But hunger is also one of the biggest needs Holt donors help meet.

Your gift to help feed a hungry child can look several different ways in the field. But by whatever means, you help meet children exactly where they are — rushing food to them in the moment they need it most.

Here are 5 ways you help feed children around the world!

1. Emergency Food Delivery

For families already living in poverty, all it takes is one crisis to send them over the edge. Whether it’s a natural disaster, a lost job or moving to a new city, this can be all it takes to cause children to skip meals, or even go days without food. For these children and families, the help you give is immediate. Holt’s on-the-ground staff and partners quickly deliver food and other immediate essentials to families in urgent need.

2. Free School Lunch

So many kids show up to class with empty stomachs and nothing to eat. But hunger pains make learning extremely difficult. That’s why you help provide free school lunches to Holt-supported schools and daycares! For so many children, this is the only regular meal they receive each day, which makes it so important! Our staff around the world ensure that these meals are nutritious and filling — often including whole grains, milk, hard-boiled eggs and more.

3. Formula for Babies

The first months and years of a child’s life are so critical. It’s when their brains and bodies grow exponentially, setting the trajectory for the rest of their lives. That’s why nutrition during this time is so important. But this becomes difficult for babies in orphanage or foster care, or the babies of families living in poverty. That’s why you provide them with nutrient-rich infant formula. You help to ensure that no matter their difficult situation, they receive the nutrients — and the chance — to grow healthy and strong.

4. Gardening

One of the most sustainable and empowering ways to feed a child and their family is to teach them to grow food themselves! That’s why in places like Thailand, Vietnam and Ethiopia, you give families the tools and training they need to grow a garden. Whether it’s a “kitchen garden” of composted food scraps and small pots on urban windowsills, or larger garden plots in rural areas, so many families can now feed their children with fresh garden fruits and vegetables. Equipped with buckets, fertilizer and garden seeds, children and parents can enjoy gardening together. Even more, when families grow their own produce, they have nourishing food to feed their children. And they can sell any surplus in the marketplace — generating additional income to support themselves.

5. Livestock

A goat or cow or chickens might seem like a strange gift to give a family living in poverty, but a gift like this can absolutely change their life! Raising livestock can provide a family with fresh milk, cheese, eggs and meat — all critical protein for growing kids. Livestock can even provide fertilizer for a family’s  garden, and any excess food or animal offspring can be sold for a profit. Your gift of livestock to a child and their family prevents malnutrition for years to come.

You Can Help a Hungry Child

When you give Food Every Day, you not only help a child learn, play and grow — you help keep their family together.

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The post 5 Ways You Feed Hungry Children appeared first on Holt International.

This Father’s Day, we honor the incredible fathers around the world who give everything they have to care for their children. These dads rise early, work long hours and make countless sacrifices to ensure their families are safe, fed and have what they need for the future.

But sometimes, even their hardest work isn’t enough to meet their children’s most basic needs. And you have the power to help.

Through Gifts of Hope, donors — like you — provide exactly what these fathers need to provide for their families with confidence. Gifts like livestock, garden seeds and tools, fishing kits and home repairs are life changing. These gifts help meet basic needs like food and safe shelter, empower parents to earn an income, and help families break the cycle of poverty — for good!

Here are three stories of incredible dads around the world who embody the heart of fatherhood. Thanks to your generosity, they received the support and encouragement they needed to continue providing for their families with strength and hope.

Anurak — A Father Who Shows Up Every Day

Anurak is a devoted father raising his two sons, Kovit and Kasem, in Thailand. After their mother left, he became their sole caregiver — doing everything he could to provide for them, even when times were tough.

He works long hours as a day laborer, and though he earns very little, he never lets his sons go without. With support from Holt’s local partner, Holt Sahathai Foundation, and donors like you, Anurak receives help with food, school supplies and other essentials — giving him the strength and stability to keep his family together.

“The way [I] parented before, it was more about the physical needs of the children. To feed them, to have them get enough sleep, things like that,” Anurak says. “But what I learned from the social worker and Holt Sahathai is more of the psychological and emotional aspects of the children. And being the parent, you need to not just let your child grow naturally, but as parents we need to get involved in their activities and stimulate them.”

Anurak is a single father, but he is anything but alone. He is supported and empowered to raise his sons and give them a brighter future.

Lhagvajav — A Father Who Kept His Promise

Lhagvajav is a father of quiet strength, raising his six children in rural Mongolia. Life in their remote community is difficult, but he works tirelessly — chopping wood, growing vegetables and doing whatever it takes to provide a safe, nurturing home.

“I want my children to get a better education and grow up to be good citizens,” Lhagvajav said. “Everybody thinks this way. This is a father’s and mother’s dream for their children.”

Several years ago, through Gifts of Hope, Lhagvajav received a ger — a traditional Mongolian home — offering warmth and shelter through the brutal winters. He promised to use this gift as a foundation for a better future.

Then, disaster struck. A devastating flood destroyed the ger. But Lhagvajav never gave up. With renewed support from Holt’s local team and generous donors, he rebuilt. Today, his family is thriving — and his hope for their future is stronger than ever.

Burhan — A Father Teaching His Children to Dream

Burhan is a committed father providing for his family. In a coastal village in Thailand, Burhan rises before dawn to fish — not just to feed his family, but to teach his children, Anis, Nada and Daris, the value of hard work and hope.

The family also tends a small garden and raises ducks — simple but powerful resources that provide both food and income. These gifts, made possible by generous donors, help Burhan care for his children with dignity and hope. Burhan continues to guide them, teaching both how to fish and how to dream.

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Anis says, “A pilot. I want to fly!” With support from Holt’s local partner, Holt Sahathai Foundation, and donors, Burhan continues to provide for his family with strength, stability and hope for the future.

Honoring Fathers Around the World

This Father’s Day, you can honor a dad in your life by uplifting a father like Anurak, Lhagvajav or Burhan — dads who work tirelessly to care for their children.

Through Gifts of Hope, you can give a father the tools he needs to provide for his family with confidence — gifts like livestock, garden seeds and tools, fishing kits, home repairs and more. These life-changing gifts meet urgent needs and help families build lasting stability.

Gift a Father’s Day Gift of Hope in honor of a dad in your life today!

Feed a Hungry Child

Children are hungry because of skyrocketing food prices. But just $1.50 a day feeds a child who would otherwise go hungry.

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The post Capturing the Heart of Fatherhood appeared first on Holt International.

Anh knows what loss feels like, even at the young age of 14. She knows what it’s like to grieve and to hope for her future. When her family’s only herd of pigs was wiped out by swine fever, the family didn’t give up hope. Instead, they bought two pigs to restart their herd.

Just a couple of months later, Anh’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Too sick to work, he left his job and began to undergo treatments. But the family didn’t give up hope. Anh’s father continued to help with daily household tasks like feeding the pigs.

But eventually, the medical costs became so great that the family had to sell the two pigs to cover the expenses. Having lost the father’s income from bricklaying and the mother’s income from raising pigs, the family’s financial situation turned bleak.

Sadly, Anh’s father passed away from cancer late last year. The family has faced much hardship. And the passing of Anh’s father has been difficult. But Anh and her mother are “sincerely thankful for your love, care and help during [this] difficult period.”

You provided sustainable income to Anh and her family to weather this tumultuous storm. The family has multiplied their herd from three to 13, and they dream of raising a big herd someday. Thanks to you, their main source of income has been restored, even in the midst of adversity.

Thank you for helping Anh and her family in their time of greatest need.

Give a Life-Changing Gift of Hope

Gifts of Hope come in all shapes and sizes and have the power to change a child and family’s life.

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The post A Herd of Hope appeared first on Holt International.

A single mother in Vietnam receives a food cart and starts her own business. Women in rural Uganda learn to break the cycle of generational poverty by joining community savings groups. A mother and her family in Mongolia are gifted a life-changing herd of livestock. Mothers and children in Ethiopia gain access to lifesaving healthcare, thanks to a mother and child hospital Holt donors helped build and continue to support in an impoverished rural region.

Around the world, Holt sponsors and donors empower mothers to provide for their children, keeping them together despite poverty, conflict, migration and the stigma of single motherhood. One of the ways your generosity supports these women is through our life-changing Gifts of Hope. Whether it’s through food carts, small business microgrants, livestock, new mother baskets, pregnancy healthcare and more, your gifts help women become stronger, healthier and more self-reliant, allowing them and their children to thrive.

As we approach Mother’s Day this year, we’d like to highlight the stories of women in four countries who have benefited from your generosity and Gifts of Hope. With your support and compassion, these mothers and their families now face a brighter future!

Healthcare for Mothers and Children in Ethiopia

In 2015, Holt donors joined local leaders and community members to build a full-service, maternal-child hospital in Shinshicho, an impoverished rural region in southern Ethiopia. At the time, only 3 percent of births among women living in rural Ethiopia were attended by a health professional, and 25,000 women in Ethiopia died annually from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. In many cases, these women could not get to a hospital in time. When Holt committed to funding most of the construction costs for the Shinshicho Mother and Child Hospital, the local community responded with an outpouring of donations — often a precious few dollars from individuals whose income was just one or two dollars a day. With backing from the government, and significant involvement from the community — both in funding and labor — the health center first opened its doors to patients in 2015.

Today, the hospital has grown both in size and in the level of services it provides. It is now known as the Shinshicho Primary Hospital, and it serves more than 250,000 patients each year with emergency, surgical and outpatient services for children and adults. Although the mother-child hospital is run by the local government, Holt continues to fund much of the staffing, equipment and materials needed to operate the maternal and child health departments, which provide labor and delivery, family planning, ob-gyn and neonatal intensive care services. Holt also supports a child stabilization center for severely malnourished children. 

When two children, Anika and Kia, were found to be acutely malnourished, they along with their mother were immediately taken to the child stabilization center at the Holt-supported mother and child hospital, where they received the critical help they needed.

“In the rehab unit, the babies received a specialized low-protein, milk-based formula diet to help them stabilize,” says Emily DeLacey, Holt’s director of nutrition and health services. “Their sick, malnourished mother was also able to receive support at the hospital and began to get healthier so that her supply of breastmilk replenished and she was able to continue feeding her girls to ensure they were getting the vital nutrition they needed.”

It wasn’t long before Anika and Kia became stable. And not long after that, they returned home. In just a few short months, their transformation was incredible. They went from being terribly sick, skinny, malnourished infants to plump and happy babies. And that’s just their physical appearance. Now that they’re getting all the nutrients they need, their brains and bodies are able to grow and catch up in development. For the mothers and children in rural Ethiopia, the gift of maternal health and childhood nutrition is a blessing on Mother’s Day — and on every day throughout the year.

Empower a mother with the gift of pregnancy health care this Mother’s Day!

A Herd of Livestock in Mongolia

Five-year-old Erdene and her family live in Mongolia’s northernmost province, where herding families continue a traditional way of life — seasonally migrating with their cattle, sheep and goats across the vast plains. Life is hard on the land, not far from Siberia, and winters are especially harsh with temperatures that can dip to -60 degrees. Although the nomadic people of this region have existed here for generations and know how to survive the extreme climate, many live in poverty and struggle to provide enough food, warm clothing and other necessities for their children.

In 2019, Holt’s team in Mongolia began working in this remote province to help care for the region’s most vulnerable children, including children with disabilities, children growing up in orphanages and children living in poverty with their families, including the children of assistant herdsmen. Erdene and her siblings were among the over 80 children who Holt donors began to support through Holt’s family strengthening program. Holt provided emergency food for Erdene and her siblings. Erdene was also enrolled in Holt’s child sponsorship program, which provided ongoing support for her and her family.

Erdene’s family felt deep gratitude for the support of Holt sponsors and donors. But as traditional nomadic people who have chosen to stay and work the land like their families have for generations, Erdene’s parents are hard-working and skilled in raising livestock. Like many assistant herdsmen, they dreamt of owning their own herd, nourishing their children from what they produced and living by their own means.

“If they could own some livestock, they would be able to get wool and cashmere during springtime,” explains our team in Mongolia. “And in summer, they would be able to get dairy products — and the children would benefit from the milk.”

In March 2021, their dreams were realized when Holt presented Erdene’s family with an incredible, donor-funded Gift of Hope — a gift that would empower Erdene’s parents to work toward stability and self-reliance, and ultimately meet all of their children’s needs. They gave the family a herd of 20 goats and 28 sheep.

Over the past four years, Erdene’s parents have nearly doubled the size of their herd and added cattle as well — bringing in considerable profits for their family. In that time, Erdene and her siblings have also grown healthier and stronger because of the nourishing milk and cheese they regularly have in their diet.

“I am very happy as a mother to see my children growing, thriving, healthy and happy … Life has changed and we are very, very happy,” Erdine’s mother shared. “I would like to say thank you. Really, really thank you.”

Empower a mother with a life-changing gift of a goat!

A Food Cart in Vietnam

Thuong is a young single mother who lives with her son in a small city in Vietnam. In April 2021, Thuong learned that she was 13 weeks pregnant. But when she called her boyfriend to share the news, he refused to take responsibility for the baby. Heartbroken, and fearing a life of poverty and social stigma as a single mother, Thuong considered relinquishing her baby for adoption after giving birth.

But then something wonderful happened! When Thuong was 7 months pregnant, a friend introduced her to a local Holt social worker, who enrolled her in a program for single pregnant women supported by Holt donors. Through the program, Thuong received food and nutritional support for the remaining months of her pregnancy, as well as baby essentials such as clothes, diapers and formula — gifts for new mothers provided through Holt’s Gifts of Hope program. The costs of her pre- and post-natal doctor exams were also covered, as were her hospital fees for the birth of her child.

In November 2021, Thuong gave birth to a healthy baby boy she named Thanh. After leaving the hospital, she and her son returned to her family home, where her parents and grandparents helped care for them.

Then, when Thanh was 7 months old, Thuong began working at her mother’s food stall. With her baby at her side, Thuong washed vegetables, grilled pork paste and meat, and helped her mother sell food. Though the women worked long hours, they earned roughly 8 U.S. dollars a day. Although this amount stretches much further in Vietnam than it does in the U.S., it was still barely enough to feed the entire family.

That’s when Thuong decided to supplement the family income by learning to make Vietnamese-style “hot dog” cakes. She took orders for the hot dogs online, then delivered them herself to customers around the city. Lacking the funds to make large quantities of food, Thuong sold about 25 hot dogs a day. After deducting her expenses, Thuong earned less than 4 U.S. dollars per day — but this amount increased her income enough to meet some additional needs, and she began to grow excited about having her own business!

And that’s when the generosity of Holt donors came through again! This time, Thuong received a food cart through Holt’s Gifts of Hope, as well as funds to purchase baking ingredients.  

These days, Thuong operates her food cart in front of her grandparents’ house. It’s open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Although her income is still modest, Thuong is now able to pay for her son’s preschool fees and meals at school, helping him get an early education and the nourishment he needs to thrive. Thanks to the generosity of Holt donors, Thuong has big dreams for her son — and for her own future!

Empower a mother to start her own business by providing her with a food cart!

Financial Literacy Training in Uganda

In the rural villages of Uganda where Holt sponsors and donors support children and families, women now have the opportunity to break the cycle of generational poverty. In these villages, Holt has been leading savings groups that teach parents, particularly mothers, how to earn money and save together. Through financial literacy training, these women learn as a community how to make and sell goods, grow crops, buy and raise livestock, and become businesswomen in the hopes of bettering themselves and supporting their families.

With a small initial investment from Holt donors, these groups of women pool their money together and are then able to take out loans from the group to grow their business or address an urgent need such as a home repair. They pay the money back on a schedule, thus replenishing the fund so other women can borrow as needed. Some Holt savings groups have existed for more than five years — helping the families weather the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the savings and loan groups, many of their businesses would not have survived financially — and they would have struggled to afford food and other basic necessities for their children.

Beyond financial stability, the savings groups have offered women a sense of pride in their accomplishments. For example, in one rural community, the members of one group named themselves the “Group of Happy Parents.” That’s because their savings have gone towards buying livestock, starting microbusinesses, and paying for their children’s school fees and uniforms. When mothers are able to care for their children, they are happy parents indeed!

Empower a mother to break the cycle of generational poverty with job skills training!

Mother’s Day Gifts That Matter

Honor a mom you love with a Gift of Hope that changes the life of a mom across the world!

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The post So Their Children Can Thrive appeared first on Holt International.

No matter how hard they worked, things weren’t improving.  

Sonith did construction, working whatever job was available to him each day in their impoverished community in rural Cambodia. But the income was so inconsistent that he and his wife, Davi, decided to move to Thailand in hopes of finding better work — with their two young children, Tola and Vanna, in tow.

In Thailand, Sonith and Davi again worked construction jobs. But a year later, they had almost nothing to show for it — having been cheated out of the majority of their pay. Sonith was working so hard doing physical labor that his health began to suffer. They moved back to Cambodia — to the same situation they were in before.

“The family suffered from lack of food, health problems, and the children lacked school materials,” says the Holt Cambodia social worker who visited the family at their home at the time. “Their house was very old and not safe for the children. And the children looked unhealthy.”   

When the pandemic hit, things got even worse.

Holt Cambodia first learned about this family in March 2020, and enrolled them in Holt’s family strengthening program. This opened up the door for them to receive tangible help from Holt donors across the world. And their Holt social worker determined that they were perfect candidates to receive Gifts of Hope.  

This was the turning point in their story.

Recipients of Gifts of Hope

Immediately, they received the Gift of Hope of emergency food — bags of rice, cooking oil, canned fish and more to sustain them until they could get back on their feet. Holt donors also provided Tola and Vanna with the school uniforms and supplies they needed to attend school.

“The family was so happy and started to feel hopeful for their future,” their social worker says.

With their most immediate needs met, and the stress of daily survival alleviated, Sonith and Davi could finally dream and plan for their future.

“Sonith felt motivated and Davi became brave enough to talk about things she wanted to do to generate extra income to support the family,” their social worker says.  

Sonith and Davi began to discuss the different ways they might start a small business to earn sustainable income for their family.

Income-Generating Programs to Alleviate Poverty

In Cambodia and around the world, Holt social workers help families develop a personal plan to overcome poverty. With consideration to each family’s skills, education, interests and goals, they together come up with a uniquely tailored solution. Then, with support from Holt donors, families receive the support, training and resources to make it happen — often in the form of Gifts of Hope.

Some families choose to open a food cart or small store, others learn a skill like sewing that allows them to earn an income from home, others learn how to plant gardens to grow food to take to the market, and many others raise livestock like pigs, goats or chickens — providing vital nourishment to their families, as well as offspring to sell.

“The family was so happy and started to feel hopeful for their future.”

Many of the families in Holt’s income-generating programs double or triple their income with the help of training or start-up funds. This boost in income prevents parents from migrating in search of work, which provides greater stability to children and helps keep them safe and in school.

This was the goal, and the hope, for Sonith and Davi. That they’d never have to migrate again for work, and that they could meet all of their children’s basic needs.  

Raising Chickens and Cows

With careful consideration, Sonith and Davi soon knew what they wanted to do to raise their family out of poverty, and better provide for Tola and Vanna.

“The family found that cow and chicken raisings are suitable for them since they can do it with their spare time,” their social worker says.

This is where the generosity of Holt Gifts of Hope donors came in…

The family received the Gift of Hope of chickens — complete with a pen to house the chickens — and the Gift of Hope of a female cow, already pregnant with her first calf.

Within just a few months, this gift grew exponentially — with the chickens having produced more chicks, and a brand new baby calf. The family sold the new offspring, and for the first time in their lives, they had extra money to invest.

They decided to put it towards building a new house, so that their children could be safe in their home.

But this was just the beginning. Because, the best part about Gifts of Hope is that they just keep growing and multiplying over time.

Their original cow had another new calf, which they plan to keep and continue breeding. And their chickens have continued to grow in number, too. Sonith again started working in construction, and Davi got a new job as a cleaner at a nearby hotel. They have income from their jobs, but different than before, they also have another means of income. One that keeps growing and providing more and more for them over time.

With each new calf and chicken, their family is rising out of poverty — step by step by step.

“The famiy’s situation has improved a lot,” says their Holt social worker. “They have enough food to eat, they have proper clothes to wear, and they are all healthier — especially the children, who have gained more weight and gotten stronger.”

Tola and Vanna, now 11- and 6-years-old, are thriving in school. Their home is safe. They have enough to eat.

And it’s all because of Gifts of Hope, empowering them to have hope for the future.

Give Hope This Christmas

Shop Gifts of Hope to help a child in need, in honor of a loved one.

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The post Hopeful for Their Future appeared first on Holt International.

Tieu lightly rests her left hand on her right arm. Her skin is painful to look at. Marbled and pocked, shiny and red and raised about an inch above her healthy skin, a severe burn runs the length of her arm, serving as a daily reminder of the gasoline fire that nearly took her life. Tieu is 40 but looks much younger, with shiny black hair parted down the side. She has five daughters — the youngest of which sits beside her now, giggling and bouncing with excitement to have visitors in her home. Another of Tieu’s daughters sits on the other side of her giggly sister, watching her mom with worry as she talks about her burn.

“This daughter,” Tieu says, looking solemnly at her older daughter, “wants to become a doctor so she can treat my hand.”

Up until the accident a year and a half ago, Tieu had a fairly well-paying job working in a factory that produced wooden furniture. She and her husband both worked, and together, they earned just enough to provide for their five girls — including paying the $75 to $200 per child to cover their school fees, supplies, books and uniforms. But when gasoline spilled and caught fire in the factory where she worked, Tieu barely escaped. She sustained severe burns over 40 percent of her body, all along her back and legs and right arm, causing her to lose partial mobility in her right hand. If she presses too hard on her skin, it hurts. If she moves her arm, it hurts. If she tries to extend her arm, she can’t.

Although she received $500 in compensation from her employer, her hospital bills added up to about $3,000. To pay the hospital, she and her husband had to borrow money from friends and family. In debt, and unable to work, Tieu worried not so much about herself, but about what this would mean for her daughters. She wanted more for them than a life of hard manual labor. She wanted them to have freedom from worry, and security when accidents inevitably happen.

“I worry most that my children won’t be able to go to school,” Tieu says. “Because of my burn and injury, what my husband earns is barely enough for us to survive.”

Like so many families in rural Vietnam, who have few job opportunities beyond working in factories or cultivating the small plot of land allotted to them by the government, Tieu and her husband have always just gotten by.

Their safety net is their family — and their community.

Holt’s vice president of South and Southeast Asia programs, Thoa Bui, grew up in Vietnam, and her father came from a community not far from where Tieu and her family live outside Hanoi.

“One thing that is really nice about rural living in Vietnam is, for example, if your house is really collapsing, and the government gives you some [support], and NGO gives you some, and you put some in, the neighbors will come and do labor and help put up the bricks and all these things,” she says. “They try to help.”

In many ways, the communal structure provides a support network that has more or less disintegrated in the city. Relatives often live close by and rely on each other for support. Children care for aging parents, and grandparents care for grandchildren — providing free childcare while their parents work during the day. Everyone knows everyone in the community and, at the cost of privacy, neighbors often know each other’s personal struggles and offer to help when needed.

“If you live in the same village, whatever is happening in your family, the village just knows because that’s the way of life here,” explains Thoa. But they are also very supportive of each other, she says, “because of their level of understanding of what other families are going through.”

On the morning we visit Tieu and her family, several neighbors stand outside her house, curious about the American film crew inside. They follow as we walk along the labyrinthine brick-walled passageways that envelope the commune like a medieval fortress. In another section of the commune, techno music blares so loud that no one can possibly focus on anything but the wedding celebration taking place at 10 a.m. on this overcast Monday morning; everyone in the community is invited, so no one complains.

As we try to talk over the music, Holt Vietnam’s long-time in-country director, Hang Dam, laughs. “Vietnam is a communal society,” she says. “This is just how it is.”

Hang is in her 40s, tall with high, freckled cheeks and dark, red-tinted hair. Like Thoa, she is a former Fulbright scholar, is friendly but assertive, and perfectly maintains relations with the 3-to-5 government caseworkers who accompany us on every family visit. Hang grew up in northern Vietnam in the years after the Vietnam War, and vividly recalls layering shirts in winter because her family couldn’t afford warm coats. At school, she says, she and her friends would compare how many layers each of them had on. The economy suffered so much during the war that the government rationed food. In this time of scarcity, social expectation dictated that if you had rice or meat, and your neighbor didn’t, you had to share.

But even in a communal society like Vietnam, family relies mostly on family, and neighborly compassion — and generosity – can only stretch so far.

With Tieu’s debt and worry mounting, she approached the local women and children’s committee in her commune, which gave her a small grant of about $140 — an amount that would help cover the cost of fees for one of her daughters to go to school. The government provides some assistance for families in crisis, but rarely is it enough to sustain an entire family, much less send all of their children to school.

“Any sort of social benefit in Vietnam is really small,” Thoa says. “It helps a little bit, but not much.”

Tieu, however, didn’t need a handout. She still had full use of her legs and back and left arm. She could work, but for the first time in her adult life, she found herself unemployable in the type of factory jobs and seasonal labor she once did.

“Because of my hand, no one will hire me,” she says, demonstrating how little mobility she has in her right arm and hand.

As winter set in, Tieu’s family went deeper in debt when her husband suffered a workplace injury of his own — breaking his right hand. All of a sudden, they had no income, and no way to provide for their girls.

They were about to give up hope.

But around the same time, on the other side of the world, Holt’s Christmas Gifts of Hope catalog started hitting mailboxes. At Holt, we began receiving gifts from generous donors for the children and families in our programs. Gifts like warm bedding and nourishing food for children in orphanages, vaccines and emergency medical care for families living in under-resourced communities, and gifts that empower struggling families with the tools and resources they need to earn a stable income. One of these income-generating gifts weighs 1,500 pounds. It moves and moos and produces nourishing milk and offspring that can be sold for profit — a perfect gift for a family like Tieu’s.

“A cow is a really big asset for poor people in rural Vietnam,” Thoa says. When the cow produces a calf, they can sell the calf, and then repeat the cycle — providing regular income, and money to save or reinvest in other income-generating resources. “They keep repeating the cycle, and that’s how we see the economy of the family improve so they can help their children,” Thoa says, adding that it doesn’t cost a lot to maintain a cow where Tieu lives. “It’s quite sustainable and supported in the community in the farming area of Vietnam.”

Cows are so expensive in Vietnam, however, that families can rarely save enough to purchase one on their own.

As the local government in Tieu’s commune often partners with Holt to meet the needs of families in crisis, they referred Tieu to the staff at Holt Vietnam — who quickly deemed Tieu and her family the perfect recipient for the gift of a cow. They had experience raising livestock, a barn to raise the cow, and the drive and work ethic needed to build a small business from selling surplus milk and offspring.

“When I have a calf, I will be able to sell it for 13-15 million doung,” Tieu says. About $600 to $700, this amount could be reinvested to purchase more livestock, which Tieu eventually hopes to do.

But right now, she only has one thing on her mind.

“What do you want to do with that money?” we ask her. “What do you want to buy?”

“I’m not thinking about buying anything,” she says. “I want to use that money to send my kids to school.”

As Tieu shares, her three older daughters are getting ready for school. It’s a cool day, and they put on the puffy striped jackets of their uniforms over heavy sweaters and leggings. Three of Tieu’s daughters are in primary school, and her youngest just started kindergarten this year. For Tieu and her husband, the cost of sending their girls to school exceeds any of their other expenses — which is puzzling, considering that primary school is technically “free” in Vietnam.

“The law says it’s free, but the school will apply all kinds of charges at the beginning of the year that parents have to pay,” Thoa explains. “So uniforms and school supplies, parents have to buy books and then all kinds of fees charged by the school. They call it ‘maintenance fee’ or ‘teacher’s fee,’ and ‘buildings fee,’ ‘construction fees,’ academic achievement kind of fees. Each school has a long list of fees at the beginning of the year.” Although it varies from school to school and region to region, the total amount to send one child to school falls roughly between $75 to $200 — a huge sum of money for an already-struggling family with multiple school-age children.

“If parents cannot afford to pay,” Thoa says, “their children cannot go to school.”

Many families go into debt just to put their children through primary and secondary school.

“Education is so highly valued in Vietnam — by the parents, by the society … and it’s very competitive too,” Thoa says. “I would say it’s a really difficult system to succeed. That’s why parents, that’s all they do. They can go hungry, but their children have to go to school.”

Thankfully, Tieu’s daughters have sponsors now, who stepped up to help support them after reading their family’s story. Every month, these sponsors help meet the children’s basic needs at home, as well as pay their school fees, buy their notebooks and pens and books, and provide new uniforms when they outgrow the ones they have.

Sponsors are helping Tieu’s daughters get through school, and she is so grateful for their support — support that now allows Tieu to focus her sights on an even loftier goal. She wants all of her daughters to go to a university in a big city, where they can study to become teachers or other professionals. Tieu has a high school diploma herself — enough education to get a job in a factory, but not to have the kind of life she dreams for her daughters.

“If they can go to school, they can have a career so they don’t have to work as hard as their parents,” Tieu says of her daughters who still live at home. Tieu’s oldest daughter has already graduated from high school. She got married earlier this year, and now works in a factory.

“That’s the dream,” Thoa says of Tieu’s determination to send her daughters to university. “Of course, if you ask any mother in Vietnam, that’s what they say, because the whole society is doing that for their children. Including if they have to sell the house, they do it.”

Although considerably less than in the U.S., at $500 to $1,000 per year, the price tag for a college education in Vietnam still exceeds what most rural families can afford. Admission is also fiercely competitive, with far more applicants than slots available — and a very limited number of scholarships awarded to only the most high-performing students.

“Whether she can do it or not with five kids,” Thoa says of Tieu’s goal, “it really depends on if the kids will be able to progress through 12^th grade.”

But as long as her daughters continue to excel in school, their sponsors will continue supporting them, including little Nam. For the next 12 years — as long as her family needs help paying her fees — Nam will have a sponsor supporting and cheering her on.

And one day, if Nam, or any of her sisters, gain admission to university, Holt donors will help them get there.

“We tell overseas staff, if you have kids who are high-performing who can perform at university level, but who are struggling with finances, just discuss with us on a case-by-case basis,” Thoa says. “Don’t hold them back.”

Tieu hopes to one day regain full use of her hand so she doesn’t have to rely on her husband and her children, who help with heavy lifting and farm work that she can no longer do on her own. She looks at her daughters sitting with her — her serious daughter who wants to become a doctor, and her youngest, Nam, who snuggles into her mom’s arm as she talks, giggling and squirming, oblivious to the family hardships that her older siblings have grown increasingly aware of.

Tieu may never regain full mobility, but she has security now. With her cow, she has a reliable source of income, and will soon have profit to start saving for college. And she has sponsors, who have come alongside Tieu in her mission to educate her daughters — and give them the life she never had. With these gifts of hope, Tieu is now connected to a global community of people whose compassion stretches over continents and seas, from big cities and small towns in the U.S., to a rural commune in northern Vietnam.

“I’d like to thank all the people,” Tieu says, “who supported me and my family.”

Her face warm and relaxed, Tieu pulls her youngest daughter tight, and giggles with her. Thankfully, she can still do that.

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This story was originally published in March 2018.

The post The Gift of Hope appeared first on Holt International.

Erdene squeezes her eyes shut and laughs with delight as her sister grabs her from behind and hugs her close. It’s a cold day in early May on the steppes of the Mongolian plains where Erdene lives with her mom, dad and four older sisters, and her cheeks are flushed pink from an icy wind that’s rolling across the grasslands. A family of lambs and baby goats were recently born on her family’s farm, and are just small enough for Erdene to hold in her arms as she helps her mom bottle feed the new herd.

Five-year-old Erdene and her family live in Mongolia’s northernmost province, where herding families continue a traditional way of life — seasonally migrating with their cattle, sheep and goats across the vast plains. Life is hard on the land, not far from Siberia, and winters are especially harsh with temperatures that can dip to -60 degrees. Although the nomadic people of this region have existed here for generations and know how to survive the extreme climate, many live in poverty and struggle to provide enough food, warm clothing and other necessities for their children.

Four years ago, Erdene’s family was among the hundreds of families living in this rural province who could not earn enough to meet their basic needs. Her father worked as an assistant herdsman, helping a livestock owner tend his herds. But in this agricultural region of Mongolia where herding livestock is the primary occupation, families have very limited opportunities to earn a stable income unless they own their own herd. As an assistant herdsman, Erdene’s father earned less than $30/month — not nearly enough to support his five young daughters.

“The bitter cold and barren landscape of this beautiful but harsh region offer few opportunities for families to make a living,” explains Paul Kim, Holt’s director of programs in Mongolia and Korea. “While those with sufficient wealth can support an adequate lifestyle, the salary of a hired herder is only enough to purchase food, vital fuel for heating, and maybe just a little more for other needs. For these families, the wage they earn is about affording the basic necessities for their families’ month-to-month survival.”

How Sponsors and Donors Support Nomadic Families in Mongolia

In 2019, Holt’s team in Mongolia began working in this remote province to help care for the region’s most vulnerable children, including children with disabilities, children growing up in orphanages and children living in poverty with their families, including the children of assistant herdsmen. Erdene and her siblings were among over 80 children who Holt donors began to support through Holt’s family strengthening program. Holt provided emergency food for Erdene and her siblings. Erdene was also enrolled in Holt’s child sponsorship program, which provided ongoing support for her and her family.

Erdene’s family felt deep gratitude for the support of Holt sponsors and donors. But as traditional nomadic people who have chosen to stay and work the land like their families have for generations, Erdene’s parents are hard-working and skilled in raising livestock. Like many assistant herdsmen, they dreamt of owning their own herd, nourishing their children from what they produced, and living by their own means.

“If they could own some livestock, they would be able to get wool and cashmere during springtime,” explains our team in Mongolia. “And in summer, they would be able to get dairy products — and the children would benefit from the milk.”

In March 2021, their dreams were realized when Holt presented Erdene’s family with an incredible, donor-funded gift of hope — a gift that would empower Erdene’s parents to work toward stability and self-reliance, and ultimately meet all of their children’s needs. They gave the family a herd of 20 goats and 28 sheep.

Over the past four years, Erdene’s parents have nearly doubled the size of their herd and added cattle as well — bringing in considerable profits for their family. In that time, Erdene and her siblings have also grown healthier and stronger because of the nourishing milk and cheese they regularly have in their diet.

“I am very happy as a mother to see my children growing, thriving, healthy and happy … Life has changed and we are very, very happy,” Erdine’s mother shared with a visiting Holt team member as one of her daughters hugged her arm. “I would like to say thank you. Really, really thank you.”

Because of this heartfelt gift from Holt donors, Erdene and her family are thriving. But many more families in this region struggle to survive and continue a traditionally nomadic way of life without their own herds of livestock.

“In this region, the only way for a family to reach beyond poverty, and to be able to ensure their children a better future and independent lives, is to have and grow a herd of their own,” Paul says. “For these families, having their own herd is not about wealth, but in knowing that through their own hard work and the proper care of their herd that they can build something tangible that they can pass on to their children — enabling them to have a head start in building their own lives and futures.”

Holt Vision Trip Team Presents Livestock to Three Families

In early May of this year, a team of sponsors, donors and other Holt supporters traveled to Mongolia as part of our 2024 vision trip. They came to visit children and families in Holt programs and see with their own eyes the life-changing impact of their gifts. They held babies and played with children in Holt-supported orphanages. They visited the Red Stone School in Ulaanbaatar for children whose families live and work in a nearby garbage dump. They saw one of our newest programs for children living with disabilities in an underserved community. And they traveled hours by bus and plane to northern Khuvsgul province, where they visited Erdene and her family — and presented gifts of livestock to three additional families.

“All of the families have been waiting for four years for the opportunity to have their own herds,” explains Paul Kim, who led the vision trip team on their journey across Mongolia. “The families were selected based on need and their ability to sustain and grow their herds. Until now, they have all worked for other livestock owners as hired herdsmen.”

Batu and his wife, Enkhmaa, are one of the young herding couples who were presented with a gift of livestock during the vision trip in May. They are a family of six, with four children ranging in age from 5 to 15 years old. Although Enkhmaa had completed primary school — often the highest level of traditional classroom education herding families receive — few opportunities meant both she and Batu were only able to secure irregular, part‐time work in town. This made it challenging for them to meet their family’s needs, including providing enough food for their children and ensuring they could attend school regularly.

In the spring of 2017, Batu began assisting a rural herdsman family with calving, and eventually became an assistant herdsman himself. This transition allowed him to earn a living by raising livestock in the countryside instead of working lower-paying jobs in town. Since 2018, Batu has been raising rams and goats given to him by herder families. He owns a winter fence in the countryside where he lives with his family. But his monthly salary does not fully cover the family’s needs for school supplies, clothing and food. Like most nomadic families in this region, their children attend boarding school. But without uniforms, supplies and fees to stay in the dormitory, their children might have had to quit school early.

“I am very happy and proud that I gave birth to them. I love seeing them growing up happy and thriving. I really would like my kids to grow up healthy, not to see bad things — to see and to live in a brighter world.”

Enkhmaa, a mother whose family received the gift of livestock from Holt donors

“For a family of herders who survive by working for others, this often requires that both parents tend to the herds. Pasture sufficient to feed the herds necessitates moving from area to area, often days or more of travel away from their homes, for weeks at a time,” Paul says, explaining why children in this region must attend boarding school. “The sparse population means that schools are located far away — too far for families to be able to afford daily transportation — and beyond the means of children to travel on their own.”

As a result, many children remain at home while their parents tend to the herds, sometimes with no adults to care for them. For parents committed to educating their children — parents like Batu and Enkhmaa — sending their children to boarding school is the only option.

“But for families barely able to feed, house and clothe their children,” Paul says, “even the relatively modest cost of these schools requires sacrifice and hardship.”

When Holt’s team in Mongolia learned about this family, they immediately enrolled two of their children in Holt’s child sponsorship program. Sponsors ensured their children could continue attending school — providing basic supplies and helping to cover the cost of boarding school for the three oldest children. Their youngest daughter, Tuya, who is now 6, currently lives with her grandmother in town so that she can attend preschool. In the fall, she will start kindergarten.    

In a recent progress report for Tuya’s sponsor, her social worker shared that “during the weekends, her father comes to take her home riding a bicycle. She loves to cuddle with her mom and dad.” Tuya also loves to draw, dance and sing, watch cartoons — her favorite is “Masha and the Bear” — and although she is a bit shy, she like schools and has become friends with all of her classmates.

Although Tuya and her siblings have been able go to school with the monthly support of sponsors, and see their parents on weekends, a full herd of livestock would allow Enkhmaa and Batu to grow their income, become self-reliant — and most importantly, provide a better quality of life for their children. 

Learn more about Holt’s work in Mongolia!

See how sponsors and donors create a brighter, more hopeful future for children and families in Mongolia!

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They Are the Few, They Are the Keepers

On the cold day in May when the vision trip team arrived to present them with the gift of livestock, Enkhmaa and Batu waited eagerly for their guests along with the other two families. For the presentation ceremony, they had all gathered at one of the family’s gers — a traditional round Mongolian home wrapped in insulating layers of felt made of sheep’s wool.

Although the team was late arriving, the families were very gracious about it and just happy and grateful to see the Holt team. “Enkhmaa was more reserved, but so kind and very humble,” shares one vision trip team member. “The children were shy at first but very playful. Their daughter played around and laughed with her dad a lot. Enkhmaa shared that their older son was back home taking care of the livestock — and that they have a baby on the way!”

“It is essential to support herder families. Why? Because this is a very unique way of life, a native way of life, and these few families are really the keeper of Mongolian nomad tradition. Thanks to them, our nomad lifestyle is alive and will be passed on to the next generation. Without them, we would not have it. So it’s very essential. Not only because this is nomad way of life, but because they are few and they are the keepers.”

Ariunbolor Davaatsogt, Holt Mongolia Social Worker

As all of the families and vision trip team huddled inside the ger, the wind and rain whipping against the sides, each family received a plaque of ownership and took turns expressing their gratitude for this life-changing gift. For the occasion, several of them wore traditional silk Mongolian dress in vibrant colors. With everyone gathered, the Holt Mongolia social worker who works with the local families answered questions and shared about the families’ unique way of life — emphasizing the importance of supporting traditional herding families.

“It is essential to support herder families. Why? Because this is a very unique way of life, a native way of life, and these few families are really the keeper of Mongolian nomad tradition,” the social worker, Ariunbolor Davaatsogt, shared. “Thanks to them, our nomad lifestyle is alive and will be passed on to the next generation. Without them, we would not have it. So it’s very essential. Not only because this is nomad way of life, but because they are few and they are the keepers.”

Over the past 25 years, more and more traditional nomadic families have migrated to Ulaanbaatar in search of other opportunities.

“Being a herder and looking after and tending to the livestock is very hard work,” explained Airunbolor, who grew up in Khuvsgul but now works for Holt Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar. “The young people give up because you really need to have this resilience and stamina and this really strong will to go through it. What happened starting from the early 2000s is that the young herdsmen families give up and moved to UB — Ulaanbaatar — city.”

But once they arrive in Ulaanbaatar, many struggle to find work and adjust to a new way of life. When families migrate from rural to urban areas, children are also at greater risk of trafficking, exploitation and domestic violence due to the tough existence many of these families face living in makeshift ger camps on the outskirts of the city.

And as Paul adds, the mass migration of nomad families from rural to urban areas impacts not just the families who leave — but also those left behind. 

“The traditional pastoral culture and lifestyle of Mongolia not only provided the people with the means to survival, but was the foundation of their families and their nomadic communities. … Traditions maintained strong family ties, and created communities where neighbors offered assistance without obligation and without being asked,” he explains. “But as urbanization began in Mongolia, the lure of greater opportunity began to rend families and nomadic communities apart.”

If they receive support to stay in Khuvsgul, however, nomadic families can continue their traditional way of life, rise above poverty and raise thriving children who can grow up safe and free in the beautiful plains of their homeland — a vision that three more families can now realize through the gift of livestock they received from Holt donors.

For these families, Paul says, this is what was most meaningful to them.

“They expressed their thanks, as they never imagined that this day would truly come, and that the impact of the gift is greatest when seen as how it will positively affect their children’s futures,” he says. “This is what was most meaningful, being given the ability to work hard to raise themselves out of poverty, and to be able to actually envision a brighter future for their children.”

Now, like Erdine’s family before them, these three families have what they need to grow their income, feed, clothe and educate their children, and follow in the path of generations of nomadic herding families before them — keeping alive the tradition and culture of this remote northern region of Mongolia, and providing a more hopeful future for their children.

As the day closed and their guests prepared to leave, Enkhmaa shared what brought her the greatest joy.

“I am very happy and proud that I gave birth to them,” Enkhmaa said of her children. “I love seeing them growing up happy and thriving. I really would like my kids to grow up healthy, not to see bad things — to see and to live in a brighter world.”

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The post They Are the Keepers: Supporting Nomadic Families in Mongolia appeared first on Holt International.

When Srey needs to purchase new school shoes for her children, or buy more rice at the market, she goes out into her yard and searches for a chicken or two.

They’re a bit hard to catch, but she’s good at it. Dozens of them are walking around, scratching the ground and pecking at the homemade chicken feed she makes. Once she catches two or three chickens and takes them to market, the income she makes will feed her family for two weeks — or give her the income she needs for another important purchase.

Life is so much easier now. And this is because of her chickens.

Living in Poverty in Cambodia

Srey and her husband have two children, 13-year-old Sophal and 10-year-old Veha. When we first met them, they were living in deep poverty in rural Cambodia. Their tiny house was dilapidated, with a leaky roof and no toilet. Their drinking water was dirty and often got them sick. They grew rice on their small plot of land, but they only had enough for five months out of the year. They went hungry the rest of the time.

They had a few chickens, and hoped that they would help with their family’s nutrition and income. But they didn’t really know what they were doing enough for their flock to grow and become profitable.

Their village chief and other authorities saw that Srey’s family needed help, and referred them to Holt Cambodia. Immediately, we provided them with the emergency help they needed — rice, noodles, canned fish, cooking oil and garlic. The children received new school uniforms and school supplies to continue in their education.

Then, Holt Cambodia focused on what would help Srey and her family in the long term, and invited her to join their income-generating program.

Income Generating Programs to Overcome Poverty

In Cambodia and around the world, Holt sponsors and donors support income-generating programs as one of the most powerful ways to lift a family from poverty. Income-generating opportunities are specially tailored to each family and their skills, interests and abilities, and result in sustainable, long-term help that empowers them to change their lives for good.

In Ethiopia, women learn to grow their own food to feed their family and sell extra produce for a profit. There’s a family in Vietnam raising pigs to help them get by after tragedy struck. Sewing machines empower moms in India to start their own small businesses. Again and again, all it takes is the right resources and opportunities, and a family will be empowered to change their lives and overcome poverty.

Investing in Chickens

Holt Cambodia got to know Srey and her family, their needs and their skills. They decided that investing in more chickens would be the right opportunity for her. But families don’t just receive the items they need to get started. They also receive the support and training to ensure their success.

In addition to the chickens, Srey attended three rounds of training courses where she learned how to best take care of them. She knows how to make homemade chicken feed out of natural resources she can gather near her home. She knows how to line the chicken coop with cloth sacks to keep baby chicks warm when it freezes, and to spray their area with water in the heat to keep them cool. Each summer, she gives the chickens a dose of vaccine to keep them from getting sick. She understands the characteristics of her chickens, can respond when they need additional care, and is attentive to keeping them fed, watered and healthy.

And the result? A thriving, growing flock of chickens. Every day, her family has nutritious eggs to eat. She sells eggs at the market, and sells full-grown chickens for an even greater profit. Just this spring, she sold 16 of her full-grown chickens. With this income, she invested in 50 more chicks to raise — bringing her grand total to over 100 chickens!

Because of chickens, she and her children’s lives have improved dramatically.

A Better Life

Srey began this new journey of raising chickens in in 2020, and each year since then, she’s been able to grow her chicken business and invest in life-changing improvements for her family.

Just one year after receiving the chickens, they had enough income to build a new house — made with fresh, clean palm leaves and palm wood. And they could afford this after selling just three generations of chicks!

The next year, with income from their chickens, they could afford to improve upon their new house — building new walls, a covered back porch, a kitchen area and a hygienic bathroom. But the improvements span far beyond their new, safer home.

Sophal and Veha now have all the school supplies they need, and they were even able to purchase two new bicycles so that they could more safely travel the 3-kilometer distance to school.

And perhaps most life-changing of all, they no longer go hungry. Fresh eggs keep them nourished each day, and even their home garden is thriving with more money to invest in seeds, and chicken manure to help the plants flourish. Their next financial goal is to purchase more farmland to grow more rice and vegetables.

“Her family thrives on raising chickens,” says their Holt Cambodia social worker. “Soon, they will be able to grow enough rice to eat like other families in the village.”

And now that their physical needs are being met, they can even begin to focus on other areas of well-being. Through parenting education from Holt Cambodia, they are growing to understand the importance of continued education for Sophal and Veha, and have learned about postive parenting and children’s rights. Collectively, overcoming poverty not only contributes to meeting physical needs, but also empowers parents to build stronger relationships with their children, become more stable, and to stay together.

With chickens, and because of chickens, they are thriving.

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High in the mountains of north Vietnam, Houa and her children were in crisis. Houa’s husband had just passed away from a brain tumor, leaving her the sole provider for her 4- and 5-year-old daughters, and 2-month-old son… Through her fresh grief and caring for her newborn baby, Houa didn’t know how she would provide for her children. 

Even before her husband passed away, life was difficult. Their home was a wooden structure with a dirt floor and leaky roof. Apart from their clothes, they had nearly no other possessions. The girls, Diep and Giang, didn’t have the supplies they needed for school, and they were often hungry. And at just a few months old, Bao was already malnourished. Houa and her husband had worked as farmers, growing cassava, corn and rice, but it was never enough to feed their family — let alone enough to sell to make an income.

Adding to their difficulties, the family belongs to the Hmong minority ethnic group, which is a people group and culture separate from the mainstream Vietnamese culture. Because of this, Houa and her family struggled to communicate in Vietnamese, lived far away from any city, and had limited access to services like healthcare and education.

“We became aware of this family due to their extremely challenging circumstances,” says Loan Nguyen, a case worker at Holt Vietnam.

Yet, when Loan first met Houa and her children, she also saw their resilience — and how with some extra support, they could be empowered to get back on their feet. 

Right away, Holt donors stepped in to help Houa and her children. They received emergency food, and other essentials to meet their basic needs. But they also received Gifts of Hope that would help them become stable and self-reliant in the long-term. One of the biggest, most helpful, gifts they received was two pigs!

These two pigs, with black hair and pink noses, live in a rectangle pigsty made of bricks and cement. Houa has diligently cared for the pigs and helped them grow, knowing that her time and resources would pay off.

And just last year, this came to fruition when the pigs had their first litter of piglets. Houa kept some of the piglets, and sold others to earn critical income for her family.

As Houa’s pigs have more piglets, their family will have a sustainable source of food, manure for their garden to flourish, and income from selling whatever piglets they don’t need themselves.

“This profit has allowed her to provide essential items such as food, meat and clothing for her children,” Loan says, “which is a positive step forward.”

Another new way Houa has worked to support her family is through learning to sew. Just last year, she found a local tailoring shop that produces traditional Hmong clothing. She’s learned how to stitch together and mend this clothing, and now earns an extra $100 a month for her family.

The reason Houa is able to hold this extra job is because of another help from Holt — daycare for her son, Bao.

While Houa works at the tailoring shop and her older girls are at school, Bao goes to a Holt-supported daycare where he receives nutritious meals, milk and support for his health. Today, at 4 years old, he is thriving in his development and early education. His big sisters are thriving too.

“The girls are not only academically excellent, but also possess talents that shine in their school activities,” Loan says. Diep has a beautiful singing voice and is the lead singer in her choir at school. Giang is excelling in her education, and is a leader among her peers.

Despite their intense hardship, all three children — and Houa — are doing well. They’re becoming more healthy, advancing in school and work, and growing in confidence that they can make it on their own.

And this is due in no small part to the generous Gifts of Hope they received in their greatest time of need.

“The family’s progress, no matter how small, is a testament to their determination and the support they have received,” Loan says. “It’s a hopeful sign for a brighter future.”

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Akiki knows what it’s like to go without. She’s lived without enough food, without blankets for her bed, without school supplies and more. At a very young age, she even had to adjust to life without her parents.

When her parents separated, Akiki and her sister went to live with their grandmother. Their grandmother loved them, but she was elderly and her livelihood and food came from what she grew in her garden — and it didn’t give her nearly enough to feed and support her granddaughters. She didn’t even have enough income to send them to school. So she sent them to live with their father, who by this time had remarried.

Thankfully, the girls’ father and new stepmother were kind to them — taking them in and providing them with everything they could. And here, living in this new community they learned about Holt sponsorship.

When Akiki entered Holt’s sponsorship program and was matched with a Holt sponsor, her whole life changed. She and her sister received school supplies, uniforms, nutritious daily snacks and even regular vitamins and deworming medication at Holt Uganda’s Child Health Days.

Children’s Needs Met Through Holt Sponsorship

But like all children when they first enter our programs, Akiki and her family still lived in poverty. While sponsorship covered all of her basic needs of food, education and more, she and her family still went without certain things. Her clothes were getting too small and she had holes in her socks, she shared a blanket with her sister at night, and she very much relied on the food she received at school, since there wasn’t always enough to fill her tummy at home.

But last summer, Akiki’s sponsor decided to give an above-and-beyond gift. She gave Gifts of Hope that helped fill in the spaces where Akiki went without.

Akiki’s Sponsor Gave Gifts of Hope

When Akiki’s sponsor, Sandra, decided she wanted to go above and beyond for her sponsored child, she gave in faith, without even knowing how her gift would be used. All she knew was that she wanted to bless Akiki and her family in a big way.

“The additional gifts were sent because of our love and care for children in distress,” Sandra says. “Our hope for the family is they will have a better life.”

So Sandra tacked extra funds onto her monthly sponsorship gift. And when our team in Uganda received this gift, they knew exactly how to use it to best help Akiki.   

It was one Monday last summer, Akiki remembers, that she received these gifts from her sponsor. All at once, Akiki was gifted everything she needed: new clothes, a mattress and blankets, new shoes, a school bag, and her favorite gift of all — a cow!

A Cow, and Other Gifts to Overcome Poverty

Akiki and her family were overjoyed by these gifts. In an enthusiastic report back to her sponsor, Akiki shared how she was especially thankful for her cow!

“I received a gift of a calf, a new addition to my family,” Akiki says. “Sometimes I take time to play with the calf and I cannot wait for it to grow into a big cow and give us milk and other baby calves. With plenty of milk, I hope to make more money that will keep me and my siblings in school.”

Akiki’s father and stepmother’s house doesn’t have enough space for cow, so it’s being raised by her grandfather — who is making sure all the benefits of the cow come back to his grandchildren. Not only will their calf soon be able to provide nutritious milk to Akiki and her family, but any extra milk or calves they sell will provide income to help them purchase regular food, clothing and things the girls need for school.

Holt Uganda staff referred to the young cow as “good looking” — a testament to how well Akiki’s family is taking care of it. Every day they feed their cow fresh grass, matooke peels and plenty of water. They also use the cow’s manure in their garden, which has boosted their crop production. Their cow has given them so much hope for the future.

“I received a gift of a calf, a new addition to my family. Sometimes I take time to play with the calf and I cannot wait for it to grow into a big cow and give us milk and other baby calves. With plenty of milk, I hope to make more money that will keep me and my siblings in school.”

Akiki, Holt sponsored child in Uganda

While the cow was the most exciting part of the gift for Akiki, the other items are just as lifechanging. Her new clothes will fit her for months or even years to come, and she’s no longer cold at night with her new mattress and blankets. All of these gifts from her sponsor have blessed her, and are even inspiring her to do well in school.

“Every time I sleep on my new mattress with new bed sheets, I feel so happy,” Akiki says. “Daily I wake up so confident to go to school.”

Holt Sponsorship & Gifts of Hope Bless Children

Every day, Holt sponsors go above and beyond for their sponsored children, helping to fill in the gaps left by poverty. Sponsors provide nutritious daily food, clothing, medical care, educational support, school supplies and more — all gifts that help families overcome poverty, preventing family separation. Some sponsors, like Sandra, decide to help even more through Gifts of Hope or other special designated gifts to their sponsored children. And for the children on the receiving end of these gifts and faithful support, life is never the same. And like Akiki, they are so thankful.

“May God bless my sponsor and give her whatever she wants for her family,” Akiki says. “I love her and thank God for her!”

Give a Gift of Hope

Give a lifesaving or life-changing tangible gift to a child or family in need. And this holiday season, give in honor of a loved one and they’ll receive a free card!

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