Simple, nutritious food given with love continues to be one of Holt International’s most important ingredients for helping vulnerable children. But recent cost increases and disasters are threatening Holt’s ability to meet the need. This blog entry includes excerpts from Holt International magazine, Fall 2008.
by Alice Evans, Holt Managing Editor
Since Holt’s earliest beginnings, food and nutrition have been vital components in its efforts to save weak and malnourished children and to help them toward healthy development. Through the years Holt and its partner agencies have brought countless children back from the brink of death simply by feeding them basic, healthy food while coaxing them with affectionate holding and words of encouragement. Recent events, however, are making it more and more difficult to provide this simple but vital component of Holt’s care for vulnerable children.
A Worldwide Food Crisis
Beginning early in 2008, food issues rose to the forefront in many countries served by Holt. In China, the costs of food were already on the rise when severe winter storms spiked prices even more, and lowered supplies. A few months later, a major earthquake hit southwestern China, bringing more stress to those least able to manage it—the poor, and children of the poor. And then came the tainted milk crisis.
In Haiti, four hurricanes struck in less than a month, bringing floods and landslides that destroyed houses and wiped out crops. While children at Holt Fontana Village were safe, Holt stepped up efforts to double the number of cottages, doubling its capacity to care for children. Holt also stepped up efforts to increase its family preservation program, and quickly began delivering food vouchers to help ward off starvation.
Holt International is an adoption and child welfare agency—not a disaster relief organization. But when disaster strikes a Holt project or program area, Holt must find a way to continue meeting the needs.
China: Nutrition and a Hand to Feed Them
“Children’s faces won’t lie,” said Holt China Director Jian Chen. She knows by sight a baby who has been receiving adequate protein and one who has not. “Children in Holt projects don’t get sick as much, they’re more alert. You look at skin color. A baby who is being fed congee and rice milk may be getting fat, but that child is not as healthy as a baby who is getting proper formula.” Read the rest of this entry »
Holt International donors and sponsors give a joyful memory for hundreds of children in foster care and orphanages in China
by Alice Evans—Holt Managing Editor
A meal at a restaurant… a visit to the zoo… a new set of clothing… new school bags and stationery… 62 dictionaries.
These are some of the ways children in foster care and orphanage settings in China were treated to something special thanks to Holt sponsors and donors, who contributed over $4,400 to see that these vulnerable children had the kind of day other kids take for granted. All in all, nearly a thousand children had a special day and were made to feel special through gifts, treats, presents and special events.
At schools in Fu’an, 44 children in Jinzhuotou elementary school and 18 children in middle schools received a Chinese dictionary. Li Li said she was looking forward to this dictionary for a long time, and now she is very happy to have one. Teachers say the dictionaries will help children learn how to solve some difficulties when they study.
In Longchuan, 165 children got to choose the school bags they like. Older students were permitted to go to a shop to make their choices, and Holt field staff took samples to the school so that the younger children could make their selections. Read the rest of this entry »
“You cannot lose sight of the goal” say Holt International adoptive parents Tom and Debbie Lizer, who are now in process of adopting a second daughter from Haiti. The Lizers live in Iowa, where they find time in their busy lives to serve as Holt Ambassadors.
by Debbie Lizer
“We live vicariously through the Lizers.” That’s what our good friends tell their friends!
Who are the Lizers? My husband Tom and I and our brood — seven children, four of whom are adopted or in process of adoption from other countries — are the Lizers. We are somewhat set apart from our “normal” friends.
Our adoption journey began 19 years ago when we brought home our first daughter, Reka, from India at 22 months to join two big brothers. Our tiny little girl flourished and soon our family grew by another son. We put the thought of future adoptions not out of our minds, but still buried rather deeply.
After years of waiting for the right time to make the decision about another adoption, we realized that time was making the decision for us. If we were going to do this, it was now or probably never. I started searching Holt’s Waiting Child website “just to see who was out there.” We thought we might be interested in a preschool-aged child and soon came upon a little girl from India with many unknowns. She stole our hearts and before long, we were working on a dossier, knowing that the choice wasn’t necessarily “safe,” but it was right. Four-year-old Vaishali joined us in a year, and we thought our family was probably complete.
It was during the post-placement phase of this adoption that our social worker urged us to consider Holt’s new Haiti program if we should want to proceed with any subsequent adoptions. We smiled and said, “We’ll see,” but thought, “That won’t happen.” In time, though, curiosity got the best of us. We started reading about the Haiti program in Holt International magazine and checked out the waiting children on the website, “just to see who was out there.” Our interest grew as we noticed the older girls needing families. We reasoned we could handle the placement of an older child, as we had already mastered the ’tween and teen years (to the extent that that’s possible!) and, we rationalized, we really could use a playmate for Vaishali, a sibling closer to her age. We noticed a little girl 7 years old, and our interest continued to grow. Maybe she would fit our plan. But God had a different plan, one much more complex than our own, one that started us on a new journey down a long and rocky road. Yet, God’s plan was a perfect one, and this is how it has been unveiled… Read the rest of this entry »
Eugene, OR— The board of directors of Holt International announced today that Kim Brown has been elected to the position of Holt Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Mr. Brown has served on the Holt board since 1999 and was the first adoptee selected as board chair.
During its annual board meeting, the board also elected Will Dantzler of Manassas, VA as the organization’s new chair. Dantzler, who is also a Korean adoptee, expressed his gratitude to the organization that was responsible for finding him a family. “Serving as a member of the board, and now as the board chair, is an honor as well as an opportunity to give back to this amazing organization. I join the rest of the board in looking forward to Kim Brown as Holt’s new CEO.”
Dantzler stated, “These are challenging times for international adoption. The board unanimously believes that Kim is uniquely positioned to lead Holt during this critical time of uncertainty in the global economy and worldwide changes for intercountry adoption and child welfare.”
Brown has an extensive background in business and organizational management. In addition to his personal experience as a Korean adoptee, Kim and his wife, Lori, are the parents of two children whom they adopted from Korea. “I have come full circle, both as a Korean adoptee and as an adoptive parent. In addition to the business and management experience I need for this job, I have the personal life changing experience of adoption as well.” Read the rest of this entry »
With quiet, gentle intensity Dr. Cho listens to the heartbeat and breathing of a newborn infant on the examining table before her. Watching her unhurried attention on this one child, it’s hard to comprehend that this one doctor has listened with this same singular focus on more than 50,000 children.
Dr. Cho, Byung-kuk has served as the primary pediatrician for Holt Children’s Services of Korea throughout most of its 52-year history. She even did a portion of her internship assisting Holt founder Harry Holt as he gathered up the weakest and most vulnerable homeless children in postwar Korea.
Throughout her career Dr. Cho has performed the initial medical evaluations on children coming into the care of Holt-Korea as well as the routine, bi-weekly check-ups on children in foster care. This devotion to children’s health has helped many children on their way to permanent adoptive families. Read the rest of this entry »
