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.

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Each time AJ Formica threw javelin at his track meets last spring, he had a little extra motivation. Because with each throw, he was raising money to help a family like the one he was born to in Inner Mongolia. 

It all started the previous year on June 7, the anniversary of the day AJ was adopted 14 years ago. Each year on this day, AJ and his parents — Joe and Ellen Formica — watch the videos from when they first met. They reminisce about how 2-and-a-half-year-old AJ immediately stole their hearts, and how smart he was to recognize his adoptive parents from the photobook they had sent him at his orphanage months prior.

Adopted From Inner Mongolia

While AJ was adopted from China, he is from the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia that borders the country of Mongolia — and has always more closely identified with Mongolia as his birth country and culture. Growing up, he heard stories of the wide, expansive grasslands and yurt-like homes that his parents remember from their trip to Inner Mongolia to adopt him.  

AJ’s parents were matched with AJ through Holt’s special needs program in China at the time, as AJ was born with a cleft lip and a developmental difference in his left ear that resulted in hearing loss. While AJ was a baby in China, he had surgery to correct his cleft lip. Shortly after AJ arrived home in Pennsylvania, he had four additional ear surgeries to help restore his hearing. Because of the early care he received in the orphanage, as well as once he was adopted, these medical obstacles are of no consequence to 17-year-old AJ today.

“From the minute he came into our home from China, and we ate at the dining room table, he would reach across the table and hold my wife’s hand while they ate,” Joe says. “We knew we had adopted someone very special. And it’s not his intelligence and his athleticism, but it’s what’s in his heart.”

Although, it’s become apparent that AJ is quite the gifted athlete as well.

A Standout in Javelin

AJ first tried javelin almost by accident, when he unknowingly as a first-timer signed up for a clinic with a group of experienced javelin throwers. He remembers seeing the javelin spin like a helicopter through the air when he threw it.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” AJ says. But from that point on he was hooked — accepting the challenge of learning the sport.

And it turns out, with training and dedication, AJ is quite good. At the second meet he threw javelin in as a freshman, he placed first in the state. At the 2023 New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia, AJ placed second among all the freshmen.

Joe is a school counselor and sees great promise in both his son’s athleticism and high academic achievement. But he also wanted to instill in his son a heart for service, to build upon the kindness and compassion that is already so evident in AJ’s personality. So together, they began to think through a service project that would be a good fit for AJ’s interests and talents.

A Service Project for Mongolia

It was while looking through Holt’s Christmas Gifts of Hope catalog that everything came together. They saw that the catalog included the gift of a safe, warm home for a family in need — the example being a “ger,” the very yurt-like home that AJ’s parents remember seeing in Inner Mongolia.

“I was most likely born in one of those,” AJ says, “And that would be a home that my biological parents and family would have lived in in Inner Mongolia. So, we thought that would be a great way to help a family similar to my biological family.”

They came up with a fun way to raise money to purchase a ger for a family in need, creating giving tiers, and an associated cost-per-foot donation for each official throw AJ logged in his sophomore year track-and-field season. Donors could choose to pledge a $25 flat-rate “participation” level, a “bronze” rate of 1 cent per foot, “silver” at 2 cents per foot or “gold” at 5 cents per foot.

AJ reached out to all his family and friends about his goal to provide a ger to a family in Mongolia. Throughout his track-and-field season, he shared with them video and email updates about his progress.

AJ was so appreciative and humbled by the generosity of the 25 donors who stepped up to give — all people who had been part of AJ’s life since he was adopted. Together they raised $3,500, enough to provide a brand new ger to a family in need.

AJ sent the money he raised to Holt, not knowing who exactly he would be helping in Mongolia. But across the world, his gift was about to be the miracle a family was waiting for.

A Family in Need of a Ger

Three years ago in Mongolia, Bayarmaa lost her husband to a sudden heart attack, leaving her alone to provide for her five children. Once her husband died, his side of the family made Bayarmaa and her children move out of the house they shared together. Bayarmaa rented a small apartment room, but it was cold, dirty and tiny. She had to send her two youngest children to a residential kindergarten that would keep them 24 hours during the weekdays, because there wasn’t enough room for all of them at home.

Bayarmaa worked part time at a cafeteria, but she didn’t earn enough to support all of her children — and certainly didn’t have enough to afford a bigger, safer home for them.

“This family is desperate for a ger of their own and has requested help,” reads Holt Mongolia’s intake report about the family. “A ger dwelling would ensure a place where the mother can live comfortably with her children in a safe environment, lessening the financial burden she continues to face and raising them to be well and healthy.”

When AJ sent in the funds he raised to provide a ger to a family in need, the team at Holt Mongolia knew exactly who needed it most. 

Within weeks, the funds were transferred, a ger was built, and Bayarmaa and her children moved in.

Today, they are all living together, safe and warm as winter comes. Bayarmaa’s youngest two children are receiving ongoing support from Holt sponsors and donors to ensure they can go to school, and help meet their daily needs.

Full Circle

AJ and his parents were so grateful to learn about Bayarmaa and her children, and how their service project changed their lives and will keep them safe this winter.

“We were there in June, and it was cold in June,” Joe says, remembering their trip to Inner Mongolia years ago. “I cannot imagine the winters.”

And for AJ, giving a ger is a profound connection to his beginnings in Inner Mongolia, and an opportunity for his life as a Mongolian adoptee to come full circle.

“My biological parents, whatever their circumstances were, they weren’t able to give the life they wanted for me,” AJ says, “so they trusted in Holt International to give me the life that they hoped that I would have. … Holt was able to set me up with two of the best parents in the world. I’m just grateful for Holt and everything they’ve done for me getting me to where I am today.”

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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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There’s a whole community of children who are living in and near Ulaanbaatar’s largest garbage dump. These children are often bullied at traditional school because of where they live. So instead of going to school, they rummage through the garbage with their parents — looking for items to sell. The garbage dump is a place no child should ever be. 

But thanks to Holt donors, they have another option… the Red Stone School! 

The Red Stone School is a safe place uniquely designed for these children to learn and grow. They also receive a warm, nutritious meal every day, have dedicated teachers who help them catch up in their education, and even have access to showers and a laundry facility. 

But your help goes even further for these precious children. 

 “Earlier this year, Holt donors provided emergency food supplies to 25 families,” says Paul Kim, the director of Holt’s Mongolia program. “In addition, our team provided trainings for the students, including internet safety, anti-bullying, traffic safety, health and hygiene education and vocational training for the parents.” 

“To date, over 200 children have graduated from this program, taking them away from the dump, and providing them an opportunity for a much brighter future.” 

Paul Kim, Holt’s Mongolia program director

Not only are children receiving the education, food and hygiene help they need for today, but also the family support and empowerment that will help them to overcome poverty someday. 

“To date over 200 children have graduated from this program,” Paul says, “taking them away from the dump, and providing them an opportunity for a much brighter future.” 

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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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This past year, you helped meet urgent needs and better the lives of over 1.5 million children, families and other individuals through Holt programs and services across the globe. In many countries, your donations helped offset rising costs for basic needs due to inflation — ensuring children and families could afford food, clothing, school supplies and other essentials. In countries like India where the economic pressures of the pandemic significantly increased the risk of child marriage, you helped keep girls safe and in school. You helped provide safe bathrooms for teen girls and break ground on a new preschool for children in Ethiopia. And in November, you helped protect international adoption as a path for children to have a permanent, loving family. Thank you for everything you did to help children and families thrive in 2022 and look forward to a brighter year ahead!

In 2022, Holt donors’ global giving provided direct services to 387,202 children — helping them grow and thrive and reach their potential in life. In Mongolia, donors helped build several new “gers,” or traditional Mongolian homes, for children and their families who were living in unsafe conditions. You delivered emergency food to families living in poverty and provided urgently needed medical care such as lifesaving heart surgeries to children with special healthcare needs. For many children, you helped provide nurturing care while they waited to rejoin their birth families or join loving, permanent families through adoption. This impact number also includes adoptee youth who benefited from Holt’s robust post-adoption services in 2022.

After a slowdown in 2021 due to the pandemic, the number of children united with adoptive families increased this past year — from 274 in 2021 to 337 in 2022. Of the 337 children, 190 joined families through international adoption, 133 joined domestic adoptive families in their birth country and 14 infants were adopted domestically in the U.S. In 2022, 95% of children of children adopted internationally were older than age 5, part of a sibling group or had at least some minor special needs — and 63% had moderate to major special needs. While international adoption continues to decline overall, we feel hopeful that so many families continue to open their hearts and homes to the many older children, sibling groups and children with disabilities or other needs who are growing up in orphanages and foster homes around the world. And we are grateful for Holt sponsors and donors whose generous gifts provide the nurturing, attentive care children need while they wait to join their families, help fund adoption grants so financial barriers never stand between a child and a family, and also support the social work required to ensure every adoption goes through the most rigorous ethical process. Lastly, our hearts continue to go out to the many families in the China adoption process whose process was stalled at the beginning of the pandemic and who are still waiting to unite with their child in China.

For every child and family joined through adoption, Holt offers lifelong post-adoption services. By supporting Holt, donors help to ensure that adult adoptees can access copies of their adoption file, receive help and support with a birth family search, have important citizenship questions answered or receive counseling to cope with adoption-related issues that come up throughout their lives. When parenting issues arise that may or may not be adoption-related, adoptive parents can also receive help and support through our Post Adoption Coaching & Education program. Birth parents can reach out to Holt’s post-adoption team for support and counseling.  And every summer, youth adoptees have the opportunity to attend Holt Adoptee Camp — a weeklong overnight camp where they can connect with other adoptees and discuss issues surrounding adoption. After two years of virtual camp, Holt’s in-person camp resumed in summer 2022 with 213 campers, ages 9-17, and adult adoptee counselors attending across the country!

Holt’s vision is a world where every child has a loving, secure home. But before ever pursuing adoption for a child, we first strive to help children grow up in the loving care of their birth family. In 2022, you made this outcome possible for 32,687 children who were at risk of separating from their families due to poverty, and other hardships. In 2022, the impact of the pandemic could still be felt in many of the communities where you help children and families in need. Many families who lost jobs and income during the early days of the pandemic continued to struggle as they rebuilt their lives and sought new ways to support their children. At the same time, costs for basic needs rose in 2022 due to global inflation — making it even harder for families to afford essentials like food, warm clothing and fuel to heat their homes in winter. In Mongolia, for example, costs increased by 28% on average with the price of fuel doubling in 2022.  

But thanks to you, over 32,600 children and their families received the vital support and services they needed to make it through this tough economic year. Your generous gifts provided emergency food, medicines and heating fuel. You also helped 4,189 parents, grandparents or other adults participate in economic empowerment programs to help them earn a more stable income and better support the children in their care. Some parents attended job skills training while others received microloans or gifts of livestock to help them start a small business. And for 18,819 children, adults and other individuals, you also provided COVID-specific support such as emergency food or healthcare.

When you provide the supplies, uniforms, books and scholarships kids need to attend school, you empower them to one day escape poverty. You help protect them from child labor, child marriage, child trafficking and child abuse. And you give them the tools to not only lift themselves out of poverty, but to lift their families and communities up and out as well. In many vulnerable communities this past year, you supported early education programs for preschool-age children — giving them a strong educational foundation and, in many cases, providing a safe place to go so their parents can work during the day. In Ethiopia, you also supported efforts to expand Holt Ethiopia’s early education model to 200 government schools — training about 400 teachers, and ultimately reaching an approximate 10,000 children.

In some countries, the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic — compounded by global inflation — significantly increased the risk of children dropping out of school and being forced into early marriage. But you made it possible for many girls in India, Ethiopia and other countries where child marriage is common to stay in school and avoid early marriage this past year. You not only provided the tangible supplies they needed, but also dedicated social workers who advocated for them to stay in school.

As costs rose due to global inflation this past year, families and caregivers struggled to afford their most basic needs — in particular, food for their children.  But because of you, Holt teams were able to deliver emergency food to children and families living everywhere from tent camps for migrant communities in Bengaluru, India to the city garbage dump in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In the Philippines, you supported a supplemental feeding program through our local partner that aims to supply 300 additional calories per day for a child’s first 120 days, a critical time of physical and cognitive development. And through Holt’s Child Health Days in rural Uganda, you helped provide nutrition screening, Vitamin A supplements (pictured above) and deworming for roughly 126,000 children.

In communities around the world, you also supported Holt’s child nutrition program trainings to help parents, caregivers, teachers and others improve the overall health and nutrition of the children in their care. In total in 2022, Holt trained over 6,600 individuals— teaching them everything from the importance of a balanced diet to how to track children’s growth to appropriate positioning and feeding techniques for children with disabilities.

In total in 2022, your global giving also helped provide 1,791,954 meals through Holt-supported programs.

Also due to global inflation in 2022, many of our childcare partners struggled to maintain the same high standard of care for children. In Thailand, the cost of gas doubled — doubling the cost to drive foster children with special healthcare needs to and from doctor visits in Bangkok. In other cases, Holt’s orphanage partners faced higher costs for food, diapers and other basic needs. As more children came into orphanage care during the pandemic, some orphanage partners also struggled to meet the needs of a greater number of children. But because of your kind giving this past year, 4,405 children living in orphanages, group homes or foster families received the essential food, clothing and medical care they needed, in addition to safe places to live and nurturing care from devoted caregivers. You also supported efforts to reunite orphaned and vulnerable children with their birth families or unite them with families through adoption.

Through your generous global giving in 2022, you helped provide routine vaccines to prevent measles and other childhood diseases. You supported physical, occupational and speech therapies for kids with disabilities and other needs. You provided eyeglasses, wheelchairs and hearing aids. You helped provide lifesaving surgeries, such as a heart surgery for Zaya in Mongolia. You provided attentive pre- and post-op care at Peace House, a special medical foster home in China. You helped children live longer, fuller and healthier lives, and in many cases, provided medical care to their parents.

In 2022, Holt donors gave 4,661, gifts to children and families in need! You gave gifts of livestock such as cows, goats, chickens and pigs to help nourish families and provide extra income. You gave garden kits to help families grow food at home, warm coats for children living in cold climates, and school supplies and scholarships for kids at risk of dropping out of school. You provided nurturing caregivers and supplies for children living in orphanages, foster families and group homes. You helped provide life-changing surgeries, therapies and medical care for children with healthcare needs or disabilities. You also gave to Holt’s Where Most Needed fund so that our staff and partners in the field could address immediate, vitals needs that would otherwise go unmet. You made a powerful difference in the lives of so many children around the world, and we’re so grateful for you.

Thank you for everything you did for children and families in 2022! You’re amazing!

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When Atlan’s family received a big bag of noodles, he immediately picked it up and hugged it. That’s how much even the littlest children are thankful for emergency food deliveries, made possible by Holt donors. 

This children and families who received these deliveries live at the edge of the garbage dump in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They truly live hand to mouth, sometimes even rummaging through the refuse to find their next meal… That’s why the gift of an emergency food delivery was so important! 

“These families regularly experience food insecurity,” says Paul Kim, Holt’s director of programs for Mongolia who was there to help deliver the food. 

With funds from Holt donors, social workers in Mongolia bought and brought them bags of noodles, rice, flour, bread, cooking oil, milk and more. 

“Any additional food they can get helps them feed their children and themselves. The families were all very grateful, and expressed their thanks to us.”

Paul Kim, Mongolia Program Director

“Any additional food they can get helps them feed their children and themselves,” says Paul. “The families were all very grateful, and expressed their thanks to us.” 

This emergency food delivery included rice, flour, cooking oil and more. And as you can tell by the photo, Atlan was so happy to get a bag of noodles! 

These food deliveries help to fill empty bellies, and give these children and families the dignity of safe and nutritious food. 

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 Food Deliveries to the Garbage Dump in Mongolia appeared first on Holt International.

There can be a lot of reasons why someone chooses to sponsor a specific child. Maybe it’s because of where the child lives, her age, or because she reminds them of another child in their life. Deciding which child to sponsor is so important and so personal — I know it was for me.

I sponsor 7-year-old Duy in Danang, Vietnam. I wanted to sponsor him because I was also born in Danang. In fact, I started my career as a social worker there before moving to the U.S. to work at Holt’s headquarters. And every day, I saw the difference Holt sponsorship makes.

Right now, Duy lives in an orphanage. But I hope that someday soon he will be reunified with his birth mom. Prior to being admitted into the orphanage, he didn’t attend school because his birth mom moved from place to place and their life was very unstable. But now, he’s in school because of sponsorship. I know that education will change his future. I know this, because I’ve seen it happen again and again for children.

Every day in Danang, I saw children reunified with their birth families, or join permanent families of their own through domestic or international adoption. I saw how sponsorship helps children have nutritious food, routine medical care and attend school. I also saw how the monthly support of sponsors helped strengthen and improve overall systems of care — such as increasing the number of caregivers in orphanages, providing nutrition trainings for orphanage staff and much more.

This life-changing help happens not just in Danang, but in every city and village where sponsored children live.

I believe in sponsorship because I’ve seen again and again how it changes children’s lives. I truly believe it will change Duy’s life, too.

Become a Child Sponsor

Connect with a child. Provide for their needs. Share your heart for $43 per month.

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The post Why I Sponsor Duy in Vietnam appeared first on Holt International.

One day in Gizachew Gebre-Michael’s high school class in Soda, Ethiopia, he saw a group of girls huddled together. One of them had an embarrassing event surrounding her period. He tried to divert attention away, but boys in the class had already begun teasing the girl.

She left his classroom that day, and he never saw her at school again.

“I wasn’t able to convince her parents to bring her back to school,” Gizachew says. “The last update I learned about her is that she got married.”

This teacher’s story sums up the issue of what it’s like to be a girl pursuing education in rural Ethiopia. And sadly, this young woman’s story is not unique.

What It’s Like to Be a Girl in Rural Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, 55 percent of women are illiterate. And in a related statistic, 40 percent of girls get married before age 18. That means that both early marriage and lack of education are a true danger for girls in Soda — and they’re related. For generations, girls have dropped out of school or not even attended in the first place.

As a girl in a place like Soda, you have to fight for your education. But both poverty and stigma are fighting against them.

Many families struggle to earn a reliable income in Soda and even struggle to feed their children. But still, poverty affects one group of people the most — girls and women. And this disparity follows girls to school.

“Even for girls who are going to school, there is a labor demand,” explains Zerihun Gultie, country director for Holt Ethiopia. “She is expected to work at home again [after school] — collecting firewood, collecting water. Also handling household chores.”

At school, the boy students are given more attention by the teachers than the girl students. Eventually, many girls — or their parents — decide it’s not worth their time. Additionally, many girls are teased at school. And this teasing is centered around one very taboo topic in their culture and community. It’s something they can’t talk about at home, and certainly can’t talk about at school: Menstruation.

So last year, Holt Ethiopia gathered teachers, students and parents to talk about just that.

One Very Taboo Topic

Zerihun and other Holt Ethiopia staff gathered a group of local teachers, students and parents from this rural community. They asked about girls’ attendance, what they struggled with and what kind of support they needed to continue in school. They also extended this conversation out into the community via a survey. The results were confirming, but nonetheless shocking.  

Holt staff learned that 94 percent of girls left school for 6-10 days per month during their periods. And 78 percent of girls have experienced harassment and being laughed at due to menstruation. This is a huge reason why girls were dropping out at record rates — why so many girls never completed their education and instead got married. Why the cycle of poverty and gender disparity continued into the next generation.

But to keep girls in school here, they need special support — especially surrounding feminine hygiene.

That’s why in 2021, with funding from Rotary International and generous Holt donors, Holt Ethiopia began a new program in Soda’s high school. The aim? To keep girls in school. To see them through to graduation.

Informed by the local community of teachers, parents — and most importantly, high school girls in Soda — Zerihun and his team knew where they needed to start: providing girls at Soda High School with girl-specific support and resources.

And Fana and Gelila are two of the brave girls at the school who helped lead the charge.

Fighting the Stigma of Menstruation

Fana and Gelila are best friends. Sixteen and 17 years old, they’ve grown up together as neighbors in Soda, Ethiopia. Fana is the oldest girl in her family of seven kids, and Gelila is the oldest of eight siblings in her family.

They’ve bonded as neighbors, oldest sisters in their families, playmates, and classmates since primary school. They laugh and talk for hours. And now, they’re taking on a more serious task – advocating for girls’ education in their local high school.

Fana and Gelila are grateful for the education they’re receiving, and want to help pave the way for younger girls in their community — advocating for them now, so that they can follow their example and learn to advocate for themselves.

Together with 23 others, Fana and Gelila became part of a girls’ advisory committee at the high school in Soda. The committee regularly meets to talk about current issues, and discuss what they can do to help educate their peers about feminine health. Last year, the committee attended a training on menstrual health management along with teachers and health workers in their community.

Then, on May 28 of last year, the committee helped organize a school-wide celebration for Global Menstrual Hygiene Day. Together with parents, teachers and community members, all students at the school — girls and boys — learned more about feminine hygiene management, how it’s normal and an issue that shouldn’t be stigmatized. The official themes of the event included “End Period Stigma!”, “End Period Poverty” and “Period Friendly For All!” 

While it takes years, maybe even generations, to end such a deep-rooted stigma like this, events like the school’s Global Menstrual Hygiene Day are a step in the right direction. But there’s another critical component that can have more immediate results, and that’s making school a safer place for girls.

A Safe Place for Girls

“In general,” says Zerihun, “the school is not conducive for girls. Especially related to feminine hygiene.”

Before Holt came to Soda, there was only one main bathroom facility in the whole school compound for all the students — both boys and girls. With such a lack of privacy, some girls would wait until after school ended to use the facilities, waiting until all the boys went home.

“Even if I came to school with prior preparation,” says Fana, “I didn’t have enough confidence to concentrate on my lesson in the class because I am worried for boys to tease me if I might not manage my period-menstruation.” But now, Fana and girls like her have a safe place to go.

There was one room in the school compound that the students never had access to before. It hadn’t been used in years, and needed some repairs. And now, through the combined efforts of Rotary International, Holt donors, local community members and Holt’s team in Ethiopia, it’s been renovated as a washroom just for the girls. It’s private and clean and always available to them. And it’s right next to another new support service for girls at Soda High School, the girls resource center.

The new resource center is a converted classroom where girls can receive feminine hygiene supplies, use the private bathroom facility, and lay down if they are feeling unwell. It’s a safe place where girls can connect with each other and with female teachers. Not only is it a needed resource for hygiene management and support, but it tells girls in Soda that they’re important, and that they belong at school.

“Before, I and the other girls I know in this school had been missing classes when we see our period,” says Gelila. “Now, we are happy, we feel safe and healthy. We know what to do if there is an emergency in the school.”

A New Future for Girls in Soda

The committee, events and resource center are just the beginning of Holt’s initiative to make Soda High School a girl-friendly and girl-safe place for students. There are plans to build a new, larger restroom facility for students, as well as continuing programs to fight the stigma surrounding menstruation.

For girls in Soda — girls like Fana and Gelila — school and life will never be the same.

“Now,” says Fana, “we can freely and shamelessly learn.”

“Now, we can freely and shamelessly learn.”

These best friends are committed to continuing, and finishing, their high school education — adding “graduation” to the long list of life events they’ve experienced together. And thanks to brave girls like them and committed supporters across the world, this will be the same story for generations to come of girls in Soda.

Send a Girl to School, Protect Her From Child Marriage

This year-end, choose for your gift to help a girl stay in school. You’ll keep her safe from child marriage, domestic violence and continuing poverty.

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The post A Safe Space for Girls appeared first on Holt International.