Holt International - Blog » Thailand

Help Kanya Sesser Compete in the 2012 Paralympics in London!

rmunro — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:56:56 +0000

Adopted through Holt from Thailand when she was nearly 6 years old, Kanya grew up in Oregon with her parents Jane and David Sesser. Although born without legs, Kanya has overcome her disability to become a champion in track and field – and wheelchair track in particular. Now 19, she ranks among the fastest U.S. woman in her class in the 100-meter.

Her next goal is to compete in the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field Trials in Indiana – the qualifying event for the U.S. Paralympic Team to compete in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London!

But she needs help getting there…

If you would like to help Kanya make the qualifying event for the 2012 Paralympic Games, please make checks out to “WASUSA” and send them to:

WASUSA

P.O. BOX 5266

KENDALL PARK, NJ 08824-5266

Be sure to note on the memo line that funds should go to Kanya Sesser’s account. All donations are tax-deductible.

Check out recent news coverage of Kanya:

A Caring Family for a Caring Child

Ashli Keyser — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:09:41 +0000

*Jordan needs a family

Birthday: January 1st, 2004

One afternoon, in a care center in Southeast Asia, a caregiver was going from room to room, tidying up while the children played nearby. As she finished up in the last room, she walked to the door, put her hand on the knob and turned it. The door wouldn’t budge. She tried again. It still wouldn’t open. She pulled on it. Pushed on it, but, still, no luck. She was trapped. She took a deep breath and tried not to panic. She knew what to do. Loudly, she called for Jordan, an 8-year-old boy who lived at the care center. “I knew he would know what to do,” says the caregiver.

As soon as the caregiver yelled for him, Jordan was by the door.

“Are you OK?” Jordan, concerned, asked his caregiver.

“Yes, I am fine Jordan, but I need your help.”

“What’s wrong? asked Jordan sweetly. “Can you breathe?”

“Yes, I can breathe, Jordan,” said the caregiver, “I just need you to get someone to help me open the door.”

“Ok!” said Jordan. “I’ll be right back!”

And just like that, Jordan was off to get help for his trapped caregiver. Soon, she was out of the room and grateful for Jordan ’s genuine concern and quick thinking.

This sweet story is one of many in Jordan ’s file that illustrates his caring and empathetic personality. “He’s just so thoughtful,” says his caregiver. “I knew he would help get me out.”

His caregivers aren’t the only ones, though, that confirm Jordan ’s gentle and kind demeanor. Everyone I asked about Jordan had the same wonderful things to say about him. The word that came up most of all was “caring.”

“I remember him quite well,” says Jennifer Goette, Holt’s director of programs for Southeast Asia who travels to the area frequently. “He is very sweet and shy – very eager to please. His caregivers all shared with me that he is a very good boy, very obedient, very caring and very interested in helping others. I could tell he was a favorite with his caregivers. He never gave them any trouble!”

Abandoned at a temple when he was an infant, Jordan was found by an elderly woman who took him in and cared for him for 5 years until her health began to fail. Jordan was then transferred to a care center.

Jordan visits with Jennifer Goette, Holt's director of programs for Southeast Asia

Here, Jordan made friends easily and began to break out of his shell. Although he has excellent gross motor skills, he is said to be delayed developmentally. “He lived with an elderly woman for most of his life and this contributed to some delays” says his caregiver. When Jordan first entered care, His IQ score was 53, but since coming into Holt’s care and receiving more attention his IQ score has improved to 77 and continues to get better.

“It is strongly believed that in a permanent family who will provide him with love, encouragement and attention, he will rapidly progress and ultimately reach his potential,” says Jordan’s social worker.

Early last year, Jordan met Ally Tritten, an intern with Holt and IE3 global internships. Ally spent time with Jordan, assessing his development and getting to know him. She is also one of his many admirers. “ Jordan is very lovable, but seems to be lacking in self confidence and self-esteem,” says Ally. “He is often in a good mood and gets along well with friends, but will often get frustrated with himself if he can’t figure out how to do something.”

What Jordan needs is encouragement to continue to break him out of his shell. He needs support, a little patience and a lot of love to help him reach his potential.

Clearly, Jordan cares for others deeply and has so much love to give. Now, he just needs a family to share this love with.

Perhaps you are that family.

For more information on adopting Jordan, contact Erin Mower at erinm@holtinternational.org

Click here to read more about Jordan

Children Who Give: After Thailand Floods, A Holt Adoptee Helps His Former Foster Family

rmunro — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:07:44 +0000

Last November, as the worst monsoon flooding in over 50 years submerged Thailand’s homes, businesses and farms, Zach and Henry Zimmerman came up with a great idea to help with the recovery effort! In particular, Zach — a Holt adoptee from Thailand — wanted to help his former foster mom rebuild her house. So Zach, 5, and Henry, 9, put together a poster about the Thailand floods to bring to their school’s International Night — an annual event to celebrate diversity. Together, they raised $83.50 for Holt’s Thailand Rehabilitation Fund, which will help us repair and rebuild homes for the many Holt foster families displaced by the floods. Thank you Zach and Henry for your extraordinary efforts!

A Q&A with Mariia Zimmerman, mom of Zach and Henry

Henry (left) and Zach (right) with the poster they made to help raise funds for Thailand flood relief.

How old are your boys and what grade are they in?
Zachary is 5 and started Kindergarten this fall. Henry is 9 and in the 4th grade.

How long did Zach live with his foster mother in Thailand?
Zachary lived with his foster mom for 16 months. We adopted him when he was 18 months old.

What does he remember about his foster mom (and foster family)?
Zachary doesn’t remember very much, but we talk about his culture and history with him. He’s very curious to know about it all and asks lots of questions. We have pictures of Zachary with his foster mom that Holt sent to us while we were waiting the nine long months between referral and being able to go over to Thailand and bring him home. These are part of Zach’s adoption book, which he likes to read and discuss all the photos.

One of the stories we like to tell is that his foster mother lived very close to a Buddhist temple, which had an area for children to play soccer in the courtyard. Zachary spent a lot of time there when he was a baby, watching the children. His foster mom told us he always had a laugh when they played soccer and he learned to kick a ball shortly after he could walk. When we met Zachary, he already had really good soccer skills and to this day he loves to play. It was one of the things that we did a lot of when he first joined our family, since his older brother also enjoyed playing and it didn’t require either knowing how to speak the other’s language.

What is International Night?
Our school in Arlington, VA has a tremendous amount of diversity among the students who attend. A couple years ago, the PTA came up with the idea to celebrate this diversity and began hosting an “international night.” Students and their families are encouraged to celebrate their cultural heritage. The teachers also were deeply involved. Together we had games, information booths and geography quizzes. Families brought desserts to share from favorite traditional family recipes, and a local international restaurant graciously provided the food. Kids dressed up in clothing from their culture, and students participated in a talent show, which included Irish Dancing, Japanese drumming, and many other neat musical skills.

Did the boys come up with the idea to hold a fundraiser for Holt? What inspired them?
Everyone was encouraged to participate and given that none of us had the skill to pull off Thai dancing, we discussed other options. My brother, who lives in Thailand, had been telling us about the flooding there; he had 9 feet of water in his house and was evacuated. We also got the email from Holt asking to help the foster families who had been dislocated. Zach was wanting to do something about Thailand and Henry came up with the idea to make a sign and collect money. We made a poster that highlighted what was happening in Thailand with the flooding.

How did they inspire others to donate to Holt — what was their message?
The poster board had pictures of the flooding, and told very briefly about Zach’s connection to his birth country and the need to help foster families there. It included a picture of Zach and his foster mom. Given that November was National Adoption Month, it seemed a good way to highlight both important issues. Our family brought in some Thai items – including Thai silk, the Thai flag and Thai candies – and made a display. We even played some traditional Thai music on our iPod. One of the most interesting things was how very few people knew that there was even flooding happening in Thailand. A lot of people wanted to discuss Thailand, adoption, the flooding, and the effects of global climate change. It was pretty amazing.

How do Zach and Henry envision Holt using the money they raised? What do they hope to help us accomplish?
The boys asked people to contribute $10 or $5 or whatever they could afford to help. With the flooding still happening at that point, we were asking to raise money for supplies to help the foster families and children.

Zach hopes the money is going to help his foster mom buy a new house. In discussing the flooding, he was really worried about her, and his birth mom. He is pretty sure his foster mom will now be able to get a house like ours, just a little smaller. His brother likes to point out that is not really what is going to happen. Henry envisions Holt using it to help bring water and food to families. Their cousin Benya, who lives in Thailand, made a video showing what her school is doing to help and both boys hope that the money they raised is being used like this to help.

To read about Holt’s efforts to help foster families affected by the recent flooding in Thailand, click here.

Join Zach and Henry and donate to Holt’s Thailand Rehabilitation Fund!

In the coming weeks and periodically throughout the year, we will feature stories about children who raise funds for Holt, and parents, grandparents and others who raise funds on behalf of the children in their lives. Know of a child or family who helped raise funds for Holt? Share your story with Holt’s senior writer, Robin Munro, at robinmunro@holtinternational.org.

Help Families in Thailand Rebuild Their Homes!

Ashli Keyser — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:39:42 +0000

Last October, lives changed forever when the worst monsoon season in more than 50 years hit Thailand. While nearly 300 people perished, 8 million were affected. Homes were destroyed, hearts were broken, but the spirit of Holt’s foster families could not be crushed. In the face of such devastation, Holt took comfort in the inspiring stories brought to us from the field. Although many of our foster mothers lost their homes, they never wavered in their devotion to their foster children. Our overseas staff sheltered the families, and kept the children safe. We commend Holt’s foster mothers in Thailand for their love and dedication, as well as our staff who rose to meet the need.

You may remember this story brought to us by Jennifer Goette, Holt’s director of programs for South and Southeast Asia, and published in November. Jennifer tells the story of one Holt foster mother whose home was damaged during the monsoon.

In March, engineers began the second phase of flood response by conducting an evaluation of destroyed and damaged homes. The engineers will now volunteer their time and begin the repair of 20 homes for birth and foster families affected by the flooding.

Click here to help foster mothers and birth families rebuild their homes for the children they love!

Jennifer Goette, Holt’s director of services for South and Southeast Asia, recently returned from Thailand. While there, she witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by the worst monsoon season to hit Thailand in 50 years and sat down with a Holt Sahathai Foundation foster mother.

By Jennifer Goette

Holding one of her foster daughters, Patchara talks to Jennifer Goette, Holt's director of services for Southeast Asia, about how her family has been affected by the flooding.

Bangkok, Thailand – Watching the floodwater rise in and around Bangkok in news reports these last couple weeks, it has been difficult to get a true account of the tragedy caused by the worst monsoon in Thailand in 50 years. Until my visit to Bangkok this week, I didn’t understand the true impact of the tragedy or how critical the work of Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF) has been for families dealing with dislocation and personal loss.

Since early October, HSF staff has worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of children and families served by their program. They have coordinated deliveries of food and supplies to hundreds of families using military vehicles, small boats and sheer willpower. They have relocated approximately 25 children and their foster parents to the HSF office, where the families have found safety, comfort and nutritious food. In many cases, HSF staff have continued working long hours, seven days a week, despite the desperate situation of their own families and homes.

One foster mother — relocated to the HSF office with her two foster daughters — sat down with me and shared her story….

I am sitting with Patchara and the Executive Director of HSF, Jintana Nontapouraya, as the light fades in the early evening and Patchara’s youngest foster daughter sleeps in her arms.

Patchara has been a foster mother with HSF since 1996. I can tell that Patchara, with her warm personality and sweet disposition, holds a special place in the hearts of the entire staff. Nearly 15 years ago, Patchara adopted the first child she fostered and has remained a foster mother with HSF ever since.

Patchara shares with me about the uncertainty families faced in the early days of the flood, when it was unclear just how grave the situation would be in areas around Bangkok. As the floodwater rose higher throughout Pathum Thani Province, the local residents evacuated to higher ground, staying with friends or relatives, or relocating to temporary evacuation shelters. As she worked with her husband to construct a barrier around their home, Patchara’s primary concern was not for the safety of her house or her personal belongings — which are now two meters under water — but for the safety of her two foster children. “They are my family,” says Patchara with a smile. “There was no question that I would continue to provide for their care during the disaster.”

Like the other foster mothers, Patchara has been forced to relocate to ensure the safety of her foster children. HSF’s foster program — staffed with 10 social workers, providing support and training to 100 families fostering 130 children — completed a weekly assessment of the dangers associated with the flooding for each family. When it was determined on October 21st that the Patchara family could no longer stay in their home, HSF worked with Mrs. Patchara to determine that the HSF office would be the safest place for her and the two children. HSF immediately arranged for transportation and assisted with the move. She has lived at the HSF office ever since.

When asked about the support HSF has provided, Patchara becomes animated: “I always feel supported by HSF during difficulties,” says Patchara. “During the flood, before I relocated to the HSF office, the staff called every day and responded immediately to my needs. I feel safe here at the office and can continue to provide care to my two foster children.”

Fortunately, nearly every foster mother has been willing and able to continue to provide care in the face of the tragedy. In the couple of cases where foster families have not been able to continue care, the children have been welcomed at the HSF office to be cared for by staff and the two cooks hired to prepare food during the crisis.

“For HSF, there are so many challenges caused by the flood,” says Jintana. “Out of 100 foster families, there has only been one who has not been dramatically impacted by the flood. We are responsible for these children and take this very seriously.”

Patchara realizes that it’s only a matter of time before she can return home, but she worries about the future for her and her family. Although her family owns their home and the land around it, they do not have any savings and will need a lot of financial support to repair their home.

With the situation brought on by the flood, Jintana plans to provide the relief and reconstruction needed for each family, though she worries about HSF’s ability to raise the needed funds.

“I truly appreciate the spirit of our foster families who are so committed to these children and also the staff who are incredibly dedicated to their work,” says Jintana. “We have continued efforts to distribute food, water and supplies to affected families, but we realize that there will be a lot of work to do later after the water recedes. All of the homes in affected areas have been damaged and will need significant repair.”

Foster families in HSF’s program receive between $65 and $75 per month for each child in their care. These funds help to compensate foster mothers for their time, but also pay for food for the child. Everything else is provided by HSF – transportation, medicine, education – to ensure each child has the best possible care.

Disaster relief efforts have been focused on the immediate needs of food, water and temporary shelter, but the majority of costs will be incurred now as homes need to be repaired or reconstructed. Jintana imagines HSF will need more than $35,000 to provide the needed support. “Our foster care program is always dependent on generous donations and support from Holt International,” she says. “But this is beyond anything we have experienced before. When the water is gone, the work will continue – and funding will be a critical factor in our ability to meet the needs of each family.

Click here to give to Holt’s Thailand Rehabilitation Fund and help the affected HSF foster and birth families rebuild their homes today!

MoneyGram Gives $35,000 for Holt’s Education Programs in Thailand and the Philippines

rmunro — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:33:20 +0000

MoneyGram presents a check to KBF, Holt's partner in the Philippines.

Kasem* loves school. He loves seeing his classmates every day, and goes in early to play with them. He loves to draw and practice writing his name. At home, at night, he eagerly shares with his family what he did that day in class. He never needs to be reminded to finish his homework.

Kasem lives in the Philippines with his mother, father and younger sister. His mother does not work. To care for his family, his father collects and sorts garbage at night, selling the recyclable items the following morning.

Without support from Holt International and Kaisahang Buhay Foundation (KBF), Kasem’s family would not be able to send him to school. Kasem attends one of KBF’s six daycare centers, which provide nutrition, medical assistance and learning activities for children in several low-income communities of Metro Manila.

Recently, Holt and KBF made another valuable partner in their mission to keep Kasem – and hundreds more at-risk children – in school. MoneyGram International, Inc., a leading global money transfer company, yesterday announced a $35,000 donation to support Holt’s education programs in the Philippines and Thailand.

Through its annual Global Giving Program, MoneyGram provides grants to support education programs around the world. “As a money transfer provider, we know first-hand how important small sums of money are to individuals working far from home to build a better life for themselves and their families,” says Juan Agualimpia, MoneyGram’s chief marketing officer.

The $35,000 grant to Holt will not only increase the number of children Holt serves in some programs, but also broaden the services many children already receive. In KBF’s daycare centers, MoneyGram funds will support a new school lunch program for the approximate 300 children in their care.

Children supported by KBF also attended the Philippines event.

“MoneyGram’s support is complementing and expanding the support we’ve been doing,” says Jennifer Goette, Holt’s director of programs for South and Southeast Asia. “They’re adding value to KBF’s work by deepening and strengthening services.”

In the Philippines, MoneyGram funds will also support high school and college students in KBF’s Independent Living and Educational Assistance Program (ILEA).

“MoneyGram’s support for a full school year for at-risk families ensures many children will continue their education next year,” says Rosario (Cherrie) dela Rosa, executive director of KBF. “We also provide education to students who are entering adulthood and were abandoned at very young age, grown in the institutions/orphanages and entered school late. The education will ensure a better and decent life.”

ILEA helps these young scholars develop independent living skills. While pursuing their education, they live in apartments paid for by Holt and KBF. Until MoneyGram recently offered to help, Holt provided the majority of funding for the ILEA program – including the cost of textbooks, supplies and tuition fees for the scholars. With this grant, MoneyGram eases the burden on Holt and KBF, freeing up funds for other vital services.

In Thailand, the grant will support and expand education programming through the Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF).

ILEA scholar Romnick Toledo on his high school graduation day. ILEA is one of the programs Moneygram will help support in the Philippines.

Like KBF in the Philippines, HSF partners with Holt to provide services for vulnerable families and children in Thailand. HSF provides everything from counseling and vocational training to educational sponsorship and income-generating projects. The MoneyGram grant will extend HSF’s reach, enabling many more children to go to school. In particular, the funding will provide school uniforms, textbooks and supplies for children in preschool through the 9^th grade.

“For us, this is new to support education of this magnitude in Thailand,” says Goette.

Both HSF and KBF have already assessed family situations and identified children most in need of support – children like Kasem. In total, the $35,000 grant from MoneyGram will support more than 750 children during the 2012-2013 school year.

“We know that helping with tuition and other education expenses is an important key to building a better life,” says Agualimpia of MoneyGram.

This is a point not lost on the families Holt supports. Recently, Kasem’s father told a KBF daycare worker that he will try to earn more money selling recyclables so that his son can continue to go to school. “He believes,” says a KBF staff member, “that education is his son’s assurance of a decent future.” With MoneyGram’s support, Holt and KBF can help him get there.

Interested in helping more children receive an education? Give a Gift of Hope this holiday season! Click here to learn more.

To Give of Yourself

rmunro — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:03:34 +0000

University of Oregon graduate Ally Tritten recently completed a six-month, IE3 Global Internship at the Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF) in Thailand. Here, in her third and final blog, she reflects on her experience working alongside HSF’s dedicated staff in their efforts to find homes for children with special needs. Many of these children are now in Holt’s Waiting Child Program.

Read Ally’s first two blog entries here and here.

Ally with children at Nakhon Si Thammarat, a Muslim preschool in Thailand.
My name is Ally Tritten. From September 2010 to last February, I interned at Holt’s partner organization in Thailand – top social welfare agency Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF). For six months, I worked alongside HSF staff to complete a project for the growing number of children with special needs living in Thailand’s government institutions. The ultimate purpose of the project was to find loving adoptive families for about 250 Thai children with special needs.

While working closely with HSF staff members, I also became a part of the “HSF family.”

This, I didn’t expect. Not at first.

My initial impression of the HSF staff was that of a tight-knit group of individuals who defined strength and commitment to helping children and families attain success in life. I was immediately consumed with their high energy level and strong work ethic. As I entered each office room, the HSF staff scurried about their business – taking phone calls, working on computers, and looking at files stacked about a foot high on each desk.

I was excited to begin my work for this organization.

And within a few days, I was one of them – files piled high on my desk as I completed one task, just to begin another.

During my first week in Thailand, I also had my first business trip. About 16 of us traveled five hours north of Bangkok toward Cambodia to visit some of the foster families in HSF’s foster care program. Through this experience, I was able to get a first-hand look at the diverse social welfare services HSF provides for families and children. Throughout the coming months, I would be called on several more journeys deep into jungles, walking through water and over small wooden planks covered in fire ants in order to make a foster care home visit – a trip HSF staff often struggle to make for follow-up info on children eligible for adoption.

Once back in Bangkok, I began the primary work of my internship. The special needs project was in full force.

Getting to Know the Children

Our four-person team began visiting orphanages throughout Thailand, where we gathered information about every child designated for the special needs project. After reviewing their files, we would then work with each child to complete a variety of tasks and activities. This step, which took about two hours for every child, helped us gain a better understanding of each child’s developmental level.

With vital translation help from one of the Thai members on our team, I would then interview the child’s caretaker. These interviews gave us a better idea of each child’s daily routine and self care habits. I then wrote reports for each child we observed – focusing on the section that identified the child’s current physical, social/emotional, cognitive and language development.

In total, we visited 11 orphanages and assessed about 100 children.

En route to visit HSF foster families.

After submitting my assessments, my supervisor would add them to larger reports that encompassed each child’s background and medical history as well. Once finalized, the reports were sent to the Adoption Center in Bangkok and later distributed to different agencies in hopes of finding families for all of these wonderful children.

Of all the children we assessed throughout the project, about a quarter of them were eventually released to Holt for home-finding.

When You Give of Yourself…

My goal for this internship was to find as many loving, kind and supportive families as possible for children with special needs. That expectation never changed. It still hasn’t.

It will forever be difficult to describe, however, my personal expectations going into this internship. How do you know what to expect when you’re dropped in a country where you have never even stepped foot?

The big green anxiety and fear monster lurks his head around every corner and under every dark table. But the beauty in any of these “leap of faith” decisions is the transformation that occurs throughout the process.

As I sit here in my comfortable bed in comfortable Oregon and the sweet memories of Thailand begin to fade, it all becomes more or less like a dream.

But now that I have returned home and re-acclimated to American society, I can honestly say now more than ever: I have realized that working with youth and adults with special needs and their families in an international context is exactly what I want to commit myself to for many years to come.

It’s not just the tremendous need that drives me.

Ally (second from left) with the HSF office staff.

Walking through an orphanage of 400 children with special needs and showing them each individual love and attention is just one reason why my heart continues to choose this path. It’s also the overwhelming sense that anyone feels when a child reaches for your hand – just to feel the warmth of another human being. During these moments of the internship, I had a sense that each human being that you come into contact with makes you a better person, if you open your heart and mind.

Despite the many challenges of working abroad, this incredible internship in Thailand has only reinforced my desire to pursue this path – and made me commit to applying for a 2-and-a-half year contract serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Everyone I met in Thailand has taught me something. Whether discipline, work ethic, a peaceful nature, tolerance, patience, or attentiveness, they have each given me a gift that I will carry with me into the next chapters of my life.

Thailand will forever be a part of me because it is here, among these people, that I learned the most valuable of life lessons: when you give what you can of yourself to others, you find there is an overall happiness that surrounds you. It can’t be touched with your hand or bought with a paper a bill.

This kind of happiness must be felt with the heart.

To learn more about Holt’s work in Thailand, click here.

Click here for information about adopting from Thailand.

Thailand Update from Ally: Helping the Children Who Wait

Ashli Keyser — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:02:39 +0000

Children with special needs in Thailand find strength in the face of challenges

University of Oregon graduate Ally Tritten is currently in Thailand working with Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF) as an intern with IE3 Global Internships. Ally, a family and human services major, will work for HSF for six months, helping to find homes for 200 children with special needs. The children are currently in government-run child institutions in Thailand; some of them will eventually be placed into Holt’s Waiting Child program.

“I am really excited for this trip,” says Ally. “I look forward to learning more about Holt Int ernational, their work in Thailand, and to be able to provide services to children.”

Holt established a partnership with HSF in 1975. HSF serves a large number of vulnerable children through a variety of programs including adoption, pregnancy counseling, foster care, educational sponsorships and outreach services for children in hospitals and orphanages. Many of these programs help birth families stay together through counseling and assistance.

The following is an update from Ally about her first full month in Thailand (Click here to read Ally’s first blog update):

Bangkok, Thailand — I am still adjusting to my new life in Bangkok. For the last month and a half Pi Tuk, Pi Malee and I have coordinated with Child Adoption Center (another adoption agency in Thailand) and assessed approximately 30 children with special needs, all of whom live in governmental orphanages and have been diagnosed with various disabilities. Some of the common disabilities we see in the children are: cerebral palsy (CP), fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), microcephaly and macrocephaly, seizure disorders, visual and hearing impairment, delayed development, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a variety of physical disabilities. Of the four orphanages we visited in the past month, two — Nong Khai Home for Boys and Udornthani Home for Girls — are located in the northeastern part of Thailand and the other two — Ban Fueng Fah Home for Children with Special Needs and Pakkret Babies Home — are located in a nearby province outside of Bangkok. The HSF social workers and I flew by airplane to the two northeastern orphanages and spent four days assessing the overall development of 14 children.

The majority of the other children in the project live in Ban Fueng Fah Home for Children with Special Needs, where we spent most of October interviewing each child’s caretaker, physical therapists and teachers, as well as completing our own individual assessments. The assessments allow us to gain a better understanding and perspective on the children’s physical, social/emotional, cognitive and language development. Ultimately, it is our hope that each child will be matched with a loving family of their own.

The children are truly special souls, showing me how to live life in ways I have been close-minded to and opening my eyes to the idea that when you have a challenge in life, you can adapt and create new ways to interact with the world. These beautiful children show strength in areas where people generally show weakness. They are able to use their creativity and develop new ways of thinking that allow them to successfully function in the world. Some of the adaptations are truly the most impressive things that I have ever witnessed.

An almost 2-year-old little girl, born without movement in her joints, is unable to use her arms or hands. This disability, however, does not prevent her from playing with and manipulating toys like any other developing child would. Instead of using her hands and arms, this smart girl uses her feet and toes. She also feeds herself using these extremities as well. Unable to walk, she uses her legs to push herself in an up and forward position. In a very unique fashion, she uses her momentum to spring forward, allowing her to travel from one location to another.

This is just one example of the nature of each child that I have had the great pleasure to meet and interact with. The children have and continue to rock my world. They will always be a part of my heart and have affected my life forever.

Sponsor a child in need!

Many older children and children with special needs are waiting for families in Holt’s Waiting Child program. Click here to learn more about this program and view photos of the children…

Learn about IE3 Global Internships

How Holt Sponsorship Works

Ashli Keyser — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:07:56 +0000

Watch the video below and find out what Holt sponsorship is all about…..and how you can change a child’s life….

Sponsor a child in Holt’s care today!

Helping the Children who Wait

Ashli Keyser — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:54:48 +0000

“I am really excited for this trip,” says Ally. “I look forward to learning more about Holt Int ernational, their work in Thailand, and to be able to provide services to children.”

The following is an update from Ally about her first week in Thailand:

September 15th, 2010.

Bangkok, Thailand – Well, it’s been just over a week since I arrived here in Bangkok, and I already love every minute of it. I’ve been quite busy these last 10 days, meeting the staff at HSF and orienting to the diverse range of services HSF, as a highly recognized child welfare agency, offers. I have had the amazing opportunity to observe meetings with adoptive families and participate in a home visit, where I helped assess the potential of a family to bring their child back into their home. I also visited Pakkret’s Babies Home – one of the orphanages in Bangkok – where I, along with Pi Malee and Pi Tuk, two HSF social workers, helped identify the children in HSF’s special needs project.

We then went on a trip to explore an agricultural, self-sufficient center. This center is used as a model for maintaining a steady income through ones own resources and property. The goal of this project is to keep rural communities intact and prevent overpopulation in the big cities throughout Thailand, as well as maintaining close relationships with friends, family and community members. It was a fascinating experience in every aspect.

On that same day, Pi Malee, Pi Tuk and I visited the neighboring village occupied by HSF foster families, and we enjoyed observing the love and energy that surrounded each child being cared for.

All in all it was wonderful trip.

We head north tomorrow morning and will visit two orphanages. I will be taking some case notes on each child in the special needs project.

I look forward to this new adventure and can only hope that I can help find all of these children loving and peaceful homes – homes that each of them deserve.

Learn More About Holt’s Thailand program.

Sponsor a Child in Thailand.

Through IE3 Global Internships you earn academic credit on your home campus while gaining professional experience abroad. Internships are available in a variety of private-sector companies, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions around the world…..(IE3 Global Internships).