Holt’s Partners Agencies in India
Holt International began work in India in 1979, and is registered with the Central Adoption Resource Agency of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to provide inter-country adoption services.
Holt supports organizations in India that provide permanency services to homeless children. This includes children in vulnerable situations who are at risk for separation from their families as well as children who are abandoned and released by birth parents. A brief summary follows:
Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK) was formed in 1979 by Holt. From humble beginnings, the independent, Pune based organization has become Holt’s largest partner in India and provides model child care and social services for children and families. These services include foster care and direct child care support with medical care, nutritious meals and continuous 24 hour care provided for approximately 150 children. BSSK opened the Kapoor Neonatal Nursery in 1997 to provide pre term and malnourished infants special intensive care at the critical period after first admission. BSSK also operates an unwed mother’s program which provides accommodations, counseling and pre and post-natal care. BSSK has established outreach programs in the outlying districts of Chiplun, Sangli, and Aurangabad. BSSK also operates a family strengthening program which provides counseling and training to enable families to remain intact.
Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT) in Bangalore, was founded by Holt in 1988 with the purpose of identifying adoptive parents for abandoned children. However, Holt provides major funding support for the program. VCT cares for approximately 80 children through foster care and a child care facility. VCT also offers educational opportunities to older children until they can be placed with permanent families. VCT provides a short stay shelter for unwed mothers offering pre and postnatal care, and offers educational sponsorship to neighborhood children. VCT also provides free medical checkups and immunizations to children in a nearby village.
Children of the World Bombay (CWB) was founded in 1982 at the initiative of Holt. CWB cares for about 50 children in a splendid child care facility in New Bombay. CWB has a large outreach program which provides educational funds, food supplements and medical care for about 1400 children. CWB also supports several income generating projects to assist women.
Programs and Services Offered in India
Family Strengthening Programs — Student sponsorship, family health clinics, nutrition programs combined with counseling and training are provided to strengthen families so they can parent their children and improve opportunities for children to become successful adults. 1100 children receive services each year.
Child Placement Services — Reunification and Adoption Child placement services are an integral part of permanency planning. The program prioritizes the return of institutionalized children to the care of their birth families and in placing children that cannot be reunited either through domestic adoption or intercountry adoption. Each year over 47 children are reunited with their birth families, more than 39 children are placed in permanent homes in the United States and approximately 189 children are placed in permanent homes in India.
Child Care — Children aged birth to six years are nurtured in child care centers where they receive tender care by nurses, child development workers, caretakers, therapists and pediatricians. Three agencies also have neo-natal nurseries for premature malnourished children. More than 800 children per year are cared for in Holt supported centers in India.
Foster Care — A child thrives best in a family. When possible, children are placed with foster families until they are adopted or reunited with their families of origin. Approximately 175 children receive loving foster care each year.
Single Parents Program — Unplanned pregnancy, particularly among single women with limited resources, often leads to infanticide and abandonment of children. Single pregnant women are provided shelter, medical care, counseling and guidance during pregnancy. Vocational training is also available to assist the mother in becoming economically self-sufficient. Services are provided to over 285 women each year.
Travel Assistance in India for Holt Families Holt International and Partner Agencies in India coordinate family’s adoption travel. Local greeters are available 24 hours to meet families in Mumbai and New Delhi. Families receive assistance with transportation, hotels and in-country adoption processing. These services help to cushion the physical, emotional and cultural stress associated with international travel.
Read a poem written by Mrs. Joshi originally in Hindi and translated into English.
