("Holt International Children's Services")
"When children are placed in loving families and can grow up being loved and have parents to love, that is a good legacy."
~Suzanne Holt Peterson
Interview with Suzanne Holt Peterson
Suzanne Holt Peterson is one of the Holts' birth children.
What were the challenges in adopting eight children? I was 12 years old when my parents adopted my siblings. The times were very different then. My parents had the finances to adopt their children. They felt that God had called them to adopt eight Amerasian children. My mother wrote a book, The Seed from the East, about the adoption. Holt in Eugene still sells the book. Their house was big so they had enough room. My father left for Korea to select the children to adopt.
My mother decided to find out how to adopt eight children. They were 50 and 51 years old and had six children. She went to the welfare place, and he asked why she wanted to adopt. She said they felt strongly that God called them to do this. Also, he was shocked that they already had six children and were older. He was not in favor. Also, at that time, the children had to "match" the parents in looks, etc. This would not be possible. However, God was with them and even though they had to get a special bill passed by the Congress of the United States, they did get the children. Later, they had to persevere to start the adoption agency. They did not have the normal qualifications to do studies on the adoptive families. The children were often sick that were being adopted, and doctors were afraid of diseases. Yes, they had many challenges. Their born children accepted the children into the family. I was jealous that they got attention and I felt left out. I eventually grew up and realized I had had a much easier life beginning than they did.
What was life like at home? Part of the time, I was jealous, but with the adoption, many people came to see us wanting to adopt children, or to see these children. Most of the people in our small community knew our family and accepted these children. I am sure that there was some prejudice about their looks. They were part American in heritage. Korea was not going to accept them at that time.
With the start of the adoption program, we suddenly had new things to learn and needed to hire office staff. My father returned to Korea. First, they worked with another agency, but later the Holt Adoption Program was started. Later the name was changed. My father was often in Korea, and my mother had to take on more responsibilities. My parents had to learn about how to care for the children that would be adopted in Korea. They had to build places for them to live until adopted. The office people had to learn much too. Some people would volunteer to help, and my parents had to learn about that type of thing. People sent supplies, and they had to be packed and sent to Korea. Many responsibilities for normal people, but God gave them strength to accomplish them. Sometimes my father would return from Korea and be very sick. He died when the adopted children were from 9 - 11 years old. My mother was 60 and a widow with many children.
Was there opposition to international adoption? Yes, there was some opposition, but my parents felt that God wanted those children to have homes and they were determined to accomplish it. Now, many years later, there are much better ways to evaluate families, and there are caseworkers to help people decide about adoption. However, Holt did as good a job as they could in the early days. I don't know much about the community. One of my siblings was possibly a victim of prejudice as she looked more Oriental. Some of them had feelings of being persecuted, I think. However, they did not talk about that to me.
I do remember that after my siblings came, we got hundreds of letters asking to adopt a child. We did get a few that were not nice, and mostly they did not put their name on the letter. One person said that we were bringing them over for slave labor. My sister Barbara was 18 and helping so much with the children. Five were in diapers, (cloth diapers were all that was available then). The diapers had to be changed, washed and dried, and folded before the next use. Barbara said, "With five in diapers, who are the slaves?" Meaning that she was a slave to help them.
Were your parents leaders in international adoption? My parents were the leaders as they first adopted so many children. Publicity came about, and they started the adoption program through faith that God wanted children to have homes. They did start the largest international adoption program. They brought large groups of children over to families. Sometimes they chartered a plane for the children. They needed families, and God helped people to find children needing them. They were successful in most of the placements. Some children did not fit into the home they went to, but other homes were found for them.
What is your parents' legacy? When children are placed in loving families and can grow up being loved and have parents to love, that is a good legacy. They did start the large Korean adoption agency and now there are children being adopted from many countries.
How has international adoption changed? In the beginning, it was a small family affair. They did not really know how to evaluate parents wanting children. They did have an agency that told of finances, and some type of investigations. The children were in desperate need of adoption. Now, there are case workers to evaluate the adoptive parents, and the children (many of them) are in foster homes until adoption. The situation in some ways is the same that children and couples need each other, but the children are well taken care of until they come to the parents. The cost of adoption is much higher now, but there are good safeguards to protect the children. People are willing to adopt disabled children, but much more is known now as the medical checkups give more information. Many other adoption agencies came out of people who adopted through Holt to work in specific needs or areas. It is more organized now than at the beginning.
My mother decided to find out how to adopt eight children. They were 50 and 51 years old and had six children. She went to the welfare place, and he asked why she wanted to adopt. She said they felt strongly that God called them to do this. Also, he was shocked that they already had six children and were older. He was not in favor. Also, at that time, the children had to "match" the parents in looks, etc. This would not be possible. However, God was with them and even though they had to get a special bill passed by the Congress of the United States, they did get the children. Later, they had to persevere to start the adoption agency. They did not have the normal qualifications to do studies on the adoptive families. The children were often sick that were being adopted, and doctors were afraid of diseases. Yes, they had many challenges. Their born children accepted the children into the family. I was jealous that they got attention and I felt left out. I eventually grew up and realized I had had a much easier life beginning than they did.
What was life like at home? Part of the time, I was jealous, but with the adoption, many people came to see us wanting to adopt children, or to see these children. Most of the people in our small community knew our family and accepted these children. I am sure that there was some prejudice about their looks. They were part American in heritage. Korea was not going to accept them at that time.
With the start of the adoption program, we suddenly had new things to learn and needed to hire office staff. My father returned to Korea. First, they worked with another agency, but later the Holt Adoption Program was started. Later the name was changed. My father was often in Korea, and my mother had to take on more responsibilities. My parents had to learn about how to care for the children that would be adopted in Korea. They had to build places for them to live until adopted. The office people had to learn much too. Some people would volunteer to help, and my parents had to learn about that type of thing. People sent supplies, and they had to be packed and sent to Korea. Many responsibilities for normal people, but God gave them strength to accomplish them. Sometimes my father would return from Korea and be very sick. He died when the adopted children were from 9 - 11 years old. My mother was 60 and a widow with many children.
Was there opposition to international adoption? Yes, there was some opposition, but my parents felt that God wanted those children to have homes and they were determined to accomplish it. Now, many years later, there are much better ways to evaluate families, and there are caseworkers to help people decide about adoption. However, Holt did as good a job as they could in the early days. I don't know much about the community. One of my siblings was possibly a victim of prejudice as she looked more Oriental. Some of them had feelings of being persecuted, I think. However, they did not talk about that to me.
I do remember that after my siblings came, we got hundreds of letters asking to adopt a child. We did get a few that were not nice, and mostly they did not put their name on the letter. One person said that we were bringing them over for slave labor. My sister Barbara was 18 and helping so much with the children. Five were in diapers, (cloth diapers were all that was available then). The diapers had to be changed, washed and dried, and folded before the next use. Barbara said, "With five in diapers, who are the slaves?" Meaning that she was a slave to help them.
Were your parents leaders in international adoption? My parents were the leaders as they first adopted so many children. Publicity came about, and they started the adoption program through faith that God wanted children to have homes. They did start the largest international adoption program. They brought large groups of children over to families. Sometimes they chartered a plane for the children. They needed families, and God helped people to find children needing them. They were successful in most of the placements. Some children did not fit into the home they went to, but other homes were found for them.
What is your parents' legacy? When children are placed in loving families and can grow up being loved and have parents to love, that is a good legacy. They did start the large Korean adoption agency and now there are children being adopted from many countries.
How has international adoption changed? In the beginning, it was a small family affair. They did not really know how to evaluate parents wanting children. They did have an agency that told of finances, and some type of investigations. The children were in desperate need of adoption. Now, there are case workers to evaluate the adoptive parents, and the children (many of them) are in foster homes until adoption. The situation in some ways is the same that children and couples need each other, but the children are well taken care of until they come to the parents. The cost of adoption is much higher now, but there are good safeguards to protect the children. People are willing to adopt disabled children, but much more is known now as the medical checkups give more information. Many other adoption agencies came out of people who adopted through Holt to work in specific needs or areas. It is more organized now than at the beginning.