Youth at risk
The legacy of war in Vietnam is that the country’s population is young and poor.
Sixty percent of Vietnamese people are under the age of 25. Vietnam is also rurally based with 75% of its people living outside the cities, and half of these living below the world’s poverty line.
The reality of this situation is that there are an enormous number of Vietnamese youth living in poverty with little hope of finishing school, let alone finding a career.
Many travel alone from the country to the city with dreams of finding a job and earning enough money to support themselves and their families. Most do not realise this dream and end up living and working illegally on the streets selling postcards or chewing gum, or shining shoes. In Hanoi alone, there are an estimated 19,000 young people living on the streets.
Most of these young people never find that stable job or the life they were searching for and sadly many suffer from poor health and some fall prey to the world of drugs, exploitation, crime and prostitution.
But, for a small number of these young people, there is some hope in Hanoi.
KOTO has so far assisted 100 former street and disadvantaged youth towards a brighter future. KOTO supports its trainees along every step in their journey from the streets right through to their first placement in a real hospitality job.
Through KOTO’s unique program, which combines hospitality and English-language training with the development of life skills, young people develop confidence and skills that enable them to move forward with their lives and secure stable employment. KOTO graduates are empowered with the ability to support themselves and their families, and through this, break the cycle of poverty.
To read about the successes and challenges of KOTO graduates,
go to
the KOTO
class summaries.