The Story of Nam Class 1 Hanoi

I was born outside of Hanoi in a family with 5 brothers and after my father’s business collapsed he left home. At that time I was about 6 years of age.. Our family remained with a huge debt and so life became very difficult. My mother could not afford to send my brothers to school nor could she afford food for the family.

We lived in a village where we had to work in the fields. My mother worked very hard in agriculture but still she could not afford to feed the family. So my brothers went to the city to try and earn some money. I left school at grade 11 because my mother became ill and could not afford to pay for my education. I dreamed of going to university in Hanoi. Times were very tough and I left my village and went to Hanoi to try to earn some money to start a new life and support my mother.

In Hanoi I worked on the streets shining shoes, selling postcards and newspapers and even washed dishes for a small café selling pho. I was sharing a dingy 20m square room with about 12 other desperate street kids all with their own stories and some on drugs.

After a few months of getting up at 5am and trying to make some money selling on the streets, I was lucky to meet Jimmy Pham. When I met him he asked me ‘What would you like to do if you had the opportunity and what is your dream?’
It was a very hard question to answer as I did not see myself doing anything in the future apart from selling on the streets.

Jimmy rented a house for a few street kids, bought us food and I went back to school and completed high school.  At the same time KOTO started a small sandwich shop. In 2000 KOTO training centre started and I began to learn hospitality skills. I was lucky to be one of the first trainees at the new KOTO training centre in Hanoi.

I graduated from KOTO in 2002 and I became one of the F&B attendants at The Sofitel Metropole Hanoi Hotel.  I worked at the Sofitel Metropole for 5 years after which I was offered a position as Operations Manager at iTravel Vietnam in 2007. I loved working at iTravel and I enjoyed working in tourism industry.

In 2006  I was honored to receive the first KOTO Ambassador Award. The award has given me a scholarship to study at Box Hill Institute in Melbourne Australia. I am doing business management to achieve my goal which is to become a successful business man. One day I would like to have the chance to contribute and give back to Koto and fulfill its philosophy of Know One Teach One.

I will always give thanks to my mother for all she has done for me and to my big brother Jimmy Pham who gave me the chance to turn my life around and dream of a good future. I appreciate the assistance that my sponsors have given me. There are many challenges ahead for me but I am prepared to overcome the tough times. I am proud to be a member of the KOTO family and have Jimmy as a mentor.