areas, staff at our partner organization BSSK received a 4-day library training.  

Mongolia 

Renovation has begun on a building that will become a service and activity center for children with special needs. When completed, this facility will serve as the central provider of services and support to children and their families in the Tuv Province of Mongolia. This project is being conducted in cooperation with the provincial government of this rural and largely underserved region. Project completion is scheduled for July 2023.  

Philippines 

KBF received another award from one of its partner organizations, International Justice Mission (IJM). KBF is one of its partners in the promotion and advocacy of the Better Network of Care to Survivors of Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. The citation was received by KBF’s executive director, Ms. Glady Bunao.  

South Korea 

Holt Children’s Services (HCS) took part in a conference on intercountry adoption held by the National Assembly in Korea. Titled “The Truth Beyond Distorted Perception of Intercountry Adoption in the Korean Society,” presenters from various disciplines provided information to help dispel misconceptions regarding intercountry adoption. Director General Son from HCS and Steve Morrison from Mission to Promote Adoption of Kids (MPAK) were among the presenters. Holt International president and CEO, Dan Smith, as well as several current Holt International adoptee board members also participated in the event.  

Thailand 

Twenty-two parents participated in Holt Sahathai Foundation’s “Smart Mum Workshop” to create acceptance towards different roles and responsibilities as a father and mother. The workshop aimed to build self-confidence for both children and parents, including an opportunity to review their strengths and weaknesses.   

Learn more about Holt’s work and history!

At Holt International, we help children thrive in the love and stability of a family. But our services extend far beyond the adoption work we are known for.

learn about holt

The post Notes From the Field: June 2023 appeared first on Holt International.

A Good Example

Twin brothers Somsak and Somchai are thriving in the care of their parents. Although when they were first born, it was a difficult beginning.

Their mom, Sachee, was just 17 years old when she got pregnant. Her boyfriend, Paal, was 15 when he learned he was going to be a father. Neither of them had any income — they were just kids themselves. Then they learned they were expecting twins…

To help care for their sons, Holt sponsors and donors — through our local partner in Thailand — began providing food, clothing, diapers and other basics. With their immediate needs met, Somsak and Somchai began growing stronger and more healthy. Sachee and Paal felt less stress — allowing them to focus on more long-term goals for their family.

Over time, as Sachee and Paal became financially stable and increasingly confident in parenting their sons, they became role models for other teen parents.

“They are a good example,” their social worker says, “because they worked together to care for their children.”

Read their full story here.

The Difference a Family Makes

Amanda and Jared Abuhl had always wanted six children, but when their fifth child, Evangeline, was born with an extremely rare form of genetic epilepsy, they decided that having another child just wouldn’t be possible. But then they learned about Anna, a 1-year-old girl in Bulgaria with the exact same genetic condition as Evangeline…

“I don’t think we would have sought out this experience if it wasn’t for Evangeline,” Amanda says. With five children already, one of whom required complex care, their life was full. But as soon as they saw Anna, they knew that this was something they could do.

They traveled to Bulgaria to bring Anna home in August 2022. Now, with adequate nutrition, medical care and the love of a family, Anna is thriving. She is reaching developmental milestones Amanda and Jared hadn’t even dared to hope for. That’s the difference a family can make.

Read the Abuhl’s full adoption story here.

Stable and Strong

In a rural community in northwestern Cambodia, Kola and Bunthong stand proudly in front of their home, with their five beautiful children. Their life looks entirely different than when we first met them just four years ago.  

They used to be afraid every night when they went to sleep. Twice, poisonous snakes had slithered into their old home — a thatched structure with holes in the floors and the walls.

But now, they are so proud of their beautiful new home, provided by Holt sponsors and donors. They sleep peacefully every night. Even more, their older children are all in school, and receiving the education — and a chance out of poverty — that their parents always dreamed of giving them.

The gift of new home, the gift of dignity, has transformed their lives. Now, not only is their home stable and strong — but their entire family is, too.

A Connection With My Birth Family Means the World to Me

“I was in the middle of the table. I had my adoptive family on one side, and my biological family on one side. Like, emotionally, it just felt like I was in two different corners essentially. And neither corner loved me any less.”

When Nate Schiffer traveled with his family to the Philippines for vacation at 17 years old, he didn’t expect the chance to meet his birth family. But here he was, in their single-roomed home — comprised of three walls and a blanket covering the opening — in an alleyway between two buildings in the city. They directed him to sit on a metal folding chair beside a small table. His biological siblings and biological parents sat feet away on the pallet bed they all shared, and his adoptive family stood near the doorway opening because there wasn’t enough room for everyone inside.

“I visually saw myself between both of them, and I knew that they both loved me. I just felt super loved, and super lucky,” Nate says. “Even though it was a sad situation, I was more just overwhelmed with happiness. I’m glad that I met my birth family. It helped me feel more completed and filled in the missing pieces of my story. Having a connection with my birth family means the world to me.”

Read Nate’s full story about meeting his birth family here.

So Proud

In Pune, India, in a slum neighborhood, through a narrow doorway in a building and up several flights of stairs, you’ll find this family’s home. The father, Suraj, is so proud of their home — and of his children. He can’t stop smiling as he talks about them.

The children, 12-year-old Vasant, 10-year-old Chandra and 8-year-old Meera, are all going to school with support from their Holt sponsors. So many children in their neighborhood don’t get to go to school. So they know just how important it is. Every morning, Suraj leaves early for work and leaves out breakfast for the children. Vasant helps get Chandra ready for school, although Meera likes to wake up even earlier to get ready all by herself!

Their mom works too and wasn’t home to be in their family photo when we last visited, but she too is so proud of her children.

“Do you love your mommy?” their social worker asked Chandra. He smiled shyly and nodded his head.

Give Job Skills Training

Job skills training is one of the most effective tools you can give a parent struggling to support their children. Parents in Holt’s programs around the world have chosen courses in tailoring, construction, computer programming and more. Within months, they can make a reliable income to independently support their children, overcoming poverty for good!

give now

The post Celebrating Families appeared first on Holt International.