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Our work in:
Cambodia
China
Ethiopia
Haiti
India
Mongolia
Nepal
Philippines
South Korea
Thailand
Uganda
Vietnam
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Nepal
The Need
With almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line, Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Nepal's economic struggles have placed significant stress on families, causing many to abandon or relinquish their children to outside care. However, with the vast majority of Nepal's child care centers at full capacity - and with the suspension of international adoption - many homeless children have nowhere to go, making them extremely vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Nepal has the highest child mortality rate in Asia and nearly half of all children are chronically malnourished.

Our Work
In 2007, Holt joined with the Nepal Child Conservation Home to help provide food, medical support, safe shelter and nurturing care for a small number of children. Holt brought in a physician, improved the children's nutrition and increased the number of caregivers.

Holt began an international adoption program in Nepal in 2009. Soon after, however, questions began to arise regarding the legitimacy of Nepal's international adoption process. Holt subsequently suspended all new adoption activity, but remained in Nepal to help the government improve their international adoption system and to sustain support for children in care. In 2010, the U.S. Department of State closed adoptions from Nepal. Today, adoption remains suspended while the Nepalese government works to make their system more open and ethical. Holt continues to support children at two care centers in Nepal - the Children's Conservation Home and a facility called HOPAD, which cares for children newborn to school age. Holt's sponsorship program provides funding for their overall care, meeting their nutritional, medical and educational needs. Whenever possible, Holt also strives to reunite children in care with their birth families.

In 2011, Holt initiated a pilot family preservation program for 30 families in the countryside. These families are headed by women and belong to the "Dalit" caste - the most impoverished families in Nepal and the children most at risk of exploitation and abandonment. The program enables single mothers to learn income-generating trades such as sewing or embroidery, providing a means of support for their family.

Support Children and Families in Nepal!
Start sponsoring a child today!
For $30/month, your gift will help provide food, shelter, clothing and nurturing care for a child in need.

Give from Holt's Gifts of Hope catalog!
Whether for Christmas or another occasion, giving a Gift of Hope is a wonderful way to honor a loved one. Provide clothing, bedding or toys for a child in care, or help fund a life-saving medical procedure - changing a child's life forever!

An expanded version of this document is available as a PDF. Click here.
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