Holt Orphanage: A special place of love . . .

Thursday Dec 7 was a day to remember. Helen Um, retired faculty from Ewha, took us out to the Holt orphanage in Ilsan, about an hours drive northwest of the city. We really didn't know much about this place before we went. John had seen a building near our church with "Holt Family Services" on the sign. Helen told us on the drive out that we were going to the disabled orphanage. There are 275 disabled children and adults in residence there. It is one of 11 Holt facilities throughout Korea. There are over 400 staff at Holt. The baby reception building is the one near our church - where they receive and assess the babies for adoption.

When we arrived, we met Molly Holt - the daughter of the founder ( photo 1). She has run the orphanage for almost 50 years. She is a nurse who got her MS in rehabilitation from UNC in Colorado - so we are alums from the same school. She lives on the compound in the home her father built. (photo 2 - his photo is on the mantel.) We visited many of the homes - girls home, boys home, adult home, etc. and then saw the rehab facilities. Our translator on our tour was Korean, but Ma Kyong Hee spoke fluent English (photo 3). She had prepared for 7 years to be "good enough" in English to get the job of international public relations.

At the orphanage, each home has a house mother and several nannies depending upon the severity of the kids. Some have Cerebral Palsy, some are blind, some have mental retardation. All are loved and cared for with special care. Molly gets special equipment like wheelchairs at a discount from the US (photo 4).

Molly was one of 6 children and grew up in Oregon. In 1950 her dad, Harry Holt, had a heart attack and almost died. At that time he sincerely prayed that if God would let him live, he would serve Him the rest of his life. After recovering, he and his wife Bertha saw a movie by World Vision in the high school auditorium about the orphans that were left in Korea after the Korean War. These were Amerasians ( half American and half Korean). Molly's parents could not get the orphans off their mind - so in May of 1955 her father went to Korea to adopt 8 Korean kids. Congress actually had to pass a law to allow him to bring more than 2 orphans back to the US - Eisenhower signed it. That is how it all started. Before long, her mom and dad were living in Korea helping send many orphans to the US through the Holt Adoption Services. Now their organization serves over 30 countries worldwide. In the past 50 years, Holt International has placed over 40,000 children in US homes. It is quite a family heritage. The orphanage in Ilsan sits on the side of a mountain and is filled with the love of Jesus (photo 7). Helen and John found special kids to love that day ! (photos 5 and 6).