Our Vision | A world where every child has a loving and secure home.
Watts is a smiley, joyful and playful little boy who loves to run around and be outside. As a 3-year-old, Watts loves to be around other kids — especially at his daycare! He is one of the children waiting for his permanent, loving family through adoption.
When you share your plans to adopt, there’s a good chance that you will hear lots of opinions and advice. And once in the process, you will go through 10 or more hours of training to help prepare you for the unique experience of parenting an adopted child. But when it comes to connecting with your child, some of the best advice you will hear will come from adoptees themselves.
Below, we share 7 pieces of advice from Holt adoptees Hannah, Taylor* and Alex*. Whether you are about to adopt — or are now home with your child — thoughts and insights from adult adoptees can help you build a stronger relationship with your child, and empower you to help your child build a healthy adoptee identity.
At Holt International, we continue to learn from the diverse experiences and perspectives of adoptees of all ages. Recently, we began a nationwide search for Holt’s first director of adult adoptee community outreach. The new director’s role will be to inform how Holt can best support, magnify and celebrate a healthy and diverse adult adoptee community. Holt board member and Holt adoptee, Kim Lee, offers her perspective on why bringing aboard a new director of adoptee community outreach is important to her, and for the broader adult adoptee community.
Tell us about yourself!
I am a Korean adoptee. In 1955, after the Korean War, Harry Holt traveled to Seoul to adopt eight mixed-race babies as he knew they would be shunned by Korea’s society and soon thereafter began to unite orphaned children with families in the United States, which pioneered international adoption and the founding of the Holt adoption agency. Mr. Holt, as I knew him, escorted me to the United States as part of the first wave of international adoptions from Korea in 1956. My parents had very full hearts – they adopted five children from Korea and while none of us are biologically related, we are siblings in every sense of the word and lived in Columbus, Ohio. When my youngest sister was adopted in 1959, I traveled with my mother from Columbus, Ohio to Portland, Oregon to welcome her and Mr. Holt, who escorted her from Korea. That was a memorable experience for me. Continue reading “Q&A with Adult Adoptee Kim Lee On New Director of Adult Adoptee Community Outreach Role”
Rohan is an active, extroverted and intelligent 5-year-old who loves to play games with his friends – especially hide and seek! He also enjoys listening and dancing to music, or playing with a race car set. He is one of the children waiting for his permanent, loving family through adoption.
Eleven-year-old Lainey is a sweet, creative and curious girl. She loves to sing, dance and listen to music. Lainey also enjoys playing dress up! She needs a loving family who will give her the care and support she needs to thrive.
It’s not uncommon to see Zach with a smile on his face! He’s a playful young boy who enjoys drawing, writing and singing. He came into care at two months old. Now, as a 10-year-old, Zach needs a permanent family that will give him the love and care he needs!
UPDATE: We shared about Carter in 2018, but he still needs a permanent, loving family of his own! Since that time, he completed the fifth grade and improved his soccer skills. Carter also shares that he hopes to be a martial artist one day — combining his love for competition and physical activities.
Carter excels in his science and history classes, and he can memorize material with ease. He is a talkative and extroverted boy, making him a natural leader in class! When he faces a problem, Carter solves it quickly and always asks for help when he needs it.
Carter is sweet, gentle and helpful to those around him. He enjoys gardening and harvesting the home-grown vegetables at his care center, and he also likes to take care of the younger children.
At 11 years old, Carter dreams of having his own parents and siblings one day. He hopes to be cared for and loved by his adoptive family, and he can’t wait to make memories with them!
At a care center in Bogotá, several older children who have chosen to be adopted share what it means to them to have a family — and what they would like to tell people who are considering adopting an older child.
Lina is 14. She lives in Colombia, in a care center for older children who have lost or become permanently separated from their families. For a long time, she dreamed of having a family. But as time went by, her dreams began to fade.
“I thought I was going to be adopted. But the time went by, and then, my hopes just went away,” she says, her eyes watery and her voice soft. She is pretty, with gentle, dark eyes, a sweet, warm smile and long straight brown hair. She wears a T-shirt that says, in large block letters, “Brave Gals Also Cry.” Continue reading “A Family That Will Love Me”
Many of the children who are waiting for an adoptive family are older or in sibling groups. Could you be the right family for an older child or a sibling group? Learn more about some of our country programs that are seeking families for children who fit this profile!
Congratulations to Kyla DeWittie, Lila Durig and Alexa Thompson — our three 2019 Adoptee Scholarship winners! This year, we asked applicants to submit a creative work framed around the question, “If you were to register for an “Adoptee 101″ class next fall, what would it teach you? Who would teach it? Why? ” Kyla, Lila and Alexa each won a $500 scholarship.
Adoption 101 Course Website and Curriculum
Artist Statement: Adoption 101 is a course for adoptees from adoptees. The class not only helps prepare adoptees for the problems they will face, but it also connects adoptees from all around the world. In addition to teaching valuable lessons they will benefit from for the rest of their lives, the course is also a safe and accepting environment for sharing and hearing each other’s stories. Through the lessons and coursework, adoptees will gain newfound confidence in themselves, and in their ability to face adversity. Adoption 101 will educate as well as create new friendships and bonds that will be cherished for a lifetime.
