Orphans & Vulnerable Children
Every Child Deserves Love and Safety
At Holt International, our first priority is to help children thrive in the loving care of their families. And yet, every day across the globe, children become orphaned or separated from their families. For these children, Holt works alongside our global partners to ensure they receive the most nurturing, attentive care in a Holt-supported foster home, group home or care center.
Our Mission
Services and Care to Help Children Thrive
For children who have lost their parents, or whose families cannot care for them, Holt provides a continuum of care designed to meet each child’s unique needs. Our goal is always to find the best possible outcome for every child.
Whether reuniting families, placing children in loving foster homes, improving orphanage care or supporting in-country adoption, we prioritize what’s best for children — keeping them connected to their culture, community, and when possible, their families.
80%
Of children in orphanages have at least one living parent
100M+
Single mothers worldwide struggle to care for their children
1/3
Of children in orphanages are poorly nourished
#1
Cause of child abandonment worldwide is poverty
How We Help
A Continuum of Care for Vulnerable Children
From training orphanage caregivers to reuniting children with their families, Holt provides services tailored to each child’s unique situation, always prioritizing their safety, wellbeing and connection to family.
Family Reunification
When safe and possible, we help reunite children with their birth families, providing the support families need to stay together and thrive.
Nutrition & Health
Holt provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, medical care, health education and more for orphaned and vulnerable children around the world.
Standards of Care
For children living in orphanages, Holt works to improve care quality: training caregivers, improving nutrition and ensuring children receive the nurturing attention they need.
Kinship & Foster Care
When children can’t live with their birth parents, family-based care with relatives or trained foster families provides the nurturing environment children need to thrive.
Adoption in Birth Country
Holt champions domestic adoption, helping children join permanent, loving families in the country and culture of their birth.
Our Vision
A world where every child has a loving and secure home.
This vision guides everything we do at Holt International. We never stop working until every child has the family, or the care, they deserve.
Our Approach
A Child-Centered Continuum of Care
Alongside our global partners, we strive to help every child grow and thrive in a loving family, not an institution.
1
Family Preservation
First, we work to keep families together by empowering them with the tools they need to grow strong, stable and self-reliant.
2
Family-Based Care
When children can’t stay with their birth parents, kinship care with relatives or a trained foster family provides the nurturing they need.
3
Permanent Family
For children who can’t rejoin their family, we prioritize domestic adoption first, then international adoption.
Help a Child Find Love and Security
Your support provides essential care, reunites families and helps children join the permanent, loving families they deserve. Make a difference today.