As a child in Korea, Stephanie Fast received the support of sponsors. Today, Stephanie shares her story to help advocate for orphaned and vulnerable children around the world.
Although not an employee of Holt, I’ve had the honor of representing Holt at various functions this past year. Through Holt, I know that the little girl I sponsor has a better living condition, and a better childhood. And through sponsorship, I have provided a way for her to get an education so that in the future, she will be less vulnerable.
My few dollars make a lasting difference in her life.
How do I know this? Because I am a beneficiary of an organization that believes that every child deserves a future. Without sponsors, I am not sure that I would be alive today. When I was a child in Korea, a Swedish nurse found me on a garbage heap more dead than alive. She had compassion for me and nursed me back to life. She placed me in the care of an orphanage. For the first time in a long time, I felt semi-safe. And because of a sponsor, I received food, shelter, education and safety.
In the years that I have worked as an advocate for vulnerable children, I have found that the best way to help a child overcome poverty and injustice is by strengthening their family and community — an approach Holt International has taken over the six decades that I have witnessed their staff and partners advocating for vulnerable children around the world. Holt International is also unique in the fact that when a child becomes orphaned or abandoned, they work to ensure that child finds a sense of belonging in a permanent, loving family. Because every child deserves a forever family!
Through sponsorship, you and I can help care for the little ones until their family grows stable and self-reliant, or until they become part of a family through adoption. We are saying, “I believe in you. I believe that you are an asset to your community and your family. You are not a burden. You are not an accident. You have a destiny. You have the power to change your circumstances and your future. My sponsorship is my way of telling you I will stand with you, believing you can stand on your own one day.”
I want to thank everyone who believes that every child deserves a future. I sincerely hope you know your monthly support provides much more than physical essentials. You change their life from daily fear to hope! What a blessing you are to a child and to a community that you may never visit, but one day on the other side, you will meet them, and they will say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Stephanie Fast • Author, Winter Jam speaker
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Connect with a child. Provide for their needs. Share your heart for $43 per month.
