History of Holt
Though Holt International is known as a Korean adoption organization, the truth is an American couple founded the agency. The couple, Harry and Bertha Holt, were an evangelical couple from rural Oregon in the 1950s. In 1955 they adopted eight war-orphaned Korean children to add to their already-large brood of six children, and in 1956 established Holt International Children's Services in order to aid other American couples in adopting Korean children, using Harry's large fortune from his lumber business.
The Holts claimed God compelled them to this work and relied on their faith frequently when facing trials and tribulations in establishing and building the adoption organization. When Harry died of a heart attack in 1964, many believed the agency would close. However, Bertha continued to work tirelessly and today the agency has placed over 700 children in permanent families in 13 countries around the world.
When Harry and Bertha first began placing children in the 1950s, they faced backlash from the professional adoption community. The Holts relied heavily on proxy adoptions, a system where U.S. citizens adopt in foreign courts by designating a proxy agent to act in their place rather than working through the adoption process themselves. In addition to this, the Holts overlooked many of the minimum standards and investigatory practices endorsed by social workers, and even placed some children with families that had been rejected by professional organizations. Eventually the Holts responded to the controversy and hired a social worker as the organization's Executive Director in 1962, and gradually involved into a professional adoption agency from there.
The Ilsan Center in Goyang, an extension of Holt International, is a center for the disabled that functions as a group home and family service center. In Korea, those with mental disabilities like cerebral palsy, autism, and Down syndrome are shunned by society for bringing dishonor to their family and commonly abandoned as children. Ilsan takes in these children and provides them a supportive environment where they learn basic job skills to become integrated members of society. The Center also provides support services for families that choose to keep their children with mental disabilities as well.
There are several reasons our professor had for scheduling a trip to the Holt Ilsan Center. One, since the residents face moderate to severe mental and physical disabilities, and the way these people are traditionally treated in Korean society, make it a prime organization where Korea's new mandatory reporting laws would come into play. Two, since our professor is a nursing professor, the chance to work with and help the residents is an opportunity she couldn't pass up. Three, since two of the other students on the trip (and another student's mother) were adopted through Holt International, this provides a chance for them to find out even more about the organization that affected their lives so greatly.
We toured the Ilsan Center facilities in the morning and then spent the afternoon taking the residents to a traditional Korean dance and music performance held in the Center's chapel, followed by a walk outside to enjoy the nice weather.