A brighter future for the most underpriviledged

Jan – June  2017 is the period when everything in our core program falls into place. 346 youth graduated from REACH training program in the first half of 2017 with above targeted job placement outcomes. Another batch of 224 students started their training at the end of March.

In this period, we officially expanded 6 months on-the- job hospitality training program (YCI) to Ho Chi Minh city with the participatioin of  Le Meridien Saigon, InterContinental Saigon, Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers and Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon.

Besides the partnership with 5 stars hotels, we have also developed a new work based training partnership in Danang with FPT, one of the biggest IT corporations in Vietnam. Toward this partnership, Web & Graphic Design students will receive foundation IT training at REACH for 2.5 months before they are sent to FPT for advanced training for 1 month. FPT is also committed to recruit REACH students upon satisfactory performance. Out of 20 WGD students who were sent to FPT in Danang for advanced training, 16 have received offers to continue working with FPT in projects targeting Japanese customers

This month, 23 youngsters graduated from cooking course after 3 months of training. Once again, we had the pleasure of doing the hard work of being judges in their final exams. We tried our best to be critical but couldn't help hiding our pride when seeing their products and how far the students have gone after only 3 months time.

If you wonder what REACH's cooking students are and What they do after graduating from REACH? Let's meet Thang and Thuy.

Thang

Thang has 5 siblings. He is from a poor farming family in Thanh Hoa province. Thang dropt out of school at grade 9 because his parents could not afford his schooling.

Thang dropt out of school to help his mother in farming work for a few years before starting working in a wood workshop 2 years ago. Thang's father was former soldier. He was shot in his head and had to leave the army and was diagnosed with heart defect two years ago. The whole family relied on farming work, which only provided income of about 10 million ( about $500 per year).

Thang is currently attending cooking training at REACH. Thang knew about REACH through an introduction from a friend who studied F&B at REACH. One of the things Thang remembers the most is how hard it was to toss mixing food with pan (it took him 4 days to learn the skill!)

Thang plans to work for 4-5 years to improve his cooking skill and have enough savings to open a small restaurant in his hometown.

Thuy

Thuy is 20 years old, from a farming family in Thanh Hoa province. Her family is one of the poorest household in the commune with the income of less than $45 per month. ( They are certified as poor household by local government).

Thuy has one younger brother, who is at grade 10. Her father and mother are both farmers. However, the income from farming work is so little that they have to find different seasonal work to earn extra income for the family. Her father has a hearing diffculty so it has been very challenging for him to find job. During harvest season, he can be hired to help other households' farming work with the pay of about 2.5 dollars per day. But the job only lasts for 5-7 days.

Thuy's mother also sells home-grown vegetable at a local market. She also collected trash that can be recycled to sell. 

After finishing grade 12, Thuy wanted to attend university but she knew that it would be just a dream. She enrolled in a 3 year vocational training program at a college but then dropt out because she could not afford training fees. When she studied at the vocational college, Thuy took part-time job at a duck restaurant to cover the expenses. After finishing her class in the morning, Thuy went to the duck restaurant . At the restaurant, there was no time to rest. She did different kind of work, from pucking the tails/ feather out of ducks, running the table, serving the customer, selling, washing the dishes.  Her work continued until 10.30pm, only then she could have dinner. After that, she rode her bicyle for another 30 minutes to her dormity, which was close by then. 

After 2 years, Thuy decided to stop her college education as it's too expensive for her. Then she was introduced to REACH through a friend. Thuy know that REACH's free vocational training program is a chance for her. 

Thuy graduated from REACH cooking training in March 2017. Now she is working as a cook at Japanese Sushi Kei restaurant. 

Links:

• REACH Annual Report 2016

In February, we celebrated the graduations ceremony of 39 students of Youth Career Initative (YCI). They spent 24 weeks participating in on-job training at five-star hotels in Hanoi including Hilton, Sheraton, InterContinental and JW Marriot. 

Under the program, each student underwent more than 750 hours of mentoring and hospitality training provided as part of the hotels’ daily operations. Students worked as hotel staff and are rotated through hotel functions, ranging from security and housekeeping to cooking and luggage services.

Besides technical training, the students received soft skills, computer and English language training at REACH. REACH is also in charge of placing the students at jobs after they graduate and following up their employment for 6 months.

By the time of their graduation, 34 out of 39 YCI graduates have already found suitable employment. Among them, 14 continued to be employed by YCI participating 5-star hotels.

So who are YCI students? What are their stories? How was that 24 months to them? Let's meet Chi.

...

My name is Nguyen Thi Chi. I’m 22 years old. I was born and grew up Ha Tinh.

When I was only 3 years old, I was deprived from love of my mother and protection of my father. Without love from my parents and good living condition, I felt myself like a fish out of water and pitiful among people. Having a true family has always been  a burning dream . I have a younger brother named Long, who is 18 years old.

After my parents’death, my brother and I were brought up by my grandmother. Despite her old age, she was the breadwinner, who looked after us.

Hunger and poverty kept chasing us. Crops were all swept away by flood. Running out of rice, my grandmother often borrowed some from our neighbours to feed us with sweet potatoes and cassavas.  There was nothing worthy in our house except a bed. Having no choice, my brother and I went to rice mills to beg for food helping my grandmother. My grandmother, despite sunny or rainy days, patiently looked for snails and small craps and gathered every rice flowers left after a harvest. Despite the difficulties, she saved every penny so that we could go school like our friends.

I went to school in the morning. In the afternoon, I collect timber/wood from nearby forest to sell at market. In summer time, there were days under muggy sun of June, I tended oxen to get by. Time flew by, when I finished grade 9, my grandmother encouraged me to go out for work, save some money to learn an occupation.

One day, I decided to go to Hanoi to work. My first job was domestic helper. New environment, new feelings made me discouraged. I hoped if only time could pass quickly so that I could go back home and live by my grandmother and my brother. Even if we have to eat  sweet potatoes and cassava to survive, that would be ok to me as long as I could come back home.

Whenever walking past high buidings, high-class apartments, hotels, I aspired I would be there one day. I always cherished to work in five star hotels, but I didn’t know how to reach my dream and there was also no one teach me how to make it happen.

One day, through a friend I got to know about YCI program, which gives me opportunity to learn in the environment that I dreamt of.

I was a trainee in Housekeeping at Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake. At first time I didn’t use to new environment. Sometimes I was sad for not helping my trainers but also bothering them. However, I felt myself happy to get encouraging words from my trainers “Fighting! I believe you can do! Fighting! I believe you can get over!” Those words urged me to try more in work not to betray my teachers, my trainers and my friends.

During that 6 months, I was always thoroughly adviced by my trainers, from the minor things. The first two months I worked under my trainer’s instructions, after three months, I could work independently and got the top of my hotel marking scheme. That memory left me an impression forever and was a stepping stone for me to try more.

6  months is not long but to me it was my most meaningful and significant time. There were times falling, at the moment of standstill, I recognized I didn’t stay alone but always received thoughful recommendations and protection from my teachers. I also attended practical extracurricular lessons organized by hotels and REACH.  To a homeless girl like me, compared to the start, I’m now more confident in English communication.

In the future, I wish to get a stable job in Hanoi to help myself, my grandmother and take my brother to Hanoi for studying. I also wish to buy a wheelchair for my grandmother, so she could go to anywhere she likes. I would feel high up in the sky if those wishes come true.

By the time Chi graduated from YCI program in February, she had found a job at luxury Fraiser Suits in Hanoi.