New hope for the kids of hanoi: report from a volunteer in vietnam

“I used to give to kid on the street—the most needy ones, the ones with babe on their backs,” says Saint Bridget, a New Zealander who has worked with Intrepid Tours in Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the past 16 calendar month. “But then I found out the truth. Many of those “baby blood brother or sis” are rented in order to generate extra understanding. Then they are drugged to keep them quiet.”

Saint Bridget has found another option: a stop at KOTO eating house.

KOTO is also a school that provides hospitality preparation for kid working on the streets of Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1996 by Jimmy Pham, an Aussie of Annamese origin, it is a registered Australian charity that aims to help kid by providing them with accomplishment and a job arrangement to leave street life buttocks. Through a preparation program involving theoretical and practical skills development as well as necessity life accomplishment, each of the 40 KOTO trainees has an chance to develop in a civilization of trust and teamwork and is supplied with a preparation allowance, meals, checkup insurance, and linguistic communication lessons.

While in Hanoi last springtime I visited the 80-seat eating house, located across from the Temple of Literature in the Old one-fourth, which service a breakfast buffet as well as lunch and dinner.

“Many of us face a quandary when we traveling to a development country,” said Pham, who continues to be actively involved in KOTO’s growth. “Faced with such poverty, we feel compelled to do something. But you need to understand that many kids make so much money from begging, that they can’t afford to go to school. And as their ‘cuteness’ factor fades they must resort to more lucrative and dangerous activities.”

“As I got older my street bosses gave me worse and worse areas,” confirmed Nguyen, a KOTO trainee who was born in a village in northern Vietnam and lived on the streets of Hanoi for several years. Now ready to graduate from the program, he has been promised a job at a major hotel. Full of confidence and hope for the future, he joked, “Maybe you hire me in Canada some day.”

Demand by street kids like Nguyen is far outstripping the school’s current capacity. Fortunately, travelers can help in many ways:

“Spread the word and encourage dining at KOTO,” says Pham. “Second, if you have skills in training, management, or the hospitality industry, talk to us about volunteering your time to work at KOTO. Or take a look at our wish list of items needed for donation.”

According to Street Kids International, there are over 100 million children living and working on the streets around the world. By supporting alternatives like KOTO, we can do a little to give them options.

KOTO Restaurant is located at 61 Van Mieu St., Hanoi, Vietnam; (84-4) 7470337, , www.streetvoices.com.au.

Intrepid Travel supports socially responsible local experiences and offers small group travel to Vietnam and other parts of Asia: www.intrepidtravel.com.

Michele Peterson, Local Encounters columnist for Transitions Abroad Magazine, has written for The Boston Herald, The Christian Science Monitor, The Globe and Mail, 50Plus, The Toronto Star, and The National Post, as well as many more. She is a contributor to the anthology Sand in My Bra, The Risks of Sunbathing Topless, and A Woman’s Asia.