When Liên was a little girl, her mother would carry her from street to street, asking passersby for coins and food scraps.

At night, Liên shivered — sleeping with only a thin piece of cloth to keep warm…

Her mother, who had intellectual disabilities, loved Liên deeply and did everything she could to care for her. But her own challenges made it difficult to meet Liên’s complex needs. Living on the streets of a coastal city in Vietnam, sometimes selling lottery tickets or trinkets, she wasn’t earning enough income to meet even basic needs — let alone specialized care for her daughter.

Liên could walk and manage basic hygiene, but she struggled to communicate and learn like other children her age. Her mother felt overwhelmed by her limitations and unsure how to provide the care her daughter needed.

Recognizing the difficulty of the situation, compassionate neighbors suggested that Liên might receive the help she needed at a children’s center. While it meant that she would no longer live with her mother, moving Liên away from the harsh realities of street life gave her the possibility of a safer, more hopeful future.

A New Chapter

When she arrived at the children’s center, Liên was welcomed with open arms by a team of dedicated caregivers.

With expertise in nutrition and health, special needs and child development, Liên’s caregivers could provide the care and support she needed to grow and develop. They identified her unique challenges and began creating a tailored care plan that focused on her health and building basic life skills.

One of the first steps of Liên’s new journey was supporting her physical health. Regular health screenings became part of her routine. The center’s medical staff conducted nutritional assessments to ensure she was receiving the necessary vitamins to support her growth and overall well-being. These assessments are crucial for early intervention — addressing health conditions such as anemia and other deficiencies.

Through the center’s partnership with Holt Vietnam, caregivers are trained in feeding techniques, monitoring health benchmarks and creating daily routines and activities for children with disabilities. Because of donor support for the Molly Holt Fund, these trainings are made possible, and children receive the specialized, nurturing care they need to thrive.

Safe and Supported

After living on the streets, Liên’s adjustment to life at the children’s center took time. In the early days, she was content to be alone, sitting in the corner and taking little interest in the activities around her. She seemed focused on her interior world, occasionally watching other children play.

Liên’s caregivers were patient, knowing that she needed time to feel safe, secure and comfortable in her new environment.

Slowly, with gentle encouragement and reassurance, she began to show signs of progress. Liên practiced feeding herself — first with finger foods, then with utensils. She struggled, often spilling food, but her caregivers knew that Liên needed to learn at her own pace.

Over time, she became more adept at holding a spoon and fork. Not only could she start eating without assistance, but she also began to grow in confidence.

Liên was also shown how to dress herself. And with time, she learned how to dress independently. She learned how to zip her jacket and tie her shoelaces — significant achievements for children with special needs.

Growing in Confidence

Liên’s progress with self-care was transformational, but she often distanced herself from the other children. She would sit quietly during group activities, occasionally glancing at her peers but not engaging with them.

Eager to help Liên connect with others her age, her caregivers remained optimistic and patient. They continued to involve her in simple group activities, such as drawing, coloring and singing.

Slowly, Liên began to engage with other children. As she began to feel more comfortable, she grew in her social confidence each day. Soon she started to join in activities without hesitation and even began to initiate simple conversations with her peers.

But Liên’s ability to communicate and express her emotions was limited. Her caregivers encouraged her to express herself in different ways — through art, music and movement.

Ms. Thuy, one of Liên’s primary caregivers, says she is hopeful for Liên’s future.

“[Liên] is a fighter,” Ms. Thuy says. “Every step forward is hard-won, but she never gives up. I see so much potential in her and we are committed to helping her discover it.”

Helping Her Shine

Today, Liên is 11 years old, and she continues to grow each day.

The caregivers at the children’s center remain her biggest supporters, cheering her on with each victory.

“She has shown us all what true resilience looks like,” Ms. Thuy says. “Every child deserves a chance to shine and [Liên] is shining in her way. We are honored to be part of her story.”

Every child’s path is different, and Liên’s path is uniquely hers — and it’s one paved with hope because of your help.

Making a Difference

It is through the continuous support of sponsors and donors like you that Liên is receiving the specialized care she needs to thrive.

But while she continues to receive support and make progress, many children like Liên are still waiting — left without the opportunities and care they deserve. Her story is not an isolated one — it reflects a broader challenge faced by children with disabilities in the places where Holt works.

Private special needs programs, when available, are financially out of reach for orphaned and vulnerable children, whether they live in an orphanage or with their families struggling in poverty.

You can help children with medical and special needs who are left with no other options. Donate today to help provide care, healing and hope for a brighter future.

Your gift will help provide medical treatments, surgeries, specialized feeding assistance, therapies, adaptive equipment like wheelchairs, special education and so much more.

Every child deserves compassionate care that reminds them they are deeply loved and valued. Together, we can bring lasting change for children like Liên and help them shine.

Give to the Molly Holt Fund

Your gift helps a child with special needs receive the surgery, medicines, and specialized care they need!

Help a child now

The post Helping Liên Shine appeared first on Holt International.

Something was different about Bao. “Wrong” – the neighbors told his parents. At 3 years old, he didn’t talk, he would throw objects across the house, bang his head against the wall, and wasn’t even close to being potty trained.

“Every child is different,” his mom, Mai, reasoned. “Some develop quickly, and others slowly.” Just because Bao was different than his older sister didn’t necessarily mean something was wrong. But then her husband, Tuan, began to wonder if their son was different, too…

Each night, Tuan read to Bao. But Bao still didn’t respond and learn the way Tuan expected. Tuan wondered if Bao had autism — and began to read and learn more about the condition — but Mai was unconvinced.

“I did not accept it,” Mai says. “I had no idea what autism was at the time.”

They took Bao to a doctor for a checkup, and he was diagnosed with developmental delays. About a year later, he received an official autism diagnosis. 

“I just felt very, very sad,” Mai says.

When he turned 5, they enrolled Bao in the mainstream kindergarten that other children in their neighborhood attended. Within a few months, they tried three different schools, and each one was the same.

At each school, Bao just sat in the corner holding his backpack and wouldn’t move. At lunchtime he wouldn’t eat.

“We decided not to send him to school anymore,” Mai says. “We were very sad and thought there was nothing we could do for him.”

Bao couldn’t go to school. At home, Mai and Tuan didn’t know how to help him either. His behavior was uncontrollable. He kept harming himself by banging his head, and sometimes he would jump and jump, seemingly unable to stop. They couldn’t really leave the house with Bao anymore.

“We decided not to send him to school anymore. We were very sad and thought there was nothing we could do for him.”

As a family, they felt hopeless. Stuck.

But thankfully, there was a place that could help Bao. A place he would be understood, and receive the exact help he needed. This place was the Kianh Foundation.

The Kianh Foundation

The Kianh Foundation is down an unassuming rural road on the outskirts of a thriving fishing village and popular tourist destination in Vietnam. Surrounded by farmland, it’s gates open to reveal a vibrant playground in the courtyard with accessibility ramps leading up to the building. As you walk down the open-air hallway that traces the building’s perimeter, children’s artwork covers the walls, and music wafts out of the large classrooms.

Inside, teachers sit on the floor, many of them working one on one with students. Children in one classroom sing and dance to a song with enthusiastic full-body motions. In another, children sit at different stations — buckling motorbike helmets, brushing and styling dolls’ hair, and tying shoes. Children range in age from early elementary schoolers to older teenagers, but they’re divided into classrooms based on ability, not age.

Children and their teachers alike are smiling and calm. And every child here has a disability. 

Disability in Hoi An

The Kianh Foundation is a school for children with disabilities located on the 17^th parallel, the dividing line of conflict between north and south Vietnam in the Vietnam-American War. What makes this even more significant and relevant is that this area was a hot spot for Agent Orange, the chemical herbicide used by the U.S. during the war, now known to cause devastating health issues and birth defects.

Disability is about 15 to 20 percent higher here than in other parts of Vietnam, yet there are still so few services for children and adults with special needs. In Vietnam, the government provides some resources to children and adults with disabilities — but they don’t stretch very far. Many parents, especially those living in impoverished communities, are not familiar with many disabilities, especially ones like autism.

The Kianh Foundation is the only school of its kind in the entire province. There’s room for 80 students at the school, but the waiting list stretches to over 200. And the reality for the children who can’t attend here is heartbreaking.

Without the specialized therapy and education to help them engage in society, a child with disabilities — who grows up to be an adult with disabilities — rarely leaves their home. Unable to control their body or emotions, there’s no way they can leave. They are often locked in a room all day in an attempt to keep them contained and safe. But it ends up causing even more damage to their development.

“This is the best choice for them.”

Some parents attempt to take their child to mainstream schools, but with class sizes of 30-50 students, the teachers simply can’t provide the individual time and attention they need. Especially if a child has never learned to communicate or control their behaviors, it’s impossible to learn.

“This is the best choice for them,” says Hoang Pham, program development director at the Kianh Foundation.

A School for Children with Disabilities

The children at Kianh have many different conditions.

Some use walkers or wheelchairs due to cerebral palsy. Many have Down syndrome, or other congenital disabilities that affect their physical or emotional development. “But the most challenging is autism,” Hoang says.

He remembers one specific child with autism who came here after a traumatic experience at a mainstream school.

“The first time he came here, we did the assessment at the gate because he didn’t want to come in,” Hoang says. Every day, this child would come to school, but no farther than the playground. His father or mother stayed at school with him each day, and a teacher worked with him on the playground.

“For about six or seven months, he was outside the classroom,” Hoang says. Finally, once the child was familiar with his teacher, he came inside. The teachers began working to help him communicate, with help from a book of pictures that taught him to associate pictures with different words. Little by little, he began to learn.

Because of support from Holt sponsors and donors, ordinary families can afford to send their children to Kianh Foundation — even those living in poverty. Fees are based on each family’s ability, with some paying just $10 a month. The staff has found that a financial investment, even if it’s small, helps families be invested and engaged.

It’s clear why so many parents want their children to come here. The school is cheerful and bright, playful feeling, but it’s also state of the art. There’s a fully equipped physical therapy room, toys and art supplies, nutritious daily meals in the cafeteria, and special events and activities that the children enjoy. The lessons are very focused on life skills, and as the children age and develop, some even begin vocational training such as sewing, housekeeping or gardening – skills that could help them earn an income in the nearby tourist area. But what makes the most difference is the nurturing care and expertise of the staff — teachers, physical and occupational therapists, and experts in the field of special education.

But for a child to have the best success, the family has to engage, too.  

Learning for the Whole Family

“Especially at the beginning, we try to integrate the family first,” Hoang says. “Step by step, we figure out the individual parent and child. We don’t focus on formal or general training for the parent, but we focus on helping them with their kid only.”

In the beginning, it’s not uncommon for the teacher to have daily check-ins with the parents after school to discuss their child’s progress and train the parents on what to work on at home.

When Bao enrolled at Kianh, so did his parents. At the time, there were no spots open at the school for him. So instead, his family joined a special community program where they could learn how to help Bao.

Funded by Holt sponsors and donors, this program taught them about their son’s condition — and what he was experiencing in his interior world.

“The first thing is the knowledge about what autism is and what the children with autism are like,” Tuan, Bao’s father, shares. “Many parents didn’t know about that before.” He remembers a specific example that helped both him and other parents of children with autism understand.

“For example, looking at a banana, we don’t know what it looks like in the eyes of a child with autism,” Tuan says. “Many people look at the banana, but it’s just a banana. But in the eyes of the children with autism, it’s different.”

For the first time, Mai and Tuan learned to understand their son.

When Bao was 5 years old, an in-person spot opened up at the Kianh Foundation. This is when everything really began to change for him.

Bao began to learn how to communicate using a booklet of pictures. The teachers also helped him learn how to use the toilet. And as Bao learned new skills, so did his parents.

“It’s very important that I learn what the teacher trains my child [to do],” his mom, Mai, says, explaining why she works closely with his teachers. “Then I can train him exactly the same as the teacher trains him.”

Finally able to communicate, Bao was so much less frustrated and began to act more calm and happy — at school, and at home.

Bao at Home

Bao’s home is a couple of streets off the main road – where it quickly turns from bustling businesses and car exhaust to expansive rice paddies and wide banana leaves that overhang the path.

It used to be very difficult for Bao to have visitors come to his home. Because of his sensory issues, any extra noise was very difficult for him to tolerate. But today, it is no problem for visitors to stop by. He has improved so much.

Bao is now 8 years old, and he’s been attending the Kianh Foundation for three years. He knows how to use the toilet, get dressed, and even follow instructions like retrieving bottles of milk from the fridge.

Their house has two rooms, and the main room in the front has a large, wood-look foam mat that the family sits on. Bao walks from the back room and comes to sit with his mom. He brings his communication book, and points to different pictures to show what he wants. He’s hungry — his mom hands him a plate of food. He flips to another page in his book and points to a picture of a salt shaker. His mom sprinkles the salt on his food. She’s beaming. His progress is incredible, and she’s so proud.

“His improvement is very meaningful to us. I want to thank the [Holt] donors and the sponsors very much, because the Kianh Foundation is the right place that we can send our son.”

One of the biggest changes they’ve made since Bao began attending Kianh is talking more with him at home. Mai says she never knew if he understood her, and had assumed it didn’t make a difference how much she spoke with him.

“I’m not sure how much he understands now,” she says. “But I know he likes it. Now I talk to him a lot.”

Like every child at the Kianh Foundation, the goal for Bao is as much independence as possible. To be able to engage with his family, with his neighbors and in his community. And his progress means life-change for the entire family.

“His improvement is very meaningful to us,” Mai says. “I want to thank the [Holt] donors and the sponsors very much, because the Kianh Foundation is the right place that we can send our son. They train my son with all the skills he needs. I just want to say thank you so much for everything that my son receives from Kianh Foundation.”

Helping More Children

Back at the Kianh Foundation, it’s an ordinary Tuesday as children learn and play in their classrooms. But from the courtyard, a child is yelling. He’s not hurt or in pain, he’s perfectly safe. He’s just new. His one-on-one teacher follows him around the playground, expertly engaging with him to calm down.

The yells don’t phase the other teachers or staff. But when he’s especially loud, a couple of them exchange a knowing glance, and a calm and knowing smile. This is how so many of the children here started out, but they know the potential for progress that each child has. There’s hope for every child, because of this special place.

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Your gift helps a child with special needs receive the surgery, medicines, and specialized care they need!

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Your generosity helps children all around the world receive the nurturing care and support they need to grow and thrive.

Last year, your gifts provided essential healthcare and met critical medical needs — including lifesaving surgeries — for over 131,900 children. You also helped provide specialized care and support for 2,280 children with disabilities who are living in orphanages or in poverty with their families. None of this would have been possible without your compassionate heart for children in need.

Whether it’s life-changing medical treatments for conditions like cleft lip and palate or congenital heart disease — or specialized feeding assistance, therapies or special education for children with special needs — your gifts make a powerful difference! Every child deserves compassionate care that reminds them they are deeply loved and valued. Thank you for seeing these children, and for providing the vital care they need.

Here are just a few of the children you’ve helped care for over the past 10 years!

Feeding Support for Jin in China

See Jin’s progress in the video below!

Surgery and Therapy for Arban in Mongolia

Heart Surgery for Luli in China

Physical Therapy for Jolie in Mongolia

Cleft Lip Surgery for Rebekah in China

Disability Support for Giang in Vietnam

Deworming Medication for Kissa in Uganda

Heart Surgery for Lai in China

Carrying on Molly’s Legacy

Just as Molly gave her life “to the things that she loves with her whole heart,” we’re so grateful you share her heart for children with special needs.

To continue Molly’s selfless legacy, send a gift to the Molly Holt Fund today to make a lasting impact on the life of a child with special needs!

Give to the Molly Holt Fund

Your gift helps a child with special needs receive the surgery, medicines, and specialized care they need!

Help a child now

The post Each Child Seen and Loved appeared first on Holt International.

Altan is a happy little boy who spends his days at school, playing with friends, learning new skills and thoroughly enjoying mealtimes. But just a few years ago, Altan’s life — and future — looked quite different.

When Altan was born to his family in Mongolia, he had a twin sibling. But shortly after birth, Altan’s twin passed away, and his father abandoned his mother — leaving her to care for her infant son alone. Enduring loss and abandonment, Altan’s mother faced yet another challenge: Altan was born at just 4.8 pounds and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition that has impaired his muscular growth and development. By the time he was 18 months old, Altan could not sit up on his own, roll over or crawl, and he needed support to eat. Ultimately, his delays affected his ability to receive the nutrition he needed to stay healthy and grow.

Altan’s mother tried everything she could to help her little boy, but he was constantly sick and severely malnourished. With little support, she began to feel physically and emotionally exhausted. The demands of being a single mother caring for a young child with a disability were adding up. Feeling ill-equipped to meet his needs, Altan’s mother considered placing her son in an orphanage. But with a final ounce of strength, she continued to search for help.

Finding Help — and Hope

One day, Altan’s mother discovered a daycare center in her community that cared for children with disabilities. Partnering with Holt Mongolia, the daycare staff had received Holt’s innovative Child Nutrition Program (CNP) training, through which they had learned how to properly feed and nourish children with disabilities. Because of this training, the daycare center was able to welcome Altan and recognize the window of opportunity and interventions he needed to grow and thrive.

Like Altan, many of the children who enter Holt’s CNP are malnourished, anemic or struggling with feeding difficulties. Many have disabilities or chronic conditions, putting their health and development in jeopardy. But since it began in 2014, Holt’s child nutrition program has reached thousands of children with holistic nutrition and feeding interventions uniquely designed to meet their needs.

“Our targeted approach focuses on reaching the most vulnerable children early in life,” says Emily DeLacey, PhD, RDN, LDN, Holt’s director of nutrition and health services. “About 25% of the children we serve have a disability, and more than 60% are under the age of 5 — a crucial developmental period for growth.” Unless they receive the essential nutrition they need during this critical period, children face irreversible consequences to their development and overall wellbeing.

The CNP embraces the philosophy that how children eat is just as important as what they eat. While eating may seem intuitive to many, it can be far more complex for infants and children with disabilities. Through CNP training, our feeding specialists empower caregivers with safe feeding techniques tailored to children of different ages and abilities. This approach encourages caregivers to consider key factors, such as positioning, sensory needs and the feeding environment. Additionally, caregivers learn to conduct nutrition and health assessments, enabling them to monitor each child’s unique nutritional needs, track growth and provide personalized support.

Caregivers at the Holt-supported daycare center in Mongolia used these skills to assess Altan. They realized that every time he ate, he was experiencing aspiration as bits of food and fluid entered his lungs. Unsafe feeding practices can have many severe consequences, from aspiration and poor nutrient absorption to pneumonia, choking, emotional trauma and other psychological and developmental ailments. That’s why improving feeding practices — or changing how children are fed — is critically important. Like many children with disabilities, Altan became chronically ill due to being fed in unsafe positions. But with hands-on training, ongoing expert support and resources like Holt’s Feeding and Positioning Manual, teachers and caregivers knew that they could help Altan — and empower his mom with training and support to help her son thrive.

Recognizing that Altan needed immediate care, the CNP team in Mongolia quickly took action. They helped him sit upright in supportive seating and introduced safe feeding techniques to prevent choking or aspiration. Ensuring he had access to nutritious foods, including plenty of fruits and vegetables, they provided the foundation for his growth. With the right support and therapy, Altan gradually developed essential skills like chewing, swallowing, crawling and walking. Over time, with the dedication of his care team, he grew stronger. Eventually, he could sit up on his own, stand independently and even communicate with his mother, caregivers and friends, marking incredible progress on his journey.

About 25% of the children we serve have a disability, and more than 60% are under the age of 5 — a crucial developmental period for growth.

Emily DeLacey, PhD, RDN, LDN, Holt’s director of nutrition and health services

Altan also was able to thrive thanks to the generous support that Holt donors have provided to the Molly Holt Fund. The Molly Holt Fund is named in honor of Molly Holt, daughter of Holt’s founders and a nurse who dedicated her life to caring and advocating for children and adults with disabilities and special needs around the world. Donations to the fund go toward everything from life-changing surgeries and medical care to rehabilitative therapies and special education to Holt’s innovative child nutrition program trainings for children in orphanages, foster families or living with their birth families in the countries and communities where Holt works. In short, your generosity has made a world of difference to children like Altan.

Full of Smiles and Laughter

Today, after two years in the child nutrition program, Altan is healthier and stronger than ever before. Not only is he getting the proper nutrition to stay healthy, but he is also enjoying mealtimes! Full of smiles and laughter, he eagerly exclaims, “Let’s eat!” before digging into his favorite dishes. Fueled with good nutrition and stronger than ever, Altan enjoys being an active 3-year-old, going to school and playing with his friends.

Thanks to Holt’s generous donors who support the CNP, Altan’s life has been forever changed, and he’s not alone. Each year, thousands of children benefit from this life-changing program. From simple, cost-effective changes to improve the position of children during mealtimes to caregivers using our growth and health monitoring system to accurately meet each child’s needs, these interventions dramatically impact the health and wellbeing of children across the globe. Over the past 10 years, Holt’s innovative child nutrition program has expanded its reach to more than 110 sites in eight countries.

For a child like Altan, the entire trajectory of his life has changed, allowing him to soar beyond his limited beginnings and experience all of the joys that life can bring. Not only that, but his improved health has contributed to a stronger, more stable family. His mother is no longer fearful and stressed about Altan’s health and her ability to care for him. Instead, she is proud of the progress her son has made —and confident in their future together!  

Give to the Molly Holt Fund

Your gift helps a child with special needs receive the surgery, medicines, and specialized care they need!

Help a child now

The post Altan is Thriving, Thanks to You! appeared first on Holt International.

Shui arrived at Peace House when she was just 3 years old. Her silvery-white hair rested delicately under her sunhat, and behind her thick-brimmed sunglasses were soft eyes. Shui has albinism, a condition that presents both medical and social challenges in her home country of China.

She had just undergone a liver transplant — a major operation requiring proper after-care to ensure full recovery. Before the procedure, she had been living in an orphanage, but when her liver began failing, she needed urgent care. Many children who return to orphanages after critical medical procedures struggle to fully recover due to a lack of specialized care, often developing infections, open wounds and severe scarring.

Because of donor support for Peace House, Shui was transferred to a safe, warm sanctuary where she could heal.

Holt’s Medical Foster Home in China

Peace House is a special medical foster home in Northeast China. Holt began overseeing Peace House in 2011, but a lot has changed since those early days. The medical foster home was once located in the heart of Beijing, inside a high-rise apartment. The home welcomed nine children at a time, serving 30-40 each year. But recently, Peace House has transitioned to sharing a campus with an orphanage north of the city. With this change, Peace House has opened its doors to more children, now providing a home for up to 14 at a time.

The children now have the opportunity to spend time outdoors, something they couldn’t do in Peace House’s previous 31-story building in the city. Since Peace House shares a campus with the orphanage, children in the medical foster home can join in the fun activities organized by the orphanage, including holiday dances and celebrations. Caregivers also have more capacity to focus on providing specialized medical care, as the orphanage now handles food services and other basic needs. Before, caregivers were responsible for everything — cooking, laundry and more. These changes have allowed Peace House to impact more children in need of medical care, an opportunity made possible through the generosity of donors.

Overcoming Developmental Delays

When Shui arrived at Peace House, her self-care and motor skills were behind those typical for her age. She was unable to hold a spoon by herself or put on her own socks and shoes. Shui depended on caregivers for almost all her needs.

Early childhood care is critical to ensuring a child reaches developmental milestones. Without proper medical care, physical attention and nutrition, the effects of underdevelopment can be permanent. Institutionalization substantially increases the risk of delays. Children can experience developmental delays of a month for every three months they’re in an orphanage. But in nurturing foster homes like the ones Holt donors support in China and other countries, children receive the attentive care they need to reach critical milestones. In China, Holt donors support a number of group homes, including specialized homes for children with special needs — such as HIV.  And of course, Peace House.

After just two weeks of one-on-one care at Peace House, Shui developed the ability to feed and dress herself. And as time has passed, Shui has become more independent in caring for herself, even regarding her medical needs.

Living With Albinism in China

Shui’s white skin and hair set her apart from those around her, creating a stark contrast in appearance. She is often seen wearing sunglasses — and sometimes a sunhat — to protect her skin and eyes from the harsh effects of sunlight. Albinism, which causes a lack of melanin in the skin, significantly raises the risk of skin cancer. The absence of melanin also affects how she processes light, contributing to low vision and nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eyes. As someone who is legally blind, Shui will likely need vision support throughout her life and may be unable to perform certain tasks, such as driving.

While Shui faces certain limitations due to her condition, visual support and accessibility adaptations will help her confidently navigate daily life. In China, those with albinism have historically faced social ostracization and discrimination. As albinism is often seen as a symbol of bad luck, babies born with this condition are sometimes abandoned. As they grow, these children are typically excluded from traditional educational institutions and have limited career opportunities. This is especially challenging in a society that highly values educational and occupational success.

There are efforts to change the stigma of albinism in China. Organizations like Chinese Organization for Albinism are working to raise awareness and advocate for those with the condition. Their initiatives focus on providing medical aid, mental health support and crucial information to individuals with albinism and their families. The organization hopes to educate Chinese society about the medical aspects of albinism, which affects an estimated 100,000 people in the country. Care for the marginalized is also at the heart of Holt International’s mission — and Shui is just one of many who deserve love and care.

Shui’s Surgery and Recovery

Although albinism shapes Shui’s daily life, it was her urgent liver needs that brought her to Peace House. After undergoing a liver transplant, Shui needed ongoing care that her orphanage simply couldn’t provide. Thankfully, Peace House has made a world of difference to her future.

Without treatment, infected livers are unable to regenerate tissue and eventually fail. While in care at her orphanage, Shui was able to find a match and receive a healthy liver. The journey doesn’t end there, though, which is why Peace House is instrumental in helping children recover from medical procedures and providing support for children living with lifelong medical conditions.

In the first year following her surgery, Shui underwent frequent tests to monitor for signs of possible liver rejection. She began her twice-daily immunosuppressant medication regimen to help her body accept her new liver — which is a lot for a 3-year-old to undergo. Dedicated caregivers at Peace House helped Shui recover by administering her medications, performing needed tests and providing for her meals and basic needs.

In the time since her surgery, Shui has continually been impacted by her liver transplant. She continues to take immunosuppressants daily and has monthly check-ups to monitor the function of her liver. Along with the challenges of her liver, her albinism will be a lifelong journey, with her vision continuing to pose obstacles in her daily activities. She currently needs glasses but due to her nystagmus, she cannot be fitted for glasses until she is older. This leaves her in need of assistance while navigating daily tasks. Shui will continue to live at Peace House for another year, where she will receive care and learn to manage her medical needs as independently as possible. After completing her stay with Peace House, Shui will return to the orphanage, where she will attend school and continue to receive medical care from orphanage caregivers.

Shui’s Future Growing Up in an Orphanage in China

Through the generosity of Holt donors, Peace House has supported Shui through her early childhood development and a major medical procedure. She is continuously learning to manage her needs as a liver transplant survivor and a girl with albinism. Her caregivers aim to help her achieve independence as she progresses. As for her long-term future, Shui must continue to overcome adversity.

Last August, after more than 30 years, China decided to end its international adoption program. This policy change has altered the future of many children, particularly those with medical and special needs. Holt International hopes for international adoption to one day resume in China, as the need for international adoption persists. In the meantime, some children living in orphanages may be adopted domestically in China. But in reality, it is most often the youngest, healthiest children who are adopted by families within China.  As a child considered to have special needs, Shui is unlikely to be adopted domestically in China.

Because of this reality, the care Peace House has provided for Shui makes all the difference for her future. Through Peace House, she has received nurturing, ongoing care that she likely would never have otherwise received. She has made strides in her development, overcoming adversity and growing in her ability to function independently. While Shui may spend the rest of her childhood in an institution, her healthy development with Peace House caregivers will impact the rest of her life. At 5 years old, Shui is a curious and caring little girl who loves to help and share her toys with others. Peace House has given Shui a voice, which she uses to sing — even incorporating Peking opera into her repertoire from time to time.

As Shui returns to an orphanage with resilience, more children living in orphanages with medical needs will experience the haven of Peace House. Because of the generosity of donors sharing their hearts, more children will heal and overcome seemingly unsurmountable odds to live healthy lives.

Give to the Molly Holt Fund

Your gift helps a child with special needs receive the surgery, medicines, and specialized care they need!

Help a child now

The post A Haven of Healing and Peace appeared first on Holt International.

Hai cranes his neck to look through the doorway of his room. His eyes light up and his smile widens when he sees that there are visitors here to see him.

Every day, Hai spends most of his time in his crib. The crib is made of metal, with wooden slats on the bottom covered by a thin woven mat. Caregivers come in to help him eat, get dressed and go to the bathroom. Twice per day, he’s placed in a special chair and wheeled out to the courtyard to sit in the sun.

Hai has severe cerebral palsy, and very limited mobility. He can lay on his back, and turn his head from side to side, but his legs and arms are twisted tightly, and very thin for a 16-year-old boy.

“It breaks my heart,” says Hang Dam, Holt’s U.S.-based director of programs for Vietnam. “When he was in his former room, he used to have a television so he could at least watch cartoons and interact with younger children.”

Now that he’s older, Hai shares a room with a 22-year-old girl with a severe mental disability. This girl has only been here a few months, and before that she spent her whole life locked in her family’s home — because they had no resources to teach her how to function in public. This is heartbreakingly common for children with disabilities who are born into poverty. Now that she’s at the center, she has to be on medication to help her stay calm. She isn’t able to speak, and cannot interact with Hai at all.

Hang pulls stickers out of her bag and puts them on the bars of Hai’s crib. His smile widens, and he can’t take his eyes off them. He asks her to give him the rest of the sheet of stickers. He doesn’t want to use all of them up right away.

Child Welfare Centers in Vietnam

The orphanage where we meet Hai is located in a province several hours south of Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam. In Vietnam, orphanages are called “child welfare centers,” and they are directed and employed by the local government.

This child welfare center is a large, white two-story building centered around an open-air courtyard. The rooms, coming off of the courtyard, have white painted walls and white tiled floors.

From the outside, you wouldn’t immediately know kids live here. Not until you see the small plastic play structure in one corner of the courtyard, or the sports court lines painted on the ground outside.

The facility is clean, orderly and well-run. The caregivers and orphanage directors have strong relationships and bonds with the children, and they work hard every day to make sure the children’s needs are met. With the support of Holt sponsors and donors, Holt’s team in Vietnam helps provide medical care, more nourishing food for the children, nutrition and feeding training for the caregivers, and helps advocate for the children to ultimately join families through reunification or adoption.

But not every child will leave to join a family. And even though Holt has helped improve the quality for care at this orphanage, even a “good” orphanage is no place that a child should grow up.

No Place to Grow Up

The reasons children come to live in child welfare centers in Vietnam are because their families can’t care for them — either because they are truly orphaned, or their parents or extended family are incapable of caring for them due to mental illness, disability or imprisonment. Some infants, and even older children, are left at the gates of the center — and found and brought in by the staff.

This is a safe place for a child to live. But it’s meant to be temporary.

“The government strategy is now to deinstitutionalize,” says Huong Nguyen, Holt’s Vietnam country director. Deinstitutionalization, or transitioning children out of orphanage care, is Holt’s goal in every country where we work. We believe children are meant to grow up in a family, not an institution.

Huong explains that the government has strict criteria for who can and can’t be enrolled into orphanage care. “First [the government] sees if the child has any kind of relatives who can take care of them,” she says. “And even if a child does come to live at the center, they have a plan for reaching out to the family to discuss when they are able to reunite the child and the family.” 

Around the world, Holt advocates for every child to thrive in the love and care of a permanent, loving family. Whenever possible, a child should be reunited with their birth family. But if this isn’t possible, we next pursue domestic and then international adoption. But each of these paths can be complex, and the reality remains that thousands of children around the world live in long-term orphanage care settings.

Holt-Supported Orphan Care

Holt sponsors and donors have supported this particular child welfare center in Vietnam for over ten years. The youngest children in the center, and those with special needs, have Holt sponsors who help provide for their nutrition and educational needs. And over the years, Holt has provided supplemental funding to hire additional caregivers, as well as nutrition and feeding trainings for the staff through our Child Nutrition Program.

One of the caregivers, Le Leiu, has worked here for nine years. Her background was in nursing, which she said has been a perfect fit for taking care of the children, especially those with medical needs. She walks around, holding 22-month-old Vy on her hip, balancing the child around her own pregnant belly. Le Leiu says Vy has bonded especially closely with her. Vy isn’t walking yet, and is small for her age — it’s possible that she has dwarfism, and the caregivers and medical staff are continuing to assess her as she grows. She snuggles into her Le Leiu’s arms, giving a shy and small grin.

“This job is very hard work,” she says, “but seeing the children grow and develop every day gives me motivation.”

In 2019, Le Leiu took part in a training from Holt’s Child Nutrition Program. During the training, she and the other caregivers learned how easily children with disabilities can choke and get injured during meals, how to position them properly, and about the specialized formula or food they need to grow and develop. She says this training made a big difference for the children.

“Phillip,” for example, has cerebral palsy, and has benefitted greatly from the nutrition training.

His caregivers received the training when he was just a baby, so his whole life he’s been fed upright with the proper chair, utensils and technique. He hasn’t experienced as much aspirating, and the lung infections that can follow, like some of the other children have had to suffer.

Philip’s eyes are bright, and he smiles freely as he moves around in his crib, playing with a toy. Properly trained caregivers, and having enough of them employed at the center, have made all the difference for him. But this is a constant struggle for orphanages, which are chronically understaffed. Despite Holt’s efforts to bring in more caregivers, this problem persists due to Vietnam’s complex bureaucracy and strict policies.

Right now, for example, there are six caregivers who take care of the youngest children and those with special needs. But Le Leiu will soon go on maternity leave, and another caregiver recently got injured and is unable to come to work. So for the foreseeable future, there are just four caregivers – split up over three shifts – caring for 14 children with disabilities. The orphanage is doing its best to fill the gap by assigning one or two additional administrative staff to support the caregivers during meals and bath time, and by allowing older children to play and interact with the toddlers after school hours. 

Many of the children here — like Philip, Hai and Vy — have disabilities or special needs. But many others who live here are perfectly healthy, both physically and mentally. Some children live here for a short while, just several months or years until the can be reunified with their birth families. But many others, like Hai, will likely live here for their entire childhood, until they either age out and go out into the world on their own, or are transferred to a center for adults with disabilities sometime in their mid-20s.

Aging Out, or Adoption

What happens when a child moves to an adult facility?

“They stay there forever,” Huong says.

But thankfully, many of these children have another option — international adoption. That is, if a family comes forward before they age out of eligibility at 16.

While Hai is too old to be adopted internationally, there is still hope for 6-year-old Phillip, who has been on Holt’s waiting child photolisting for years.

“They see international adoption as very good for children.” Huong says of how intercountry adoption is perceived in Vietnam. “Because [the child] will have a better life, and they will be cared for better, and they will have more opportunities to develop themselves.”

This is because at even the best orphanages, they rarely have the specialized resources needed to help a child with disabilities and medical needs.

“What I’ve seen, and what makes me so sad,” Huong says, “is that for children with cerebral palsy, or autism or other disabilities, if they have enough therapy, their functions can be improved.”

But while they continue to live in the orphanage, their development is slow. While the resources provided by Holt donors address the most basic needs of the children — nutrition, education, medical care, even some therapy — their psychosocial and emotional needs can never fully be met in an institutional setting.

That’s why international adoption offers so much hope — in the care of a loving family, children can receive the medical care and therapies that are simply inaccessible in an orphanage.

Domestic Adoption in Vietnam

At Holt, our priority is to reunite children with their birth families. If that’s not possible, domestic adoption is explored for a child, and this option is always pursued first before international adoption.

However, domestic adoptions, Huong explains, really only happen for the youngest and healthiest children.

For the children who are eligible for domestic or international adoption, they live each day, month and year in hopeful waiting for a family to adopt them.

The Complexity of Reunification

For some children, it’s a different kind of waiting. These children are waiting for their birth family to become stable enough to bring them back home.

“I felt scared when I first came here to live,” says Thuy. Today she’s 16, but she started living here at just 6 years old. She’s a beautiful young woman, petite with an athletic build. Glasses frame her deep, bright eyes, which fill with tears as she shares her story.

“He can take care of me,” she says about her father, who lives just a couple miles away from the center. But the heartbreaking, unspoken implication is that he’s not truly capable of caring for her…

Thuy says her father used to come and visit her, as well as her older biological sister who lived in the center. But he visited less and less frequently as she grew up. Now, she mostly sees him on holidays.

“I wanted to live with my father, but he often drinks,” she says. “He goes out and gets drunk all the time, and comes back violent… So I feel safer here.” She cries softly as she shares this, and the orphanage staff who sit with her fail to hold back their tears as well.

Thuy says that in the future she wants to graduate and get a good job, so that she can help support her father and biological sister.  

Despite her father’s abuse and unhealthy lifestyle, it’s evident that she still cares for him deeply. It’s a complexity that shows a child’s deepest desire – to be loved and wanted by family. And while the children live here at the center, the caregivers try to operate as close to a family as they can.

Orphanage Family

The children who live here refer to each other as brothers and sisters, and to their caregivers as mothers. Because for the time being, they are each other’s family.

Caregivers will take the older children out for coffee, to talk with them and offer support. And even when children age out of the center, they often come back to help take care of the younger children — or to receive support from the staff as they learn how to find an apartment, apply for a job, budget their money and learn how to cook.

“I’m both happy and sad when I’m living here.”

Thuy walks upstairs, down an open-air hallway to a room that she shares with six other girls. Above the entrance to their room is a brightly colored, handmade sign that reads “Tiem Salon” with drawings of hearts and stars around it.

The room consists of three bunk beds, and in one corner are several clothes racks that hold the girls’ school uniforms and outfits.

Thuy shows us her bunk, but then points to a different bed across the room.

“I sleep here, though, with my sister,” she says.

“They love each other,” her caregiver says smiling. These girls aren’t biological sisters, but have bonded closely as sisters while they’ve lived here.

“I’m both happy and sad when I’m living here,” Thuy says.

This sentiment could describe every child who lives here. Each of them has experienced the heartbreak of illness, poverty, family loss and more. But they live every day with hope.

Here at the center, they are safe, they have enough food, go to school and have their basic needs met. Their caregivers do all they can for them, and are constantly striving to make their lives better.

They hope for a family — whether that means going home to their birth family or joining a family through adoption. And they embrace their “family” in the orphanage as they wait.

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The post Growing Up in an Orphanage appeared first on Holt International.

This past year, we captured some amazing photos of the children and families around the world who you help through kindness and generosity. In April, we visited children and families in Uganda who are thriving with the support of sponsors and donors. In May, we traveled to rural northern Mongolia with a team of Holt supporters, where they got to deliver gifts of livestock to traditional herding families. And in December, we celebrated Christmas with children who attend a unique special education program that you support in Vietnam.

Below, we share some of the photos that we felt best showcased our programs — and your impact — in 2024. Take a moment to view them again or discover them for the first time!

Top Photos of 2024 Around The World

Children with special needs in Vietnam are dressed to the nines as they celebrate Christmas, with performances, food and presents from their sponsors.

Children wore traditional dress as their families received gifts of goats and sheep personally delivered by a group of sponsors and donors who traveled on Holt’s vision trip to Mongolia in May 2024.

Some of our favorite photos this year came from adoptive family submissions. Sisters Ivy and Lili love being goofy together, and are known to be little “spitfires.”

Children in Cambodia enjoy school lunches you help provide through our Child Nutrition Program.

National Play Day in Uganda where Holt-supported schools invited students and their caregivers to play and learn together. Here you’ll see a young girl playing with a toy on the left, and on the right, a caregiver making the toy.

Visiting some traditional herding families in the northern hills of Mongolia, who received the gift of goats to provide for their family of seven.

In Vietnam, we visited a family who has greatly benefitted from the additional income they began earning after they received a gift of ducks through Holt’s Gifts of Hope catalog. This mom showed our team how she feeds her ducks that she uses to provide for her children.

In China, children residing at Peace House, a Holt-supported medical foster home, took a field trip to a nearby ecological farm.

Thank you for helping children around the world in 2024!

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The post Our Favorite Photos of 2024 appeared first on Holt International.

If you were here, you’d be smiling. You’d be swaying to the jazzy Christmas music. Giving “oohs and aahs” as little girls twirled around in their frilly red Christmas dresses. And probably holding back tears of happiness as you saw children file in for the party.

I can say this, because it was exactly my experience last week at the Kianh Foundation’s Christmas party. It was possibly the most festive, joyful party I’ve ever attended. And I’m so excited to share about it with you — because it’s your support that made it possible!

The Kianh Foundation is an incredible, one-of-a-kind school for children with disabilities and special needs in Vietnam. Here, they learn life-skills, eat nutritious lunch, have access to occupational and physical therapy — and grow and develop beyond what their families ever dreamed possible.

They call this school “the happy place.” And I can imagine no “happier” time here than at Christmastime. Especially today — Christmas party day!

All around the world children in Holt programs attend Christmas parties because of their Holt sponsors. They get dressed up, receive presents, eat a festive meal, play games and more. It looks a little different in each country. And here at the Kianh Foundation in Vietnam, they really go all-out.

When we arrived at the center mid-morning, the children were already getting ready. Teachers brushed children’s hair, tying it into neat ponytails or braids. Little boys donned sparkly sequin vests and ties. Little girls came out, shyly at first, in their red sparkly dresses. But moments later they twirled and danced around, “look at me!”

Some of the older girls, most of whom have Down syndrome, wore dresses of white tulle, and enjoyed putting on festive red lipstick. They looked beautiful, and you could tell that they knew it!

For over three weeks, the students — of all ages and physical and mental abilities — had been practicing their Christmas performance especially for this party. And their hard work was evident!

The first song started out slow with “Silent Night.” The students danced to it with Christmas wreaths, moving in slow looping circles.

As the music built, so did their choreography – all accumulating to the end where the older children created a tunnel with their wreaths that they younger children walked or were wheeled through to the grand finale.

The second song, “Feliz Navidad” took a more upbeat tone. Children jumped exuberantly to the beat, all the while waving their metallic silver and red pom-poms. The joy in the room was altogether overwhelming!

After the performances were over, children sat back down and another very special guest appeared… Santa! (Their school cook dressed as Santa.. shhhh!) Santa gave each child a special package — a gift from their Holt sponsor. Many children were overjoyed to find a small red firetruck inside!

Next it was time for the meal. But this wasn’t just any meal, it was a feast! There was fruit and sausages and pizza and steamed coconut rice in banana leaves and more. Children went back for seconds… and thirds!

And in the center of the table of food was a beautiful, ornate chocolate Christmas cake!

Throughout the performances, presents and food, the festive happiness in the room felt tangible. Children and their teachers alike laughed and had fun together. And all of this was only possible because of Holt sponsors and donors around the world… who cared enough to give these very special children a very special Christmas party.

The Kianh Foundation is an incredibly special place, where each child receives the life-changing therapy and education they need to overcome their challenges and thrive. Even more, because of this place, they have the opportunity to experience childhood joy. Like the joy of a party. And today, it was the joy of a very special Christmas celebration.

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The post Christmas at Kianh appeared first on Holt International.

Recently, Beth Smith, Holt’s China adoption director, retired after more than 25 years as part of Holt’s China program. Before she left, she reached out to China adoptive families asking them to give a gift to help children left behind in orphanages due to China’s recent decision to end international adoption. The response included both generous gifts for children and heartfelt messages from families who Beth supported on their China adoption journey.

Read one letter from adoptive mom Emily Hess who adopted two children from China with Beth’s help and support.

Hello Beth, 

I just received your letter in the mail regarding your retirement from Holt. I wanted to reach out to thank you for your many years of commitment to the children of China, especially mine. 

I will never forget hearing your voice the day before Thanksgiving in 2016 with information on our match, Ruth. She is an incredible daughter, a beautiful soul, a sweet sister, a best friend, a diligent worker and so much more. She has had five cleft-related surgeries and in Jan 2024 started monthly blood transfusions for her Thalassemia. Although her medical needs have been much more than we originally expected, I would move heaven and earth for her. 

And for Heidi. Your help and guidance in obtaining medical records, your support as we made a very different decision for a child we felt led to adopt although her needs were not on our checklist will never be forgotten. While we never planned to adopt a child who would need lifelong care, I cannot imagine our lives without her. The fragile state we found her in while in China is haunting. Especially as they closed just three months after we came home with her. I’m gutted for the many, many children like her who will now never receive the love of a family.  

So thank you, again, for all you’ve done over the years for the children of China. Our family is better for the work you’ve done. Our lives are richer for it. 

Praying your retirement will be well enjoyed, especially after these four years of battling for the children. 

All the best to you,

Emily Hess

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The post Our Lives Are Richer Because of You appeared first on Holt International.

James’s caregivers state that he loves participating in activities at school and at his home. He likes to play outside and visit new places. James’ favorite activities include any game with a ball. He also loves listening to music! James has met other people’s pets and various farm animals and likes to pet them. He enjoys playing with other children and works hard to do things on his own.

James’s ideal adoptive family should be able to provide ongoing occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech services. He will need ongoing support. His family needs a wheelchair-accessible home and needs to be familiar with in-home lifelong services. The family should also live near a children’s medical center for easy access post-placement.

If you think you or someone you know could be the right family for James, please email our waiting child team at adopt@holtinternational.org! We cannot share photos of him publicly due to country restrictions on privacy. However, we do have more photos and videos available to share with prospective families.

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The post James Needs a Family! appeared first on Holt International.