A brighter future for the most underpriviledged

What changes can you see in three months time?

For REACH students, three months means transforming from being unconfident to confident, from unskilled to skilled, and from hopeless to hopeful. For REACH facilitators, three months means getting to know many disadvantaged youth coming from different walks of life, guiding them and building their self-esteem. However, the relationship between REACH facilitators and their students never stop after 3 months, when they graduated. It is a on-going process. As soon as the teaching job finishes, another responsibility comes up: job placement for students.

Finding jobs is hard. It is required effort from both facilitators and students. Before official statistic about students job placement comes in, let's meet some of REACH students, who have made a turning point in their life.

Thuan - Study Hairdress and Makeup

Thuan is from Thai Binh, a countryside 110 kilometers away from Hanoi. Thuan’s parents are farmers. Having 2 siblings, Thuan is the youngest.

Thuan got to know about REACH when she was riding her bike looking for a job with an empty stomach. She had not eaten anything for the past 2 days. Although her application was 2 weeks late, she was still accepted to study Hairdressing and Makeup at REACH. Thuan always tried her best while studying at REACH.

In the evening, Thuan sold ice tea around the National Stadium area to earn some money for accommodation in Hanoi. There was a time policemen confiscated all of her plastic chairs for selling ice tea on pavement without permission. Many difficulties as Thuan faced everyday, she had never asked for financial support from her parents since her left her hometown.

After finishing her training at REACH, Thuan found a job in a Hair salon on Hang Be street. Now she has a sustainable income of more than $200 per month.

Huyen - Study Nail Painting

Huyen's parents are farmers. Because of family's difficulty, Huyen dropt out of school when she was in grade 10. Living in suburb area of Hanoi, Huyen travels about 50 kilometers each day to study Nail Painting at REACH. She wakes up at 5.30 every morning to catch early bus to REACH.  Now Huyen has nearly finished her training. She has found herself a nail painting job at a local hair salon.

Ba - study Food and Beverage

Ba's parents are farmers from Thanh Hoa. His family is listed as poor household according to Vietnamese Government criteria. Ba has one older brother, whose left arm is disable. Ba himself lost one finger when he was just a small boy. When Ba was studying at REACH, it was winter. His facilitator can remember him so well because he did not have warm clothes to wear.

After his graduation, REACH helped Ba to find a job in a restaurant with monthly salary of nearly $150 together with free meals.