A 4-year-old stands on a busy sidewalk in Vietnam. She sees a group of strangers and walks up to them. Wordlessly, she holds up some pieces of paper and goes around to them one by one. They’re careful not to make eye contact with her. They shoo her away. She goes back to the street where her mom is waiting, and they keep walking, looking for more people to approach.

This was Tú’s life from its earliest stages. At just 4 years old, she began selling lottery tickets alongside her mom. Selling lottery tickets earns very little income, and the tickets hold very little value for the people who buy them. As a result, selling lottery tickets is akin to panhandling. People buy them out of compassion for the person selling them.

And out of desperation, parents often recruit their young children to sell them — hoping to invoke more pity, compassion and sales.

No one chooses this life. Tú’s mom sells lottery tickets because she has few other options. Her husband is no longer in the picture. She lives with her two children and four other family members in a charity house built by the government. Their entire household income is $473 USD a month, which includes a salary Tú’s uncle earns from his construction job — and the $4 a day that Tú’s mom earns from selling lottery tickets and also shelling cashews. As she grew, Tú helped support her family — also contributing ticket earnings of about $4 per day. But the family’s income barely covered the needs of seven people.

Tú is 16 now, and on a rainy day in December our Holt team walks down the trail leading to her house. Their home is surrounded by ponds used for raising and harvesting shrimp and fish. A narrow stretch of grass between the pond and a concrete wall leads to their tall brick home. Everyone is soaked by the time we reach it.

Tú comes to greet us. She’s bubbly and welcoming — her cute bangs framing a face with bright eyes and a warm smile. She’s excited to tell us about herself and how Holt donors have been helping her.

Dropped Out of School

A few years ago, when she was just 12 years old, Tú decided to drop out of school.  

“I went to school, but I don’t achieve good grades, I didn’t achieve a good outcome,” says Tú, “that’s why I decided to not continue school.”

This is a common occurrence for children living in poverty who aren’t doing well in school, and who don’t have the support they need to continue. If a child is part of a wealthier family, their family may pay for additional tutoring — or even go to a private school where they’ll receive more support in their education. But this is not an option for children from poor households. Many children simply drop out and start working to support their families.

This was Tú’s reality.

Tú decided to continue selling lottery tickets with her mom. But she soon found that an already difficult sell was only becoming harder.

“I was happy because I could accompany my mom,” Tú says about selling lottery tickets. “But I was not happy because, you know, the sell is very slow.”

Over the past several years, the Vietnamese government has discouraged the buying and selling of lottery tickets — especially with children. While not a viable option for people to rise out of poverty, when children engage in the practice, it’s also essentially child labor. Suddenly, Tú and her mom weren’t selling as much. Trying to abide by the government’s new laws, people weren’t buying lottery tickets anymore.  

As we speak with Tú in the back, open-air room of her house, the rain begins to pound even harder — making loud thumping noises on the tin roof. While we’re talking, her brother comes home from school. Although he’s 14 now, he’s small and appears to be about 8 or 9 years old. This is due to severe malnutrition. When a child doesn’t have enough food to eat, they’re often stunted in their growth. In impoverished communities across Vietnam, many children have little more than rice to eat. They rarely get enough protein and other vital nutrients. And they quite often go without meals. Both Tú and her brother have likely skipped many meals through their childhood. Their mom is tiny, too. Less than 5 feet tall and extremely slight. This is what poverty looks like.

And poverty, it seemed, is what Tú was destined for.

Holt Vocational Training in Vietnam

Tú had a sixth-grade education. And now her plan for making money wasn’t going to work, either. But Tú was smart and determined — and she kept her eye out for any opportunity to escape her situation.

“When I was selling the tickets, I found I could not earn much income,” Tú says. “But I saw people in town who did nails and hair in a salon.”

This caught her attention. What if she could do this too? It would certainly be a more stable and higher-paying option than lottery tickets. But this would require training, which required money — money her family didn’t have.

Thankfully, around the world, Holt provides just this kind of support for young adults and parents struggling to support their children. In Vietnam, Holt’s economic empowerment program helps parents and youth just Tú.

Soon, Holt donors stepped in and began making Tú’s dreams a reality.

The local government had identified Tú’s family as needing help meeting their basic needs. As in many of the countries where Holt works, the government of Vietnam has a strong relationship with Holt — and often works in partnership with our local team to serve children and families in need. The government reached out to Holt and shortly afterward, a Holt social worker, Ms. Phum, came to Tú’s house. She sat down with Tú and began talking about options for her future. Since she wasn’t going to school anymore, she’d have to plan for her future – plan for a life where she could rise above poverty.

Tú shared about the hair and nail salons she’d pass in town, and how she dreamed of working in one someday.

“I like it. I love it,” Tú says. “So I decided to do it.”

Ms. Phum enrolled Tú in Holt’s donor-funded vocational training program. Through this program, youth like Tú receive job skills training to help them find a job and earn a sustainable  income. Some choose to open a food cart. Others raise animals or learn administrative skills. With the generous support of donors, Holt helps provide the startup costs for a business or, as in Tú’s case, the tools and training required to learn the vocation.

Holt helped connect Tú with a woman in town who owns a salon. Every day, Tú rides her bike 15 minutes into town to observe, learn and progress in her skills. After just six months, she has already mastered the basic skills of manicure and pedicure, simple haircuts, hair washing and more — and will soon end her apprenticeship and begin working as a professional.

A Beautiful Future for Tú

During our visit, we leave Tú’s house and travel to the salon to see her in action.

The salon is a small shop on a busy road that is good for business. A ramp leads up to the glass-fronted room, and inside it feels clean and well set up. Several salon chairs and tables for doing nails fill the small room.

Tú’s instructor owns her own salon and is successfully running her business. She has long, auburn-dyed hair that stretches long down her back. Her mannerisms are soft and patient. She is training several other girls in addition to Tú. She sits down and allows Tú to paint her nails, serving as the model for her pupil to demonstrate her skills.

Tu smooths the pink polish over her trainer’s fingernail, hunched over her hand in concentration. She quickly and fluidly performs the motion, and the result is perfectly painted nails.

Tú is so proud of herself. She is also very thankful to everyone who helped her achieve her goal — especially the donors who funded her training.

“I would say thank you very much for your support,” she says, when asked what she’d like to say to them.

By the end of this year, her training should be complete. She will need additional support to start her business — and hopes that Holt donors can help cover these costs as well.

“After my graduation from the vocational training, I want more tools that can help me to open a small shop,” Tú says. “But I’m thinking about how I can get the money to purchase those things.”

As we finish up our time with Tú at the salon, an elderly woman shuffles up to the front of the salon. She’s selling lottery tickets. She wears a pointed hat, covered by a yellow poncho over her clothes. She lingers, asking again and again if anyone from our group wants to purchase one. Her eyes are sad. After a short, polite “no thank you,” no one engages with her. She shuffles away. 

The timing is almost poetic — as if this elderly woman symbolizes the difficult future that is no longer Tú’s. Instead of becoming like this woman, and her mom, Tú has another option. She’ll have the skills and opportunity to make her own way in the world and overcome poverty. As she gives her clients beautiful hair and nails, what’s most beautiful is the difference she’ll be making for her own life.

Lift a Mom Out of Poverty

When you give a gift of chickens, a garden or a sewing machine, you will bless a mom and her children.

choose your gift

The post A Beautiful Future appeared first on Holt International.

When Nalini was just a baby, her father abandoned his family — leaving her mother, Asha, to care for two children on her own.

Scared and unsure of the future, Asha packed up all their belongings and left their village in Tamil Nadu. Jobs were scarce in her village, especially for a single mother…

With her two children in her arms and all the money she had, Asha headed toward the city of Bangalore in search of opportunity and hope.

A New Start

An estimated 600 million internal migrants live in India, driven from rural villages to crowded cities like Bangalore in search of work. Millions of migrants, like Nalini and her family, live in poverty — only now in an overcrowded and overwhelming urban setting. Many have trouble finding jobs, often due to language barriers. Internal migrants come from all over India, a country where more than 1,600 languages — including dialects and tribal tongues — are spoken.

With great perseverance, Asha found a job as a housemaid. But when her employers discovered she’d have to bring her two young children along, she faced an impossible decision.

“I didn’t know where to leave my kids because I needed to work,” Asha says, her eyes gleaming with tears. “And if I brought my kids to my place of work, they would not give me a job.”

Like many children in migrant communities in India, 2-year-old Nalini and her 5-year-old brother were left home alone while their mother worked.

Asha kissed them goodbye and locked the door behind her — doing what she could to keep them safe in her absence. Nalini and her brother were too young to be left alone. But even older children face real dangers when left unsupervised in the slums, including the risk of trafficking and exploitation.

Asha could only bear to leave her children alone for a couple of hours, but that meant sacrificing the income they needed to survive. She could barely afford daily essentials, let alone daycare. She didn’t know where to turn.

That’s when she found a Holt-supported childcare center, and everything changed.

Hope for Migrant Families in India

When Nalini was 2 and a half, her mom heard about a childcare center free to migrant families. Now she could work without worrying about her children’s safety. She could earn an income to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.

Holding her children’s hands, she walked into the childcare center, a four-story building in the middle of several impoverished neighborhoods of migrant families. The smell of cooking spices filled the air, hinting at a fresh meal to come later in the day. Women in colorful saris greeted the children, taking their hands to lead them into the classroom.

“I would drop them here at 9 a.m. and pick them back up at 4 p.m.,” Asha explains. “I was able to work those long hours because both of my kids were taken care of.”

The Child Development Center (CDC) is run by Holt’s partner organization in Bangalore, Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT), and has served nearly 17,000 children since opening in 2013. Designed for underserved migrant families, the CDC offers free, nurturing daycare and a strong early foundation for education.

What began in one neighborhood has expanded across Bangalore, with vibrant centers planted in areas where childcare is scarce. And while the CDC is the only option most migrant families have, the standards VCT holds are high — often exceeding those of costly private daycares. Using a Montessori approach, the CDC fosters holistic development with a focus on life skills, values and developmental milestones.

Children ages 2-6 are grouped into four classrooms — Caterpillars, Pupa, Butterflies and Bunnies — with Bunnies “hopping” into formal school when ready. Younger classes focus on sensory and motor skills through play-based learning. With children from diverse linguistic backgrounds, teachers use a language-inclusive approach to ensure every child feels seen and understood.

An Early Foundation

Now 13, Nalini sits with her mom at a small blue plastic table, just down the hall from her first classroom at the CDC. Ten years have passed since Nalini started preschool here. In the background, children sing a song about rollie pollies.

“I wish I could come to [the CDC] because I want to study here again. But I am grown up now, so I can’t,” Nalini says, smiling. “When I was small, I learned English here. They taught me rhymes and songs. I liked singing most.”

After building an early foundation of cognitive, social and emotional skills, older classes offer structured and experiential learning — helping students prepare for formal school.

In her Bunnies classroom, Nalini volunteered to be a leader. Each day, she helped sort vegetables for mealtime.

“When I was small, I liked [Ms. Shanthi, my teacher], because she was teaching well,” Nalini remembers, giggling. “She wanted to make me a leader, so I said, ‘I will lead everything in class.’”

Shanthi is a tall woman with kind eyes and a calm presence. Dressed in a light teal sari and gold bangles, she exudes warmth and patience. She has been teaching in the Bunnies classroom for 10 years. She used to work as a teacher at a formal school, which helps her prepare her students who will soon transition to a more formal learning environment. Giving students opportunities to lead, she encourages them to be active learners.

“I’d like to tell students that they [have] a great opportunity to study in this school. They should not miss this opportunity because this is good education,” Nalini says of the CDC.

For many families, the CDC offers an opportunity of a lifetime. One that will change the trajectory of their children’s lives. Because without an early educational foundation, children are behind their peers in school.

A Path to Success

Nalini’s older brother, Tejas, was one of these students.

Three years older than Nalini, Tejas was just old enough to attend formal school when they moved to Bangalore.

“When I put my son in school, he did not know how to read. He did not know anything,” Asha says. “I asked [the staff] if I could bring him to the [CDC] and he came here for one year.”

That one year made a vast difference. With support from teachers who knew Tejas and how to encourage his growth, he excelled. After graduating from the CDC, Tejas moved into formal school with the support of a Holt sponsor.

“Now he’s the first in the class. His school even thinks he will get a college scholarship,” Asha says, smiling proudly. “The only reason for all of this is because of Vathsalya.”

Holt-supported early education programs, like VCT’s, provide a launching pad for students to succeed in school. But the support from Holt sponsors is critical — providing the momentum and the financial backing for students to keep going.

Education in India

When she was 6, Nalini moved on to formal school with the support of Holt sponsors, who helped cover the cost of her fees and supplies.

“My favorite subject is English,” Nalini says. “I want to learn more English because I want to visit other countries … I want to visit South Korea and America. Wherever [I can go], I’d like to visit.”

Nalini is confident and well-spoken. She’s artistic, kind and ambitious. She’s the top of her class — something she says she’s proud of. For a girl from a slum community, Nandini ranking highest in her class is an especially great achievement. Still today, girls face gender barriers in India. In many communities, families prioritize their sons’ education over their daughters’. When resources are scarce, girls are more likely to drop out early to help support their family while their brothers attend school. Once they drop out, girls are also more likely to get married at young ages. 

We ask Nalini if she thinks it’s important for girls to go to school. She nods.

“Because in India, education is very important. Some parents did not study, and they did not get a good education,” she explains.

For many girls growing up with a similar background to Nalini, school is not guaranteed — and few have access to higher education. But thanks to her sponsors, Nalini can continue her education without the fear that this year might be her last.

We ask, “Do you think it’s harder for girls to go to school than boys?”

“No, it’s not,” Nalini says confidently. “Because India girls are very strong. They are very brave. They don’t need to worry.”

Mother and Daughter

Asha is one of those strong and brave women in India, migrating from the only home she’d known to a big city — all for the possibility of providing the best life for her children.

We ask Nalini, “What is something you love about your mom?”

“Everything I love, because she gave her life for us. Because she works hard, I want to study well,” Nalini says, looking at her mom. “I’m very grateful to my mother. She works very hard for us.”

Nalini’s mom, Asha, is part of VCT’s Income Generation Program (IGP), which has empowered her with practical training. With the support of Holt sponsors and donors, she learned tailoring, sewing and job skills to earn supplemental income to support her family. She also recently started a new job as a helper at a petrol pump, now earning a salary that allows her to better support her family’s needs. She has grown in confidence and leadership, and even found meaningful community and friendships through VCT.

Once when Nalini was young, Asha joined a group of moms and their children for an end-of-the-year dance performance. Each week, Nalini and her mom practiced their dance routine during the afternoon at the CDC. Many of the children also had single moms who Asha could relate to — giving her the community support she needed. The weekly rehearsals were just as precious as the heartwarming performance — Nalini and her mom spending time together, sharing a special mother-daughter bond.

Asha tears up as she tells us how much sponsorship and VCT’s support have meant to her. It’s been life-changing — not just for her, but for Nalini and Tejas.

“Because of VCT, both my kids are what they are today,” Asha says. “VCT will call us and ask questions, inquiring about our needs. No relatives like this ever inquire about us, but everyone in Vathsalya calls and inquires. Be it clothing or whatever, they call and say, ‘Nalini, here are some clothes for you.’ Be it a pencil, they give us everything and help us. Thank you very much.”

In Kannada, the local language in Bangalore, Vathsalya means parental love. There’s no better fitting name for VCT.

Agency to Choose Her Future

Without sponsorship, many girls living in poverty are forced to drop out of school. They face real threats of early marriage or child labor. Without support for tuition and school costs, many parents feel that the cost to educate a girl is too much.

We ask Nalini, “Some girls get married early. What would you say is a good age to get married?”

Nalini stops and thinks for a moment. “I think after they get a nice job and are educated. Then, when they feel comfortable and they’re settled in their life, I think they can get married,” she says.

Thanks to sponsorship, Nalini holds the agency to choose: marriage, education, a career — her future is hers to shape.

When we ask what Nalini wants to be when she grows up, her mom smiles and tells us, “When she was young, she played with a toy stethoscope.”

Nalini, embarrassed, covers her face with her hands and laughs.

“I would really like her to study well, go abroad and take good care of herself. But it’s not in my hands,” Asha continues.

A Girl with a Dream

Dressed in her 8^th grade school uniform, Nalini sits in a tiny, yellow child’s chair in the CDC classroom. At one time, this chair would have been the perfect size for her. When she first arrived at the CDC, it may have even been too big. But she’s grown a lot since then.

“I would like to be a doctor, because I’m very interested in science,” Nalini says. “Now, I’m trying to learn new things in science [about] humans and animals because I like research. I hope I’ll become a doctor.”

Sharmila Hepzibah, VCT’s executive director, turns toward Nalini and says, “Can you write a letter to me to say that this is what you would like to do? … I’d like to try and connect you to people who are doctors or studying science, because it’s not very easy to go to medical school. It’s very difficult. If many people are applying, very few get to go.”

She offers to check-in with Nalini monthly to help her connect with doctors in the field — and take steps toward her future.

For a girl growing up in a migrant community, many barriers stand between her and her dream. Generational poverty, limited access to quality education, health issues, threats like trafficking and child labor, gender discrimination and a lack of guidance all stand in the way of a girl reaching her full potential.

But because of the continued support she receives from her sponsors and the staff at VCT, Nalini has a path towards a bright future.

“Thank you, sponsors, for the great sponsorship. I am very thankful because you are helping us now,” Nalini says. “What to tell… no words are coming because you help us so much. Thank you.”

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The post No Words to Thank You appeared first on Holt International.

Colorful saris and shirts are strung up to dry in the street, flowing in the breeze, as we wait to meet a 10-year-old girl on her way home from school.

Months ago, we featured a drawing that a sixth-grade girl in Pune, India drew for her sponsors in the U.S. The pencil and crayon drawing depicts a girl standing next to a house. Trees and flowers sprout from a green lawn. A flock of birds glides in the air. Today, we will meet this little girl — and see her home.

A Glimpse of Her Life

As we wait, listening to the orchestra of beeping horns and motorbike engines, a little girl appears. Dressed in her school uniform — a cheery yellow polo shirt with a set of dark pants — she gives us a shy smile. Her dark curls are drawn back into pigtails with two white ribbons fluttering like butterflies on each side.

Shreedevi leads us to her home, weaving through a couple of alleyways — no more than five feet wide — dodging motorbikes and stacks of buckets that line the street. The day is warm, and the air is heavy with humidity. The cement streets are wet with dishwater from women scrubbing in buckets on their doorsteps.

She nods to us as she approaches a tan, two-story apartment. The plastic siding is adorned with printed ivy and white flowers. She leads us up two flights of stairs to her home. While we slip off our shoes, Shreedevi’s little brother pokes his head out.

As we step into her home, Shreedevi motions for us to sit on the bed. The room is barely 100 square feet — just enough for a single twin bed, a small wardrobe, a bathroom enclosed in a closet and a tiny kitchen tucked in the corner. Running water is only available for three hours in the morning. For the other 21 hours, her family must fetch water from down the street and carry it back in jugs.

“This is my home,” Shreedevi says, smiling.

A One-Room Home

With three children and Shreedevi’s mom and dad, a total of five live here, in this one room.

Shreedevi has two little brothers, ages 6 and 8. The youngest sits quietly on the bed while he pencils in the names of fruits in his school workbook. I hear a rustling noise and peer under the bed, where the other brother lies with a mischievous grin, holding a soccer ball.

Her family has lived in this room for six years. When Shreedevi was a toddler, she and her parents moved to Pune from a small village in Karnataka, a neighboring state.

“It was a remote place. There was no work opportunity there,” Shreedevi’s mom says. “There are educational schools there, but not like Pune, which are much more advanced than in the village.”

Paavani, Shreedevi’s mom, works as a babysitter in the community. She has kind eyes and wears an indigo kurta with jade green bangles.

Before hearing about sponsorship through Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK), Holt’s longtime partner in India, Paavani says life was really difficult.  

“We are from a very poor background. Sometimes I had to leave my three children back at home and go to work,” she says, looking off into the distance. “It was very difficult to manage with three kids and the house expenses. We were not aware of anyone giving support. But we heard about a few families who are under support [from Holt]. From them, we got to know about BSSK.”

Because Shreedevi is in Holt’s child sponsorship program, her education, healthcare and food are covered. Even when her family may face financial hardship, the generous support of sponsors ensures that she can stay in school or receive the medical care she needs if she is sick.

When struggling with finances, many families living in poverty are faced with no choice but to take their children out of school. The cost of books, uniforms and other school supplies can overwhelm families who are scraping by month by month.

And often, girls are the first to be pulled out of school due to cultural norms, especially in slum communities where economic pressures are high. Sadly, when girls don’t stay in school, they face the risks of child labor or early marriage.

“Early marriages cut short their childhood, compromise their health and trap them in cycles of poverty,” says Chaitrali, a member of BSSK’s educational support team. “Keeping girls in school is one of the most powerful ways to protect their rights, ensure dignity and unlock their potential to shape a better future.”

And because of the support of sponsors, Shreedevi’s future looks bright.

A Girl with Dreams

When she grows up, Shreedevi would like to be a police officer.

Paavani smiles. “I am confident that Shreedevi is going to grow up big and become independent,” she says. “Since your help, my children have become smarter and more active than before.”

While we talk, Paavani pulls out a Marathi-to-English chart that they use to practice at home. Paavani encourages her children to practice language every day. At school, Shreedevi’s lessons are taught in both Marathi and English.

Marathi is the local language in Pune, one of 1,600 languages spoken in India.

“My favorite subject is math,” Shreedevi says eagerly. “And… Marathi is my least favorite.”

Most days, Shreedevi’s father takes her to school on his motorbike. He works as a driver around Pune. Some days she walks to school instead, which takes 15 minutes.

Shreedevi shares that she likes playing kho kho, a tag game, with her friends at school. She also likes to read books. Sadly, her school doesn’t have a library.

Instead, she visits the BSSK library program, called Kahaniyon ki Duniya, or World of Stories. Supported by Holt sponsors and donors, the library is located at the DEESHA in the heart of the slum community where Shreedevi lives.

The DEESHA stands for Development of Education Environment Social Health Awareness. But in Marathi, disha means “direction” or “guidance.” There is no better name to describe this place.

Children and teens gather here after school. Some come to read at the library, while others come for help with schoolwork. BSSK social workers check in, making sure every child is safe and supported. Each day, students gather for a guided discussion. These are special, age-appropriate sessions where they discuss healthy relationships, domestic violence, inequality, child marriage and more.

Their mothers come to the DEESHA too. In group trainings, they learn about nutrition, hygiene and parenting. They learn a lot — like the importance of feeding their children a diverse and nutritious diet, why their children should wash their bare feet before stepping into their homes or why time for self-care is important for parenting.

This is a special place — one that is breaking the cycle of poverty. And it’s in the middle of Shreedevi’s neighborhood.

A Place of Imagination

Last year, Shreedevi read 40 books at the library program. She even got an award and a medal for her reading. Her goal is to read 60 books this year.

“Storybooks and Hindi books are my favorite,” Shreedevi says.

The library program provides a safe space for children to come and read. Instead of focusing on academic books, the program encourages children to explore stories with wonder and freedom.

“When they read at school, they are expected to determine a moral judgement or give a report about the book. They are scared of answering questions,” says Vaishali, BSSK’s educational support program director. “But we don’t want them to fear books. We want them to realize that books are not scary. We want the children to touch them and make the books their own.”

BSSK provides books of all types and reading levels, rotating the collection every couple of weeks. For two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, children from all around the community show up at the World of Stories library program to read.

Like a sanctuary, the DEESHA provides a safe place for children to go every day. The space is quiet yet vibrant, with woven mats laid across the tile floors for reading. Butterflies and tigers are painted on the outer wall beside a rainbow hopscotch — its colors faded by years of joyful play.

This peaceful place of imagination and wonder stands in stark contrast to the loud, cramped streets of the surrounding slum community.

Shreedevi’s home is only a 10-minute walk away.

The House of Her Dreams

As we talk in Shreedevi’s home, the soccer ball rolls around the floor as her two brothers dribble back and forth.

Shreedevi enjoys listening to music and dancing. She likes to play badminton with her friends. She also mentions that she likes to draw.

I nod, pulling a little pencil and crayon drawing from my bag. As I place her drawing in her hands, Shreedevi’s eyes widen and she grins, speaking quickly in Marathi.

“She is so shocked to see her drawing come back,” Vaishali translates, smiling. “She is very happy to see something she has made.”

Shreedevi holds her drawing in her hand — and for the rest of the visit, doesn’t let it go.

The green lawn and the flowers are so vibrant that they seem to sprout off the page. I ask Shreedevi about this home.

“In the future, I want to have this kind of house,” she explains. “It has flowers. It has a tree. And the house is by itself.”

Where Shreedevi lives, there are no flowers. There are no trees. Few homes have much more than a doorway to let in natural light. The buildings rise close together, blocking out the sky. One-room homes are stacked on top of one another — a living space shared by four, five, six or more family members.

Her dream home has open spaces. A place to play. A yard to run around in, with flowers and trees. A space that is just for her — to grow and dream.

Mother and Daughter

Paavani squeezes her daughter’s arm as they look at the drawing together. She calls Shreedevi “sweetie” at home.

“I am happy she is able to put her dream on the paper. I wish that she would have a house like this in the future,” Paavani says.

When Paavani was 17, she was arranged to be married. She tells us that she graduated from high school and then her parents sent her to meet her husband.

“Because we lived in such a remote place, the studies of the school were not advanced enough for me to get a job there or study further. That’s why my parents got me married,” Paavani tells us. “They married me into another poor family. If they could have given me a good family, maybe my life would be different. My in-laws assured my parents that they would educate me further, but they never did that.”

Shortly after getting married, she had children, and the responsibilities of keeping her household became a lot to carry.

“I don’t want the same thing to happen to Shreedevi or any girl — to get married so early with so many responsibilities,” Paavani says, sadly. “I want my children to have a good school, because I came from a remote area where there were not many facilities. Every girl and every boy should have a good school.”

Shreedevi sits on the bed, watching her mom speak. We ask her what age she thinks is a good time to get married.

“Thirty years or more,” Shreedevi says, matter-of-factly. “You should get married after 30 because there are a lot of things to do when you are living in your parents’ house. Once you get married, there are a lot of responsibilities and you’re not able to achieve your dreams. You have to play someone else’s dream. To achieve your own dream, you should not get married early.”

Free to Dream

Some girls living in poverty in India are afraid to dream.

Some girls are pulled out of school to work as domestic servants and help their families earn income. Statistically, girls who get married young are likely to experience domestic violence. Girls often become isolated from family and friends, sometimes even moving across the country to be with their new spouse. And with the responsibilities of being a young wife and mother in India, housework and early motherhood take up their time — leaving little margin to continue education. And if a girl did have a dream, it usually dissolves.

For girls, the monthly support of a child sponsor protects her education — and her future. As a girl reaches her late teenage years, families don’t feel pressured to marry their daughters because of the cost of education.

An education means opportunity. It’s the chance for a girl to pursue her dreams.

“If she couldn’t go to school… it would be miserable — a very bad life,” Paavani says, looking at her daughter. “But when I found out Shreedevi was sponsored, I felt calm. Especially Shreedevi being a girl, I feel very happy for [sponsorship] because otherwise life would be difficult for her. Please continue helping her.”

Paavani gently places her arm around Shreedevi as a warm breeze wafts through the open door.

“Someone from so far away is sending help to us,” Shreedevi says, smiling with bright eyes. “Thank you for your help.”

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The post The House of My Dreams appeared first on Holt International.

Growing up in Vietnam, Thoa rose every morning at 4 a.m. to open her family’s noodle shop. Still dark outside, she would ride her bicycle to the market to buy vegetables and then work until it was time to go to school.

Even on cold, rainy mornings, she woke up before dawn — and summoned her two younger siblings from where they slept to help prepare the shop for breakfast. They were especially sleepy on cold winter mornings.

“The whole time growing up, I did not understand why I could not sleep every night,” shares Thoa, now a petite mother of two in her 50s with neat shoulder-length hair and a warm and gentle but hardworking nature.

Thoa’s sister later told her that they couldn’t sleep because they were cold — they couldn’t afford warm blankets.

Once Thoa graduated college and began to earn money, she bought high-quality blankets imported from Japan for her mom and siblings.  “The first thing I did when I made money was to buy good blankets for everyone,” she says.

Thoa has lived in the U.S. with her family since 2008 — and now serves as Holt’s senior advisor for international programs — but her childhood in post-war Vietnam is never far from her mind. She was one of seven children — nine including two siblings who both died of malaria within five days of each other.

Her family lived a relatively comfortable life near Danang, in central Vietnam. But when her father died suddenly of a stroke, her mother struggled to run his business and care for her children on her own.

Thoa was 7. Her mother was pregnant with her youngest sister at the time.

Slowly, they used up all the resources her father had left them, and Thoa watched as her family’s possessions began to disappear from their home. The black and white TV. The nice speakers from Japan. The refrigerator.

To provide for her seven children, her mom was forced to sell their belongings.

But Thoa’s mom was smart, resourceful and determined.  She decided to open a shop selling homemade breakfast noodles — a business that she knew how to run, and that she could manage while caring for Thoa and her siblings.  But with no savings and no collateral, she was forced to take out a loan at 20% interest per month — or, as Thoa calls it, a “shark loan.”

Loan sharks prey on people living in poverty, offering money they desperately need to start a business or just to buy food for their family — and then harass them for payment, aggressively demanding they give up the daily wages that are often all they have to live on. 

“It gets people into deep poverty, and they cannot really get out,” Thoa says. “They tear families apart … I think that’s when I started to have the realization of what poverty really means.”

Looking back, more than 40 years later, Thoa gets emotional thinking of that time in her life — and of what her mom had to go through to provide for her and her siblings. 

“It’s hard, as children growing up and seeing… loan sharks getting into your home every day and then yelling and screaming at your mother, demanding payment,” she says, trailing off as tears well up in her eyes. “That’s why I really believe in what Holt is doing — because it does help a lot of people.”

But it’s not just what Holt is doing. It’s what Holt sponsors and donors are doing with their heartfelt gifts to help families earn income — and overcome poverty — in countries around the world.

Donor-Funded Microloans: A Viable Path From Poverty

In the countries where Holt works — from Ethiopia and Uganda to Cambodia, India and Vietnam — many parents feel helpless to support their children when jobs are scarce and stable work requires specialized skills or higher education that’s often inaccessible to families living in poverty.

Households headed by single parents — especially single mothers — are often the most vulnerable.

In some countries, such as Korea and the Philippines, Holt sponsors and donors help provide job skills training to single mothers facing stigma and discrimination. In most cases, Holt empowers women like Thoa’s mom — women who suddenly find themselves the sole providers for their children after their husband dies or leaves the family.

Sometimes it’s the gift of a sewing machine from Holt’s Gifts of Hope catalog that comes with small business training so a mother learns how to sew and sell clothing for profit. It may be gardening tools so a family can grow vegetables to eat, selling the surplus in a nearby marketplace. Or the gift of a goat, chickens or a cow — providing abundant milk and eggs for a family.

But quite often, it’s a small business microgrant or zero-interest loan that empowers a mother to start her own unique business — one that meets a need in her community and that provides enough stable and reliable income for her to provide for herself and her children.

The predatory lending practices to which Thoa’s mom fell prey are now banned in the U.S., but they are still rampant in developing countries around the world.

Had her mom had access to a zero-interest microloan to start her noodle shop, Thoa says she never would have endured abuse and harassment from loan sharks. Like the women in Holt microloan programs today, she would have saved all the money she earned to support her children — instead of falling deeper into debt.

“There was nothing like that — there was no Holt, for example, offering microloans at that time,” Thoa says.

Holt’s first income-generating program actually began in Vietnam, just before the end of the war in 1975. Like today, Holt supported care centers for children who had been orphaned or whose families couldn’t care for them. But our team in country soon recognized that in many cases, struggling families could in fact care for their children — given the support and resources they needed.

“They were seeing a lot of birth parents coming in saying they wanted to relinquish their child,” explains John Williams, who helped develop Holt’s first income-generating program in Vietnam and later served as Holt president and CEO. “If given an alternative to consider keeping their family together, that’s what they were looking for. They just were under so much stress — their child was suffering from malnutrition, health issues, etc.”

But when Holt offered help to support their child and keep their family together, they no longer wanted to relinquish their children. Within a few months, Holt’s first income-generating program was thriving.

“It was much like many of [Holt’s] family strengthening programs today,” John says. “The role of social workers and case workers was to determine what the interests, abilities and skills of the family were. … It was all about finding out what the interests of the community or village were and helping them develop that interest into an income-generating program that created independence, not dependency.”

Like today, families started small businesses like sewing or tailoring, or raised animals like ducks or chickens to provide sustainable food and income. The goal was to help each family get on their feet and provide for their children, keeping the family together.

“It was the first time that Holt began to broaden its services to children with a list of priorities — preserve the birth family, domestic adoption, international adoption …with no one being better than the other,” John says, describing the model of service that Holt has long ascribed to, and later advocated for when we sent delegates to help draft the Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child. “It’s based on the best interest of the child.”

But as the war ended, Holt left the country — and didn’t return until they could safely reestablish programs and fully serve children and families again, in 1989.

Thoa didn’t start working for Holt Vietnam until nine years later, in 1998. She later traveled to the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship to earn a master’s degree in social work, and then began working with children and families living in other countries where Holt works — particularly in South and Southeast Asia. 

What she saw when she first traveled to these regions reminded her of what she’d seen growing up in Vietnam after the war — extreme poverty, and predators looking to exploit people in desperate situations.

“When I travel to Cambodia, India, and I see signs saying, ‘Hey, if you need loans, quick loans, call this number’ … that’s exactly how the poor people get into the trap … That’s why I really love the models of grants or microloans, or the self-help groups that we have in Cambodia,” Thoa says, referring to a model Holt developed in Cambodia where families collectively save their money and then provide low-interest loans to group members so they can start or grow small businesses.

After developing microloan programs in Cambodia and Vietnam, Thoa encouraged Holt’s partners in India to replicate the model.

“I said, ‘We don’t have the income-generating program in this country, but I see you have a lot of advertising for loans for poor people … and let me share with you what happens when these poor people keep tapping into that money,’” Thoa says she shared with Hepzibah Sharmila, who leads our partner organization, VCT, in Bangalore. Thoa traveled with Sharmila to Vietnam and other countries to show her how Holt’s income-generating model works — and to introduce her to families that had successfully graduated from the program.

“When we give them $200, $300, then that helps the mother start a small business and achieve financial independence. And from there, they can provide for the basic needs of their children,” Thoa says. “But if they don’t have these opportunities, they would go to the loan sharks. And they could never get out. Their children could never get out, and they could never escape poverty.”

Driven to Live a Different Life

Deep in debt to loan sharks, with seven children to support, Thoa’s mom continued to struggle well into Thoa’s teen years. She was so exhausted that she often fell asleep on the floor of their home.

“It was so tiring, you know, to raise seven different children all by yourself … All the children were so small and young and everybody needed education. Everybody needed food,” Thoa says.

But like so many hardworking mothers and fathers and grandparents in Holt programs today, Thoa’s mom could still hardly afford to feed her children.   

One time, when Thoa was sick, her mom was able to purchase a small portion of meat that she guarded from her other children — giving it to Thoa so that she could regain her strength.

“My mom pointed to it and said, ‘Hey, this is just for you because you’re sick’ and nobody should touch that because I needed nutrition … Like a small portion of meat. And I was the only one who could have that meat,” Thoa says.

Thoa’s older siblings gave up on the dream of further education. But from a young age, Thoa knew that completing her education was more than just a dream. It was her way out.

When Thoa’s mom opened the noodle shop, Thoa was by her mom’s side — opening and closing and running the business every day.

“I worked very hard to help her, just because I love her so much and I understood, you know, how it was,” she says.

But every night, when she finally finished food and business prep around 9-10 p.m., Thoa shifted her focus — studying until midnight or the early hours of the morning.  “I really had this drive … I had to get out … I just could not foresee the rest of my life being like this,” she says. “So I studied very hard.”

When Thoa passed the university entrance exams, news spread quickly.

“The neighbors were so proud because it was very rare to see a kid [from our community] pass the university exam,” Thoa says. “We were so poor.”

No one felt more pride than Thoa’s mom. “I was excited. She was so proud,” Thoa says.

But Thoa also knew that her mom couldn’t afford the tuition. “I said, ‘Hey, you know, you already have so many burdens. I don’t want another burden on you. I will not go to university,” she told her, promising instead to find a job to help support her family.  

But then her mom said something that surprised her.

“She said that all her life she did not have a chance for education and that’s why her life is hard,” Thoa says of her mother, who never finished elementary school. “She believed education could give me a different life.” As Thoa was the first child in the family to pass the university entrance exam, her mom was determined to give her that opportunity.

 “Whatever I have to do, I will send you to university,” she told Thoa.

So she raised chickens. She ran the noodle shop. She sold some more of her belongings. And she asked her extended family for help. Some contributed small amounts as gifts. Others loaned her the money. Eventually, she cobbled together the tuition for Thoa’s first semester.

Like always, Thoa worked incredibly hard in school and was always the top one or two in her class. She earned scholarships from her grades. A good singer, she performed on stage for the university to get some additional scholarships.  And she worked any job she could find to pay for her degree and support her family. She promoted shampoos for Proctor & Gamble. She provided English tutoring. And she continued helping her mom in the noodle shop. Some of her professors learned about her situation and they offered her an opportunity to teach evening classes as well as a part-time job at the university. 

“Basically, what I did was I did everything on Earth,” she says.

But she saved everything she earned to support her education, and to support her mother and her family.

Later, once she graduated, she helped her mom get out of debt, and buy back all the appliances and furniture she had sold to support her and her siblings. She even helped her mom pay for her two younger siblings go to university, too. “Both are quite successful now in their lives,” Thoa says of her younger siblings. One went into economics, the other studied English.

Thoa says the mindset of helping your family and community is deeply rooted in her culture, as it is in many of the cultures and communities where Holt works around the world. “We don’t want to leave anyone behind,” Thoa says — offering Holt’s university program in Cambodia as an example. Through this program, donors provide full scholarships for high-performing students from impoverished backgrounds to attend university. 

Through our partner KBF in the Philippines, Holt also empowers youth aging out of orphanages to gain independent living skills and go to college. After they complete their degrees and begin earning money, they often go back and help their siblings. Many even return to their communities to volunteer or even work as social workers or teachers.

“Many graduates become self-reliant and just want to give back what they have received through the program by mentoring, sponsoring or working in NGOs,” Thoa explains.

It’s the same motivation that drew Thoa to a humanitarian career devoted to helping children and families escape a life of poverty and desperation.

“I understand their struggles,” she says. “I understand what they’re going through … I just want every one of them to get out and have a better life.”

Looking back on her own life story — and on the many lives transformed through Holt programs around the world — Thoa says she profoundly believes in two of Holt’s donor-funded programs in particular to help children and families lift themselves a life of poverty: educational sponsorship, and programs that empower families to generate income.  

“To see these women who started to make money after they set up their shops, and then say, ‘Hey, I make good money’ … That’s how far small amounts of money can go when it goes to the right people in the right way at the right time. It changes people’s lives in a way that we cannot even imagine,” she says. “And we know they can now provide for their children’s medical, nutritional and educational needs.”

Thoa is especially thankful for the small donations she received from family members so that she could go to college — small donations that she compares to the microgrants Holt donors provide families in need today.

“[If not for those donations], I probably would have ended up quitting and become one of the sellers in the street like everybody else,” she says.

It All Traces Back to Her

Thoa’s mother passed away several years ago. But long before she passed, Thoa wrote her a letter. She had just left Vietnam and she wrote from the airplane, en route to her new life working for Holt in the U.S.

“’I just want you to know that without you and the sacrifice back in the day, there’s no way I could be where I am today,’” Thoa says she wrote. “I really wanted her to know that I knew it was a tremendous amount of sacrifice and undertaking and I wanted her to know that I was very grateful.”

Years later, at her daughter’s college graduation, Thoa again thought of her mother and the sacrifice she made. “I thought, ‘This is so profound. … At one point, I wanted to give up on my education because of thinking there was not enough money … And now, another generation of women — my daughter — can finish their college education. And it all traces back to her.”

Still today, Thoa always thinks of her mom whenever she visits families who have benefited from Holt’s income-generating programs — especially the single and widowed mothers who are caring for children on their own. 

“We visited this woman who was 76 years old, a grandma who was part of the income-generating program … I looked at her,” Thoa shares, “and I felt like, that’s my mother. And all these grandmothers and these mothers around the world who are struggling every day, but who are trying their best — every day — to provide for the basic needs of their children. They all hope and work hard for a better life for their children.”

Help a Mom in Cambodia Build a Brighter Future

With programs at risk, your gift of chickens, a garden or a sewing machine could be the only opportunity a mom has to lift her family out of poverty.

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The post Why I Believe in Holt appeared first on Holt International.

Fourteen-year-old Thuy has been raised by her grandparents in Vietnam since she was a baby. Her grandfather works as a rice harvester — a job often affected by unpredictable factors like the weather. Thuy’s grandmother stays home to manage the household. Because of the family’s unstable income, sending Thuy to school wasn’t an option…

But then, thanks to you, things turned around. Because of sponsors and donors like you who have a heart for education, Thuy is now able to attend school! Her favorite subject is literature, though she enjoys all the subjects. She says your generosity inspires her to study hard — as her way of saying thank you.

 “Words cannot truly express how much this educational support means to me,” Thuy shares. “This support is not merely financial — it serves as a vital source of motivation that empowers me to overcome my difficult circumstances.”

Thanks to generous sponsors and donors like you, Thuy has everything she needs to succeed.

Her grandmother says, “The financial assistance arrived just in time for the start of the new school year, allowing us to pay [Thuy]’s school fees and purchase textbooks, notebooks, school uniforms, sandals and other essential supplies. She was overjoyed when she saw these items laid out on the table. You cannot imagine how much this support means to us.”

Send a Child to School

Every child deserves a chance to learn — help children in poverty get an education.

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The post Empowering Her to Succeed appeared first on Holt International.

Eight years ago, Ayana was left to care for her five children on her own. Living in a small village in Ethiopia, she became the sole provider for her family. She had no formal education or marketable skills. But Ayana was determined to provide for her family no matter what.

And thanks to you, she received the help she needed.

Ayana received small business training and resources to earn income for her family. Gifts of livestock and training to start a vegetable garden met her family’s immediate needs — ensuring none of her children would go hungry. And because of your support for their education, all her children can go to school!

“As a mother, being able to send my children to school without worrying about how to get them the supplies is a great blessing,” Ayana says.

Because of the poverty she lives in, educational support is even more critical for Ayana’s family. If paying for school depended on the economy’s ups and downs, her children wouldn’t be able to stay in school.

Ayana says her greatest desire is that her children can build a future where they are not limited by the struggles she has faced. “I want them to look to the future with hope,” she says.

Because of your incredible support, Ayana believes her family can rise from poverty and her children will be able to chase their dreams. Thank you for making their future so bright!

Send a Child to School

Every child deserves a chance to learn — help children in poverty get an education.

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The post Their Futures Unlimited appeared first on Holt International.

Cambodia

Since 2012, Holt donors have provided scholarships for 185 high-achieving students to attend college in Cambodia through its University Education program. The program offers everything from full tuition to English and computer classes, career counseling and a monthly stipend to help cover additional expenses. Most of the students come from rural impoverished communities, and most are the first in their families to attend college.

In 2016, the University of Cambodia launched a volunteer program to encourage university students to make an impact in their communities by dedicating their time, energy and resources to improving the livelihood of others. Recently, students in Holt’s University Education program took part in these volunteer efforts. Through community awareness workshops, the students addressed the impact of drug addiction in the province of Battambang and the importance of reading in the province of Kampot.

Ethiopia

An estimated 4.5 million children are orphaned or growing up without permanent families in Ethiopia. In an effort to reduce the number of children living in institutional care, the country’s Ministry of Women and Social Affairs has issued an Alternative Child Care Directive, which focuses on supporting local families to foster or adopt children living in orphanages. Now, thanks to Holt sponsor and donor support, Holt Ethiopia has partnered with the ministry to train child welfare professionals, service providers and community organizers in central Ethiopia to promote family-based care. Holt Ethiopia held the first of five workshops in March and will continue to hold trainings through September.

India

In the migrant communities of Bangalore, India, Holt sponsors and donors help keep children in the safe and loving care of their families. Poverty is one of the greatest causes of abandonment and family separation in these communities. Our local partner, Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT), works with migrant families to help them develop a stable source of income — often through donor-funded technical education and training.

In May, VCT held skills training courses for migrant women and single mothers as part of its Income Generation Program (IGP). Through its vocational training and entrepreneurial support, the program helps low-income women become more competitive in the local labor market. The IGP also develops initiatives to promote social networks among women that lead to better access to services and opportunities. The joint efforts between Holt and VCT have so far enabled more than 1,600 migrant women and single mothers to set up their own businesses or join public or private industries. These women now earn a sustainable wage that supports their needs and those of their families.

Thailand

Holt’s local partner in Thailand, Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF), recently organized two trips to the zoo for children living in foster care. The children and their foster families had a wonderful time viewing the animals, enjoying snacks and spending quality time together. Meanwhile, the social workers who accompanied the group were able to observe how the children reacted in various situations.

At any given time, between 90 and 100 children, ages birth to 6, live with HSF’s 90 foster families. With the support of Holt sponsors and donors, foster families receive a monthly delivery of infant formula and baby supplies as well as a childcare subsidy. Foster care provides a more nurturing alternative to institutional care, offering a loving home for children while they wait to rejoin their family or join a family through adoption.

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The post Notes from the Field: June 2025 appeared first on Holt International.

Nantale was embarrassed.

It was her first day of school, but she didn’t look like the other kids in her preschool class. They all wore crisp, clean uniforms. She wore her regular clothes, which were torn and ragged and stained from the red dirt roads of the village where she lives in rural Uganda.  

Nantale shied away from playing with the other kids. She was quiet and kept to herself.

Although she proved to be a good student, she started missing class. Her parents couldn’t afford to pay her school fees. Nantale knew she might have to drop out at any time.

That’s when she and her family learned about a special program that would help her stay in school. She learned that kind people from across the world would help pay for her school fees, supplies and uniforms — expecting nothing in return.

“She remembers clearly when the news was announced that Holt was recruiting children for education sponsorship,” shares Tinka Murungi, Holt Uganda’s sponsorship coordinator. “She could not wait to be recruited.”

When 7-year-old Nantale became a Holt sponsored child, her life began to change — at first in small, tangible ways. Through the support of her sponsor, she received a new, pressed uniform to wear to school. She received school supplies — unused pens and pencils and gleaming white notebook paper just waiting to be filled with drawings and math equations and first written words.

She used to shiver through cold nights on her family’s small farm, arriving at school tired in the morning. From her sponsor’s monthly donations, her social worker purchased a soft blanket to keep her warm at night.

A blanket. A pencil. A uniform. These small gestures were anything but small to Nantale. They lifted her self-esteem and helped her focus on her studies.

But in addition to these material gifts, Nantale’s sponsor gave her a gift that would change her entire outlook on her future — a school scholarship to cover her required school fees and assure her education. With this gift, Nantale felt something that she had never known before: a sense of stability.

Like many children living in her community — and in poverty around the world — Nantale didn’t know how long she would be able to stay in school. At any time, her dream of an education could be shattered.

Barriers to a Child’s Education in Rural Uganda

Nantale’s family lives in a small farming community where they work as subsistence farmers — living off what they can grow on their small plot of land. In Uganda, farming communities take up about 71 percent of the land and make up 84 percent of the population. Years of war have devastated an already inadequate infrastructure in these villages, leaving gaps of all kinds — gaps in healthcare, gaps in education, gaps in access to fair and safe lending to help families rebuild their businesses and their lives. For the children of these communities, an education is no guarantee and depends on mainly two variables — whether they have access to a school, and whether their parents can afford to pay the fees required for them to attend.

Fees to attend a primary school in Uganda range from about 150,000-215,000 shillings — or $40-$60 — per child per year. School supplies and uniforms often triple the cost of school overall — with an expense 300,000 shillings, or $86, per child per year. If children need to attend boarding school, which many do as schools are so inaccessible, the cost is about 3-4 times as much. But in a community where a family may earn at best 10-20,000 shillings per month, this cost is too steep to afford on their own — particularly when a family has more than one child, which most families in Uganda do.

I thank you my sponsor for loving and supporting me. Because of you, my sponsor, I receive everything I need for my school. My mother is also happy for your support. We pray for you always.” — Nantale

Nantale is the fifth of six siblings. But unlike many children in her surrounding community, she lives with both her parents. Many children in Uganda have lost one or both parents to conflict due to armed fighting among ethnic groups or the HIV epidemic — leaving elderly grandparents or an older sibling to care for them.

Another reason children lose their parents is a lack of affordable medical care for families living in rural poverty. Accidents, especially road accidents, are common. Even if they survive, the consequences can be catastrophic.

When Nantale was 8 years old — less than a year into Nantale’s sponsorship journey — both her parents were in a devastating accident that left them both with fractured legs. In a more developed country — with a broader social safety net and greater access to advanced medical care — they would likely have recovered from their injuries. Instead, they both ended up permanently disabled.   

“They were likely treated at a Holt-supported health center in the community,” explains Malia Robello, Holt’s senior program manager for Uganda. “It’s also very likely they didn’t heal properly — even if they did have surgery —because they both needed to work and care for the home soon after the accident.”

Although Holt does on occasion provide medical care for parents of children in our child sponsorship program, funds are limited and primarily reserved for life-threatening cases.

“And typically,” Malia says, “for the children.”

Today, Nantale’s father walks with a walking stick and is not able to work the way he did before the accident. Her mother now supports herself to walk — but she can’t walk long distances.  Where before they struggled to support their children, now they faced even greater obstacles.

“Their disabilities created a significant barrier to earning an income,” explains Tinka.

Thankfully, when a child enrolls in Holt’s child sponsorship program, their whole family is empowered with resources and support to help them become stable and self-reliant.

In the rural villages of Uganda, Holt leads savings groups that teach parents, particularly mothers, how to earn money and save together. Through financial literacy training, these women are learning as a community how to make and sell goods, grow crops, buy and raise livestock, and become businesswomen in the hopes of better supporting their families.

When Nantale was enrolled in Holt’s child sponsorship program, a Holt social worker visited the family and identified ways to help them overcome the challenges they faced. Her mother soon joined a Holt savings group and received training in how to run and manage a small business. With start-up funds from Holt donors, she soon started a business that she could manage despite her disability.

“I learned how to make pancakes, which I sell in the market to get money to support our children,” her mother shared with Tinka. “I also save in the savings group. I am so happy because of Holt.”

Through Holt Uganda’s family strengthening program, Nantale’s mother also learned ways to improve her children’s health and nutrition, and gained parenting skills that strengthened her bond with her children.

“I am now a better parent. I used to be tough on my children, but now we share together,” she said. “They no longer fear me.”

Child Sponsorship Creates Generational Change

Through Holt’s child sponsorship model, families like Nantale’s are empowered to earn the income they need to support their children. But the primary way sponsors empower families and communities to overcome poverty is to educate future generations — starting, first and foremost, with their sponsored child.

Today, Nantale is 12 years old. She is in her fifth year of Holt child sponsorship. And she is at the top of her class.

“She is always the best in her class,” Tinka shares. “She enjoys school life and wants to become a lawyer after her studies. She says that she wants to be a lawyer to provide justice for poor people in the community.”

When Tinka asked Nantale’s mom what she would like to say to her sponsors, she broke down in tears.

“To Nantale’s sponsor, I want to say thank you so much for choosing my daughter,” she said. “You came in at a time when I had lost hope. We were not sure about keeping her in school. You brought joy to Nantale and our entire family. Because of you, our family is lively and hopeful. Nantale is now assured of her education. She is more confident, now socializes with other children, and tells me she works hard at school to make her sponsor happy. She is always the best in class. You have opened a brighter future for Nantale and our family. I only pray that our good Lord blesses you.”

Nantale also wanted to express her gratitude to her sponsor.

“I thank you my sponsor for loving and supporting me,” she said. “Because of you, my sponsor, I receive everything I need for my school. My mother is also happy for your support. We pray for you always.”

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The post God Bless You, My Lovely Friend: A Uganda Child Sponsorship Story appeared first on Holt International.

Kokebe, a determined and optimistic young woman, has faced many challenges. But she never lost sight of her dreams. With your support, she overcame financial barriers and pursued her education, achieving what once seemed impossible.

Her father’s job as a day laborer didn’t provide enough income for the family to make ends meet. Education seemed out of reach. But then, you helped provide a microloan and training for her mother to start a small business growing and selling fruits and vegetables at their local market in rural Ethiopia. This Gift of Hope helped stabilize her family’s financial situation, covering their basic needs.

Still, there wasn’t enough to pay for Kokebe’s schooling. That’s where you stepped in again with a Gift of Hope. Your equipped her with a school uniform, books, supplies and ongoing academic support. She participated in summer classes and educational celebrations like Literacy Day and Back to School Day, which have been sources of joy and learning for her.

After passing her grade 12 national exams, Kokebe went on to vocational and technical college, majoring in information and communication technology. You played such a pivotal role in helping her achieve her educational goals!

“I am very grateful for all the support throughout the years,” Kokebe says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without [the] help and intervention for me and my family. In the future, I hope to give back and support other vulnerable children, just as I was supported.” As she steps into the next chapter of her life, she carries with her not only the knowledge and skills she has gained, but also the hope of one day giving back to others in the same way you helped her.

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The post She’s Taking Flight appeared first on Holt International.

You’re amazing! Through your heartfelt giving in 2024, you helped make a tremendous difference in the lives of over one million children, families and individuals around the world. Whether you provided regular support as a monthly child sponsor, gave on Giving Tuesday to help a girl go to school and stay safe from child trafficking and early marriage, helped a child with special needs receive the care they need to thrive through the Molly Holt Fund or helped meet one of our president’s year-end priorities for children in greatest need, you brought hope and opportunity to the lives of many of the world’s most vulnerable children and families. Keep reading to learn about some of the specific ways that your gifts to Holt made a difference in 2024!

While much of Holt’s work is community-based, your gifts also provided direct care and services to over 431,000 children this past year. Designed to provide the exact help a child needs at the time they need it, this kind of direct care includes everything from emergency food and safe shelter for a family in crisis to surgery or needed medical treatment for a child with special healthcare needs to foster care and social work support to help a child reunite with their family or join a family through adoption.

In 2024, you helped 181 children join permanent, loving families through adoption — 110 of them through international adoption, and 71 through domestic, in-country adoption to families living in the child’s country of birth. Overall, 95% of children adopted internationally were older than age 5, part of a sibling group or had at least some minor special needs. This past year, 65% of children placed internationally had moderate or major physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities. And while the number of children with complex special needs joining adoptive families internationally has increased, so has the number of older children. This past year, 64% of children were older than 5 at the time they joined their families — and 29% were between the ages of 10-18! This shift is a truly wonderful development for children who in prior years would watch as younger, healthier children left the orphanage to join families, while they stayed behind with little hope of ever being adopted. Your support of advocacy programs for older children like Holt’s Thailand and Philippines special needs programs — and the Colombia hosting program — has helped make this shift possible.

Today, the overall cost of international adoption exceeds the actual fees and expenses required to complete the process. This is one key reason why so many agencies have closed their doors in recent years. It’s only through the generous support of donors like you that Holt is able to continue this vitally important practice for children who cannot remain or reunite with their birth families, or join domestic adoptive families in their country of birth Thank you for supporting this vitally important path to a family for children who would otherwise grow up in, and age out of, orphanages overseas.

Visit our waiting child photolisting to learn about the more than 200 children waiting for families who are older or have complex special needs — and how you can begin the process to adopt, or support their journey to a family!

For children growing up in orphanages around the world, Holt stands by our belief that joining a family through adoption is the last, best option for them. For these children, an adoptive family provides the attentive, nurturing care that they need to achieve critical developmental milestones and to reach their potential in life. Countless studies have shown the detrimental emotional and developmental effects that long-term institutionalization has on children, and this is compounded for children who already have special medical or developmental needs — as is the case for many of the children growing up in orphanages overseas. This is why we stand by our commitment to continue international adoption for children in an ever-changing and increasingly challenging landscape.

But we also firmly believe that every child should have the chance to grow up in their birth family, and birth culture, whenever possible. Before we ever pursue adoption for a child, we first strive to help them grow up in the loving care of their birth family.  For children living in orphanages, this often means a long social work process to identify their immediate or extended family and explore the possibility of reunification. And in 2024, with donor support, Holt teams around the world helped reunite 302 children with their birth families — a significant number when you consider the time and resource-intensive work that goes into identifying relatives and ensuring children can thrive in their care.

But everywhere we work, our first goal is always to prevent family separation in the first place. And with the generous support of sponsors and donors, 29,023 children who were at risk of separation were able to remain in the loving care of their families in 2024. With support tailored to each individual child and family, you helped provide everything from clothing, warm bedding, safe housing and school supplies to livestock for nourishing food and income. In 2024, 4,405 individuals also participated in Holt-supported economic empowerment programs, including job skills training, education in how to grow gardens or tend livestock, financial literacy training, village savings and loan groups and other innovative programs that empower families to generate a stable income and independently support their children.

With generous donor support, 4,817 adoptees and families received support from Holt’s post-adoption services team in 2024 — 1,264 more than in 2023. While this shows greater success in outreach to those needing support, it also underscores the tremendous need for post-adoption services among those touched by adoption. In 2024, we saw an increased need for assistance with citizenship and documentation, in addition to other services such as birth search support, counseling referrals and post-adoption parent education through our PACE program. Over the summer, over 180 campers attended Holt Adoptee Camp in Oregon, Wisconsin and New Jersey — a unique program designed to build adoptee community and help adoptee youth explore their identity alongside campers and counselors who share the unique experience of growing up adopted. After a five-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we resumed our counselor-in-training program to help recruit more Holt Adoptee Camp counselors. Our post-adoption team also held an adoptee networking event designed to introduce adoptees to each other and local adoptee organizations that hold events, community support groups and education. With more than 50 attendees, this event also gave adoptees the opportunity to access and review their original adoption file with a member of Holt’s post-adoption team — rather than sending them a digital copy. Returning original documents is a great step for adoptees to reclaim and honor their identity and history.

In many countries around the world, an education is not a right. It is a privilege. Children living in poverty do not have access to a free public education system and equal opportunity to achieve their goals. The cost of fees, uniforms and supplies required for school mean that parents may have to choose between feeding their child — or giving them the opportunity to learn and one day, escape the cycle of poverty. Often, children drop out of school to work and help earn income for their family. In some cases, girls as young as 12 or 13 are married off and when they do, their formal education ends. But for over 22,500 children and young adults this past year, you helped them stay on the path to completing their education, leaving a life of poverty, and following their dreams.

Whether you provided monthly support for school fees and supplies as a child sponsor, gave a scholarship through Gifts of Hope or supported our Giving Tuesday campaign to help girls go to school, you helped provide the support and resources needed for 21,356 children to receive an education in 2024! Additionally, donors like you helped 1,211 young adults growing up in poverty or in orphanages to pursue higher education — including through our ILEA program for children aging out of orphanage care in the Philippines. By empowering children through education, you also help protect them from trafficking, abuse, child labor and other dangers that increase exponentially when children are out of school. Thank you for keeping children safe and making their dreams possible in 2024!

In the impoverished communities where you support children, food security continues to be a major concern. Children arrive at school hungry and tired, without lunch, and go home unsure if their family will eat a full meal before bed. But because of you, over 195,000 children received the nourishing food they need to thrive in 2024.

Whether you gave emergency food to a family in crisis, supported a preschool program that provides free lunch or provided a cow, goat or garden for a family to produce their own food, your gifts provided the essential nutrition that children and families need to grow strong and healthy and work toward a better life. In total, Holt sponsors and donors provided a staggering 2,361,064 meals to hungry children and families in 2024.

In 2024, Holt also celebrated 10 years of our Child Nutrition Program, a multifaceted effort that seeks to strengthen nutrition and feeding practices for vulnerable children living in orphanages, foster homes and impoverished communities across the globe. What started as a pilot program in two locations in India has since expanded to eight countries, serving more than 55,000 children over the past decade.

Holt’s specialized care and support for children with disabilities is one way that our programs are unique from other organizations around the world. Many of the children you support through Holt programs have special healthcare needs or disabilities. In 2024, you helped 2,280 children with disabilities to live fuller, happier lives. In Vietnam, you provided special education and an outreach program in a community where children with disabilities would otherwise stay home all day. In Mongolia, you helped support a program that helps children with disabilities living in impoverished communities to access the specialized resources they need. Through Gifts of Hope, you helped provide adaptive equipment like wheelchairs and hearing aids. And through Holt’s pioneering Child Nutrition Program, you provided the resources to train 15,554 caregivers and parents in how to properly feed children with disabilities so that they are able to receive the full nutrition they need to thrive. 

Through your kind and generous donations in 2024, 3,692 children living in orphanages, group homes, kinship 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.

Holt’s kinship and foster care programs provide more nurturing, family-like care for children who would otherwise live in institutions. Through kinship care, sponsors and donors provide the support children need to live with a family member —  if not a birth parent, then possibly an aunt, uncle or grandparent who can provide loving, attentive care. In many cases, children living in foster care are waiting to rejoin their birth families or join a family through domestic or international adoption. These highly trained and loving foster families provide the one-on-one care, attention, and social and physical development children need to reach critical developmental milestones — and thrive once they join a permanent family.

Whether you helped provide routine health screenings through Holt’s Child Health Days in rural Uganda or a life-changing surgery for a child with a special medical need, your generous donations helped provide vital healthcare for 131,914 children in 2024. As children need caregivers who are healthy and equipped to give them attentive, engaged care, your donations also helped provide medical care for 111,215 parents and family members.

Around the world, children are often sick when they first enter orphanage care. Sometimes this has to do with underlying medical conditions or special needs. Sometimes it has to do with the impoverished conditions they lived in before coming into care. Sometimes it’s because they routinely experienced hunger. Often, it’s a combination of all three. This was true for one 2-year-old girl living in an orphanage in India who donors helped this past year. But thanks to Holt sponsors and donors like you, she received the medical care, nutritious food and therapies she needed to become healthy again.

In 2024, you and your fellow donors gave 5,456 Gifts of Hope to children and families in need around the world. You gave food for hungry children, shoes to keep children’s feet warm, dry and protected on their long walk to school, an egg a day to provide vital protein to growing kids, and livestock likes goats, chickens and cows to nourish families and provide vital income when they sell the offspring. You provided school scholarships for children who might not otherwise go to school, as well as the books and supplies they needed to succeed. You gave the gift of nurturing foster care to children waiting for a permanent, loving family, and urgently needed orphanage supplies like diapers, cribs and blankets. You empowered single mothers to earn income for their family through the gift of job skills training or a small business microgrant. You gave Christmas and birthday gifts to children whose families or caregivers can’t afford to provide gifts on these holidays. And you gave to Holt’s Where Most Needed fund to make it possible for our staff and partners in the field to meet immediate, vital needs of children and families that might otherwise go unmet.

Thank you for your heartfelt gifts to children and families in need in 2024. We can’t wait to partner with you again in 2025!

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Give emergency help to a child who is hungry, sick or living in dangerous conditions. Your gift will provide the critical food, medical care, safety and more they need when they need it the most.

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