Altan is Thriving, Thanks to You!

Born with cerebral palsy and raised by a single mother who struggled to care for him, Altan faced an uncertain future. But thanks to Holt’s Child Nutrition Program, and donors to the Molly Holt Fund, this 3-year-old boy is now thriving in the loving care of his mom.

Altan is a happy little boy who spends his days at school, playing with friends, learning new skills and thoroughly enjoying mealtimes. But just a few years ago, Altan’s life — and future — looked quite different.

When Altan was born to his family in Mongolia, he had a twin sibling. But shortly after birth, Altan’s twin passed away, and his father abandoned his mother — leaving her to care for her infant son alone. Enduring loss and abandonment, Altan’s mother faced yet another challenge: Altan was born at just 4.8 pounds and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition that affected his muscular growth and development. By the time he was 18 months old, Altan could not sit up on his own, roll over or crawl, and he needed support to eat. Ultimately, his delays affected his ability to receive the nutrition he needed to stay healthy and grow.

Altan’s mother tried everything she could to help her little boy, but he was constantly sick and severely malnourished. With little support, she began to feel physically and emotionally exhausted. The demands of being a single mother caring for a young child with a disability were adding up. Feeling ill-equipped to meet his needs, Altan’s mother considered placing her son in an orphanage. But with a final ounce of strength, she continued to search for help.

Finding Help — and Hope

One day, Altan’s mother discovered a daycare center in her community that cared for children with disabilities. Partnering with Holt Mongolia, the daycare staff had received Holt’s innovative Child Nutrition Program (CNP) training, through which they had learned how to properly feed and nourish children with disabilities. Because of this training, the daycare center was able to welcome Altan and recognize the window of opportunity and interventions he needed to grow and thrive.

Like Altan, many of the children who enter Holt’s CNP are malnourished, anemic or struggling with feeding difficulties. Many have disabilities or chronic conditions, putting their health and development in jeopardy. But since it began in 2014, Holt’s child nutrition program has reached thousands of children with holistic nutrition and feeding interventions uniquely designed to meet their needs.

“Our targeted approach focuses on reaching the most vulnerable children early in life,” says Emily DeLacey, PhD, RDN, LDN, Holt’s director of nutrition and health services. “About 25% of the children we serve have a disability, and more than 60% are under the age of 5 — a crucial developmental period for growth.” Unless they receive the essential nutrition they need during this critical period, children face irreversible consequences to their development and overall wellbeing.

The CNP embraces the philosophy that how children eat is just as important as what they eat. While eating may seem intuitive to many, it can be far more complex for infants and children with disabilities. Through CNP training, our feeding specialists empower caregivers with safe feeding techniques tailored to children of different ages and abilities. This approach encourages caregivers to consider key factors, such as positioning, sensory needs and the feeding environment. Additionally, caregivers learn to conduct nutrition and health assessments, enabling them to monitor each child’s unique nutritional needs, track growth and provide personalized support.

Caregivers at the Holt-supported daycare center in Mongolia used these skills to assess Altan. They realized that every time he ate, he was experiencing aspiration as bits of food and fluid entered his lungs. Unsafe feeding practices can have many severe consequences, from aspiration and poor nutrient absorption to pneumonia, choking, emotional trauma and other psychological and developmental ailments. That’s why improving feeding practices — or changing how children are fed — is critically important. Like many children with disabilities, Altan became chronically ill due to being fed in unsafe positions. But with hands-on training, ongoing expert support and resources like Holt’s Feeding and Positioning Manual, teachers and caregivers knew that they could help Altan — and empower his mom with training and support to help her son thrive.

Recognizing that Altan needed immediate care, the CNP team in Mongolia quickly took action. They helped him sit upright in supportive seating and introduced safe feeding techniques to prevent choking or aspiration. Ensuring he had access to nutritious foods, including plenty of fruits and vegetables, they provided the foundation for his growth. With the right support and therapy, Altan gradually developed essential skills like chewing, swallowing, crawling and walking. Over time, with the dedication of his care team, he grew stronger. Eventually, he could sit up on his own, stand independently and even communicate with his mother, caregivers and friends, marking incredible progress on his journey.

About 25% of the children we serve have a disability, and more than 60% are under the age of 5 — a crucial developmental period for growth.

Emily DeLacey, PhD, RDN, LDN, Holt’s director of nutrition and health services

Altan also was able to thrive thanks to the generous support that Holt donors have provided to the Molly Holt Fund. The Molly Holt Fund is named in honor of Molly Holt, daughter of Holt’s founders and a nurse who dedicated her life to caring and advocating for children and adults with disabilities and special needs around the world. Donations to the fund go toward everything from life-changing surgeries and medical care to rehabilitative therapies and special education to Holt’s innovative child nutrition program trainings for children in orphanages, foster families or living with their birth families in the countries and communities where Holt works. In short, your generosity has made a world of difference to children like Altan.

Full of Smiles and Laughter

Today, after two years in the child nutrition program, Altan is healthier and stronger than ever before. Not only is he getting the proper nutrition to stay healthy, but he is also enjoying mealtimes! Full of smiles and laughter, he eagerly exclaims, “Let’s eat!” before digging into his favorite dishes. Fueled with good nutrition and stronger than ever, Altan enjoys being an active 3-year-old, going to school and playing with his friends.

Thanks to Holt’s generous donors who support the CNP, Altan’s life has been forever changed, and he’s not alone. Each year, thousands of children benefit from this life-changing program. From simple, cost-effective changes to improve the position of children during mealtimes to caregivers using our growth and health monitoring system to accurately meet each child’s needs, these interventions dramatically impact the health and wellbeing of children across the globe. Over the past 10 years, Holt’s innovative child nutrition program has expanded its reach to more than 110 sites in eight countries.

For a child like Altan, the entire trajectory of his life has changed, allowing him to soar beyond his limited beginnings and experience all of the joys that life can bring. Not only that, but his improved health has contributed to a stronger, more stable family. His mother is no longer fearful and stressed about Altan’s health and her ability to care for him. Instead, she is proud of the progress her son has made —and confident in their future together!