Foster mothers from South Korea visit Holt Headquarters

Two foster mothers from Seoul, South Korea, made the long journey to Holt’s headquarters in Eugene, Oregon in November for a very special day that would reunite them with the children they had said goodbye to so long ago.

Mrs. Jang, Woo-kyung and Mrs. Lee, Chung-sun have dedicated their lives to orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children for over 15 years, each selflessly taking care of 40 and 38 children, respectively, some of whom have special needs.

On that same day, seven adoptive families, some from as far as the Midwest, also traveled to Holt’s headquarters to reunite their children with the foster mothers and show their appreciation to the women who had cared for their children and prepared them for a lifetime of love with their new families.

“When we arrived at Holt’s headquarters, Mrs. Lee turned and saw Trent. In a voice that was part sigh of relief, but completely joyous, she said, “Hyo-sung!” said Dawn Reed, mother of Trent, one of Mrs. Lee’s foster children. “Hyo-sung was Trent’s Korean name, and Mrs. Lee knew him. This woman, who had only mothered my son for two months, recognized him 6 years later. She told us that she knew his eyes.”

When children come into care at Holt Korea, it’s the foster mothers, like Mrs. Jang and Mrs. Lee, who wrap them up and give them comfort and warmth for most likely the first time in their lives. They love the children as if they were their own and provide for them until they go home to loving families.

During the emotional visit to Eugene, the foster mothers and adoptive families got the chance to visit Harry and Bertha Holt’s home in Creswell, and spent some time in the place where the legacy of love and caring began over 50 years ago. The children were allowed to play on the property and bond once again with the first mothers they had ever known. Read the rest of this entry »

A love of Africa paves the way for twin boys to be adopted

by Sunshine Schmidt

Africa has always been in my heart and will continue to be forever. I think the idea to adopt started to take sprout when my husband and I lived in Johannesburg, South Africa. Seeing such an amazing country face such huge obstacles touched us in a way that cannot be forgotten.

Because of our connection to southern Africa, and love and appreciation of the people and culture, we looked to that region for our adoption. After our research we determined that we would need to look to other African nations with more stable and developed international adoption legislation. As an anthropologist and natural researcher, I enjoyed learning more about the different countries, and Ethiopia stood out as a proud and beautiful country. Our decision was made; our children would come from Ethiopia!

We received our referral in September of 2008 for 10-month-old twin boys. Abdurahamen (Abdur) and Nursun were going to be our sons!

21 weeks and what felt like a lifetime later, we met our boys for the first time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Kissing the faces of our children and holding them in our arms for the first time is an indescribable feeling and one that I will never forget. Read the rest of this entry »

President of the United States Barack Obama recently urged Americans to “obverse National Adoption Awareness Month by reaching out to support and honor adoptive families, as well as to participate actively in efforts to find permanent homes for children.”

Tomorrow courthouses across America will celebrate National Adoption Day by simultaneously finalizing hundreds of adoptions.

The finalization of an adoption symbolizes many wonderful things, one of which is the completion of a complex and emotional process that began with a carefully made decision and commitment of the heart.

“This month, we celebrate those families brought together by adoption,” said President Obama. “And we renew our commitments to children in the foster care system.”

If you are interested in more information how to build your family through the wonderful journey of adoption, Holt International invites you to join us for an upcoming Webinar to learn about our unique, child-centered approach to intercountry adoption. Also learn about timeframes, the steps involved, travel, costs, and receive your questions throughout the live Webinar.

Or if you are ready to begin the adoption process, you can apply online today.

Feel free to call Holt with any questions you may have. 888-355-HOLT or e-mail us.

Click-here-to-read-President-Obama’s-entire-proclamation

Holt Ambassadors participate in the Omaha Marathon

Holt runners and aid station volunteers came together to participate in the Omaha Marathon 2009 to raise money and awareness for the Holt Ethiopia program. Nearly 15 Holt runners participated in the 10K and the half marathon portions of the event, and another 10 volunteers helped out by directing runners along the route and handing out Holt items at the finish line.

Through the team’s hard work and passionate efforts, runners were able to raise $3,565, making the event a huge success! This money will go to provide the children in Ethiopia with much needed medical supplies.

The race began at 7:00 AM, and as the Holt team began the first mile, minds were focused not so much on the physical race that the team was running, but on the figurative race – the race to bring medical supplies to the children who are waiting in Holt’s care in Ethiopia.

Every child deserves a home, and while these children wait for their forever families, the team focused their minds on Holt’s dedication to providing a safe and healthy environment for them. Some runners wore pictures of their own children on their Holt t-shirts, those waiting to come home and those who have already come home, and this helped add a very personal touch to the race. The mood was festive, but everyone was keenly aware of the seriousness of the cause.

“Several runners commented on the picture I pinned to the back of my shirt of my son Jack wearing his most infectious grin! It helped open the door to conversations about Holt and our cause,” said Holt mom Cathy Morin. Read the rest of this entry »

Susan Cox, Holt International’s Vice President of Public Policy and External Affairs, will be a guest speaker on the Creating a Family radio show with Dawn Davenport on Wednesday, November 11th. The topic will be “Adopting from South Korea” and will discuss the future of adoption in South Korea, as well as information on the process of adopting a child from this country.  The radio segment will air at 9:00 a.m.

You can listen to the program live Here

Or listen to the segment after it airs Here

Other guests will include: Nancy Fox, Executive Director of Americans for International Aid and Adoption, and Duk Kyung Um, Korean Program Director for Dillon International.

Click here to learn more about Creating a Family

Learn more about Holt’s Korea adoption process

November is National Adoption Awareness month. This is a wonderful time to spread the word about children throughout the world who need loving families, and acknowledge adoption as one way to build a family.

Many Holt adoptive families have found a great way to raise awareness about adoption and help more children find families through the Holt Ambassadors program.

The Holt Ambassador Network is composed of people who share the Holt story and raise awareness in their communities about the urgent needs of homeless children around the world by: organizing fundraisers, speaking at churches, schools or civic groups; or volunteering at Holt events. One of these families is the Burns family…

Brad and Liza Burns are the proud parents of eight children, five of whom were adopted from China. When Brad and Liza adopted their first daughter, Faith, their eyes were opened to the great need for adoptive parents for children in China.

“After seeing the difficulties these children face, we felt called to look into adopting another child, and that’s how we got our second daughter, Hope.” says Brad. “Hope was five years old when we adopted her. She lived in a state run institution, and her room, which she shared with another child, was eight by five feet with a small bed on the cement floor and a Red Cross blanket. The workers do wonderful things with what they have and truly have a heart to help children, but the fact is, they just don’t have enough resources.”

Brad and Liza later adopted Grace and Joy, and most recently, Jewel, who was 14 years old at time of placement.

Brad and Liza shared their experience of adopting older children with 30 attendees in last month’s Holt Webinar titled “Adopting Older Children – Information for the Decision.” The Webinar attendees were prospective adoptive parents considering an older child through Holt’s Journey of Hope program.

The Burns family talked candidly about the grief process the children went through as they adjusted to their new lives in the United States. They shared how they helped their daughters adjust and become the resilient, happy, vibrant young ladies they are today. Read the rest of this entry »

The China Child of Promise program matches prospective adoptive parents with children who have minor and correctable needs ranging from: missing or extra digits, cleft lip/palate, club feet, and minor heart conditions.

The children in the program do not have life-long health or learning disabilities, and their ‘special need’ can often be corrected with surgery, if it hasn’t been corrected already.

Parents are able to decide which medical needs they feel are within their capacity to care for by filling out a minor/correctable conditions checklist.

Joining this program does not exclude you from the standard waiting process; it simply expands your options and gives you the chance to be matched with a child much quicker!

The following is a story about a little boy named Daniel, a China Child of Promise, who had a minor case of clubfeet. He just recently came home to his permanent family….learn more about Holt’s Child China of Promise program

by Michele Mazzio

Adoption was something that my husband and I talked about many years ago, particularly after we lost our son, Brendan, to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in 2001. After a long grief process we started to explore and research domestic and international adoption. We discussed the programs and met with various people who had adopted internationally.

As a teenage girl I dreamed of having a little girl from China, and my husband was open to this, as well. After a little over a year of paperwork and wait time, we adopted our daughter, Emma from the Province of Guangdong in 2005. After so many years of empty hearts and arms we held our healthy 15-month old little girl. We were so excited and thrilled to have been blessed by this gift.

Emma is now an amazing 5-year-old girl who loves to hula-hoop, do gymnastics, play the piano and just enjoy life every day. As her pre-K teacher tells her: “You are the sunshine in my classroom.” She has certainly been my sunshine and warms my heart every day. Emma has taught us so much more about love and life and the importance of family. She has even taught me how to parent a child after the loss of another.

My husband and I decided that we wanted to take another journey back to China and adopt another little girl. We completed our paperwork and submitted our dossier to China in 2006. At the time we knew that the wait would be longer than before but not that the wait time would get extended each month that went by.

One day I was reading an article about Holt’s China Child of Promise Program and about little boys who need families too. When I think about adoption from China, I only naturally think about the little girls. I had never thought about adopting a boy from China. Read the rest of this entry »

Hope for children and families in Holt’s care in Ethiopia

Maria Nelson, Assistant to Holt President and CEO, recently traveled to Ethiopia with a group of American doctors.  The doctors, there on a 2-week long medical campaign, provided care to the children and families in the small, rural town of Shinshicho and Holt’s care centers in Durame and Addis Ababa.  The group also witnessed the loving care provided to the children at the centers.  The following is Maria’s account of their trip.

By Maria Nelson

As we walked into the Shinshicho Clinic courtyard, on the first day of a 7-day community medical care campaign, I was immediately struck by the big crowd of people gathered there for the free medical visit.

My eyes glanced over the crowd then stopped straight in front of me. A woman carrying a baby in a blanket on her back, reached for me and pulled me close to kiss each cheek. She had a look of desperation, and I could tell instantly that she was seeking immediate care for her sick baby. As she unwrapped her baby boy, my heart sank. Her child was as sick as I have ever seen in person. Pale, fragile, listless and so very thin. His wrist was no bigger around than my thumb. Her sad eyes locked on mine as she pleaded for help. Tears began streaming down her face.

Her story was heartbreaking. Widowed in the past months, she was alone now with two very small, sick children. Barefoot, she walked to the clinic and was only able to bring her youngest child, whom she carried all the way.

The Shinshicho Clinic in southern Ethiopia, with help from Holt International, is able to provide some hope even for cases like these. It is the only medical facility in this rural area of over 250,000 people.

The clinic is funded by Holt International to address child and maternal health care in this area. They provide a full range of services including vaccinations, labor and delivery, nutritional support, and general medicine. The Shinshicho clinic also offers HIV testing and Anti-retro viral support, as well as education and counseling.

I learned that the woman and her baby, after receiving care, both tested positive for HIV and will now begin receiving the care they need, as well as counseling and nutritional support for the mother.

Without the support of Holt International and Holt donors, there would be no clinic in this poverty stricken region, which is rife with infectious diseases such as malaria and typhoid. Funding of the clinic supports Holt’s goal of improving maternal and children’s health and strengthening families… It also saves lives.

Holt’s childcare center

Our team also traveled to the Holt childcare centers in Durame and Addis Ababa, where we were able to witness a farewell ceremony for all of the children traveling home with their permanent families. Read the rest of this entry »

A graduating college student and aspiring journalist credits her parents for her accomplishments in life

by Kristin Sherrard

Being a journalist means that you are responsible for recording the events and experiences that will become the history for tomorrow. You learn that everyone has a unique story to tell, including yourself.

My story begins on March 23, 1988, not on the date of my birth, but the start of my life. At eight months and ten days, I was still new to this world and didn’t know much. But from the moment I was held in the arms of Gene and Pat Sherrard, I knew I was home.

My parents have always played an important role in my life. Birthdays and vacations, sporting events and school projects, they were there for every one. It is with their love and guidance that I have become the person I am today.

Throughout my life, people have asked me if I ever wanted to try to track down my “real parents,” and every time I respond in the same way: I already know who my parents are and have no interest in finding my birth parents. While I would love to travel to South Korea one day as a tourist to see what it is like, I have everything I need and could ever want here in Kentucky.

As I sit here writing this, a college graduate looking for her first “real” job in the professional world, I worry about things like the economy and insurance for the first time in my life. However, one thing I do know is that I want to be a journalist. Through my words and photos, I want to record today’s history for future generations to find and to learn from.

My parents always told me to give my best effort in everything I do and to never give up on my goals or on myself. I believe that as long as I continue to work hard and pursue every opportunity, things will eventually fall into place. No matter what happens, I know that I will always have parents who love and support me, and I will always remain thankful to Holt International for bringing us together.

the Fall 2009 issue of Holt International magazine, available in November, is filled with many more stories of Holt Adoptees who have graduated from high school, college or vocational school.  We look forward to this issue every year and applaud each graduate for their impressive accomplishments.  Although starting out abandoned and homeless—with help from their parents—the 2009 graduates have become vibrant and talented young adults with promising futures ahead of them.  Congratulations to the 2009 Holt Graduates!

A team of doctors from the United States is currently in Ethiopia helping to provide for families and children in Holt’s care.

The team, including Holt Board Member and physician, Dr. Becca Brandt, will be there for two weeks providing training to a group of Ethiopian doctors. They will also be providing necessary medical supplies that will benefit the children and families served by the clinics in southern Ethiopia.

Since their arrival on October 5th, the group has traveled to Holt’s  child center in Addis Ababa, where they were able to witness a farewell ceremony for all of the children traveling home with their permanent families. Each family spoke to the caretakers at the center, thanking them for their love and devotion that they provided to their children while they waited to go home. During the farewell ceremony, the medical team was able to interact with the children and listen while the children sang for the group. Read the rest of this entry »