Notes from the Field: November 2024

Recent program updates from Holt-supported family strengthening and orphan care programs around the world!

Cambodia

Families in Cambodia have always adopted children — just never through a formal process. But over several years, Holt’s team in Cambodia worked alongside the local government to develop a formal, ethical system of domestic adoption. As part of the process, Holt Cambodia and the Ministry of Social Affairs created a guidebook that outlined the formal procedures required to complete a domestic adoption in the country. Cambodia’s Ministry of Social Affairs approved the guidebook in 2023.

Now, thanks to the efforts of Holt Cambodia, the guidebook has been translated into English, from the Cambodian language of Khmer, and shared with child advocacy groups such as UNICEF and USAID. Being able to reference the guidebook in English will help these groups broaden their efforts as they work with children and families in Cambodia.

Colombia

Bambi, Holt’s partner organization in Colombia, held two workshops for parents and caregivers enrolled in its PROMEFA family strengthening program. The workshops focused on personal development and modeling good practices for children. At the workshops, parents were asked to reflect on how they reinforce good study habits in their home, and learned how setting aside concentrated time to focus on studies can have a positive impact on children’s cognitive and socioemotional development. Parents were also encouraged to consider their child’s medical history, life events and learning difficulties when establishing academic goals and routines.

Parenting education is an important pillar of Holt’s work in Colombia. With the support of sponsors and donors, families living in vulnerable, impoverished communities are receiving the help and resources they need to create a safe, secure and supportive environment for their children.

India

India is home to 139 million internal migrants, including children. These include families who migrate to cities from rural areas to find work. Holt’s partner organization, Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT), works with such families in the city of Bangalore, operating a daycare center for children of migrant workers and providing educational support for older children and other essential family services.

For children living in impoverished communities, VCT child development teams often provide support and guidance as they grow up — keeping them on track with their studies and helping them navigate the different challenges they face. VCT recently held a personal development training session for children ages 10 through 18. The training sought to educate adolescents about the physical changes they are experiencing and to offer practical strategies for managing those challenges. It also aimed to help promote self-awareness among the adolescents, encourage the development of healthy habits and foster an environment where participants felt supported and understood as they transition into adulthood.

Philippines

Teenagers in the Philippines who have aged out of institutional care live together in group homes through Holt’s Independent Living and Educational Assistance (ILEA) program. Through the program, teens and young adults receive a monthly stipend for food, regular medical care and other essential support.

Kaisahang Buhay Foundation, Holt’s partner agency in the Philippines, recently held a trust-based relational intervention (TBRI) camp for 16 teenagers and one houseparent living in an ILEA group home in Metro Manila. The camp aimed to help the teens better understand themselves, acquire skills and tools for self-regulation, practice mindfulness, build positive connections with others and promote healing and self-reliance.

Through nurturing group activities and guided discussions, the teens learned to build trust and navigate challenges while maintaining healthy relationships.  The TBRI camp provided not only a time for learning, but also a time for bonding, which will have a positive impact on the teens as they continue their personal and educational journeys. 

Uganda

Many children in Uganda have lost one or both parents to armed fighting among ethnic groups or HIV/AIDS. Some of them live with their grandparents or other extended family members. Others are truly orphaned and growing up without a family. While Holt does not facilitate international adoptions from Uganda, the Uganda Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development is now working to make domestic adoption more accessible for Ugandan families.

Holt Uganda recently worked with Home Free, a local child advocacy group, to provide social workers with technical training in adoption documentation, case management, and the legal process and requirements for domestic adoption. In addition, the groups also held information sessions for 37 prospective adoptive parents, offering them a deeper understanding of adoption and the legal process.

Next, social workers will begin a formal assessment of the prospective parents, conduct family tracing (to explore whether a child can be reunited with their birth family first) and update case records for children eligible for adoption. With these efforts, and the generous support of Holt sponsors and donors, more children in Uganda will have the opportunity to live and thrive in a secure family environment — in the country and culture of their birth.