Recent updates from Holt-supported family strengthening and orphan care programs around the world!
China
Children in our programs in China celebrated International Children’s Day with activities, gifts and parties! They also enjoyed arts and crafts for the Dragon Boat Festival, one of China’s national holidays.
Colombia
As part of the family reunification program at La Casa, one of Holt’s partner agencies in Colombia, therapy groups used games and creative activities to teach social skills to children. They also conducted sessions with families who have recently been reunited with their children. These sessions focused on activities to help everyone adjust and eradicate gender-based violence in the home.
Ethiopia
Holt Ethiopia and one of our local partners organized meetings for families preparing to graduate from the economic empowerment program. This program focuses on teaching financial literacy and business skills to women who are starting small businesses. During these meetings, the women’s group met with agencies and offices in Ethiopia to learn more about the resources available to them as small business owners.
Haiti
The school library program Holt Haiti started during the pandemic is going strong! In an effort to improve literacy among children, Holt Haiti has provided books and games to several of our partner schools and orphanages. A trained facilitator visits the larger schools and leads weekly activities. These include story-writing, story comprehension for younger students, and lessons on how to use reference books and prepare reading notes for older students. According to these facilitators, the children they serve have shown significant improvement in reading, text comprehension, storytelling and writing!
India
Health screening sessions were conducted in three migrant communities served by our local partner, Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT), in Bangalore. Children received important tests for malnutrition, anemia, intestinal parasites and other conditions so they can get the treatment they need! In addition, our team conducted an orientation in another migrant community to start a new nutrition program there.
South Korea
This past month, adoptees, adoptive families and Holt staff traveled throughout Korea on a heritage tour. This was our first tour since the pandemic! During this trip, 18 Korean adoptees, ages 13-71, had the opportunity to meet their foster and birth families, visit their orphanages and birth hospitals, stand on the site of their parental homes and experience the rich cultural history of their birth country.
Thailand
Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF), our local partner in southern Thailand, ran a community program this past month called Garbage Sharing for Happiness. This program educated 35 participants about household waste management and taught them how to make compost from organic waste and recycling.
Uganda
To improve safety and learning for children in our partner schools, Holt Uganda held a one-day workshop with head teachers from 30 schools. The teachers were equipped with tools to monitor children’s attendance, behavior and class performance, as well as promote parent participation in their children’s education. These actions are focused on reducing school dropout rates and improving learning outcomes for children!
Learn more about Holt’s work and history!
At Holt International, we help children thrive in the love and stability of a family. But our services extend far beyond the adoption work we are known for.
