My Nonprofit Reviews

David’s Welcome House Story
This is the story about a little boy born in Rochester New York in 1947.
He was the son of a 17-yearold American woman who lived in India with her
parents and an Indian man who was the son of their housekeeper. When the
young woman returned to the United States, she gave birth to the little boy who
was immediately placed up for adoption for a variety of reasons, the main reason
probably being that she wasn’t married.
An adoption agency in New York attempted to find a family to adopt the young
East Indian American boy. Indian families were not interested because the child
was half American and considered an outcast in their religion. American families
were not interested because of the color of his skin.
At the age of one, the child was no longer eligible to continue in the agency’s
adoption program because he was too old. The only option left, was to place him
in an orphanage in Rochester where he would live his childhood.
Pearl S. Buck was contacted about this little boy as she was known for her
involvement in civil rights and her humanitarian efforts and had previously
adopted seven children from a diversity of nationalities. Pearl Buck requested the
child be sent to her and she would take responsibility for him as she felt he should
not be raised in an orphanage just because of his cultural background.
On the cold Christmas Eve in 1948, the child was delivered to Pearl Buck here at
Green Hills Farm. It was that night that Pearl Buck changed the course of my life
and Welcome House began.
I lived in Pearl Buck’s home for several months before she found me a home
with Lloyd ‘Poppy’ and Viola Yoder and their two children, Dale and Charlotte.
The Yoders moved into the farmhouse just up the road from Green Hills Farm,
Pearl Buck’s Estate, which was properly named “Welcome House”.
In March of 1949, Pearl Buck then formalized the Welcome House Adoption
Agency and my Yoder family quickly grew with the addition of 7 more boys and 2
more girls – all of Asian American background and considered “unadoptable”. The
plan was that we would all be adopted by people in the community. For the ten of
us, that never materialized. Instead, we were all given the opportunity to stay
together as a family to be raised by the Yoders with the assistance of Pearl Buck
and the Welcome House Adoption Agency.
We were also supported by community celebrities such as Oscar Hammerstein II
of Broadway fame, David Burpee of Burpee Seed Company and author James
Michener to name a few who were all founding Board members of Welcome
House and who we considered our uncles. My brothers and sisters have
maintained a close family relationship to this day although some of them are now
living outside Pennsylvania.
As I grew up, I considered Pearl Buck my grandmother - and I called her Gran. I
spent a lot of time at Green Hills Farm just being a kid growing up. Pearl Buck
allowed me to experience what it is like to grow up in a loving family, just like
every child TODAY who was adopted through Welcome House. Gran and the
Yoders gave me a sense of self-worth and I established a good work ethic
regardless of my background and skin color and the fact that I was not wanted by
my mother.
I was not fully aware of Gran’s importance and the significance of her work until
much later in life. She was just a loving caring Gran to me back then.
While growing up Pearl Buck and the Yoder’s continually reinforced in me that I
could do anything I wanted to do. The fact that I was Asian American had no
bearing on what I could do. Pearl Buck attended my graduation from Pennridge
High School. The Welcome House Adoption Agency and Pearl Buck found a
sponsor for me so I could attend Muhlenberg College where I received a Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Social Sciences.
After graduation I served in the Armed Forces and have since worked and lived
all over the US and the world. I am currently retired.
Throughout the years I maintained contact with Welcome House, now Pearl S
Buck International, as I never forgot about the opportunity given to me by Gran
and the Yoder family who raised me as their son.
I moved back to the area about 15+ years ago. When I was recruited to
be a Board Member for Pear S. Buck International in 2005,
I was extremely honored. I served as Chairman of the Board 2011-2013, and now
am an emeritus board member.
Since that time, I have gained a much greater appreciation for what my
Grandmother really accomplished during her life time and what this
organization is doing to continue her legacy – bringing children, families and
cultures together through child sponsorships, Diversity and Inclusion Training
Programs, cultural events and Leadership programs, as well as
maintaining her legacy through the maintenance of this National Historic site.
I was once a little boy, heading for a life in an orphanage with a bleak future.
Pearl S Buck International, the organization that changed my life and
continues to change the lives of 100’s of children and families around the world
every year.
My name is David Das Yoder.