[Editional] Bertha Holt`s dedication

Bertha Holt`s overriding concern was the welfare of adopted children up until the last moments before she was called to God`s side. The surviving members of her family informed us of how she spent the last days of her life. All her time at her home in Eugene, Oregon was spent writing letters to the children her agency arranged adoptions for and praying for them.

Bertha Holt, who dedicated her entire life to finding loving homes for Korean War orphans, passed away Monday at the age of 96 at her home in the United States. The angel of South Korean orphans adopted to American families and their beloved pillar and `Grandma` has left them to join God. Many tell us that it was only her commitment to the orphans` welfare that drove her to continue doing physical exercises like early morning jogging. She wanted to stay fit to look after her children longer.

Lady Holt adopted 8 Korean War orphans in 1955 and raised them with her 6 children. Later, she and her husband, who died in Korea in 1964, founded Holt International Children`s Services, the world`s largest adoption agency. Since its inception, the agency has arranged the adoptions of some 70,000 Korean orphans overseas and found new Korean homes for an additional 18,000 orphans. Their firm belief was that children need the love and care of parents, be they biological or adopted, to have a happy and healthy upbringing.

Lady Holt has shown us what a life of love and sacrifice really means. Her life gives us plenty of food for thought. The creation of a beneficial social atmosphere and environment is imperative to look after those children in need of our care and protection.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare indicate that some 1,700 Korean children were adopted by Korean parents and 2,400 were adopted overseas last year, confirming the country`s sordid reputation as an exporter of orphans.

A new view of and a fresh attitude toward adoption are necessary. We must cherish the idea of child rearing not for the sake of carrying on a family name but for raising children to shape them into exemplary members of society. There is a need to launch a nation-wide campaign to erase the social prejudices against the adoption of children. Community welfare agencies have a limited capacity to look after orphans and needy children. A new system of entrusting a child`s upbringing to a family without entering him or her into the family register may be introduced. The families in charge of raising such children should be assisted by government subsidies.

The government also has an obligation to keep all pertinent files and information about adopted children, including their birth and adoption records, so that they may be referred to when adopted children wish to trace their roots.

Our prayers are with the departed. May her soul rest in peace when she is laid beside her husband in the family cemetery in the Holt welfare town in Koyang, Kyonggi province to respect her wishes and love of Korean children.