Jobstart

Children playing in a riverKaren Leonard has been backpacking to different parts of the world for the past thirty years. During her first visit to Vietnam several years ago, she developed a special affinity with the people of this country. This led to a strong desire to help those desperately in need.

In particular, Karen was deeply affected by the plight of the street children and subsequently fostered a young teenager, who was supporting his parents and three siblings by selling post-cards on the street. This young teenager now has full time employment in a restaurant and will soon commence his apprenticeship training to become a chef (his dream job!).

Karen witnessed the transformation in this former street kid who is now a young man with hopes and plans for a better future. He has developed a real sense of dignity, self-respect and ambition.

From this success story the Jobstart program was born.

Ready blog entry: Sinh's story
Meet HOA (pronounced HWAH)

Hoa with carvingHoa is 16 years old and comes from a very poor family. He is one of six children and had been labeled by his community as the "crazy boy" because of his severe "tantrums".

Last year, when Karen was introduced to Hoa she had a lengthy conversation with him and his family. It was obvious to Karen after this conversation that Hoa needed to see a doctor.

Karen's suspicions were confirmed when the doctor diagnosed Hoa with epilepsy and the family and Hoa learned immediately that he did not have an intellectual disability, but rather had a treatable medical condition that simply had never been diagnosed. The correct medicine was prescribed for Hoa and he has not had a seizure since.

Hoa carvingThe stereotype, however, still remains a problem for Hoa. Unfortunately it has been difficult to convince the town to be more understanding of Hoa's previous challenges.

Finding a good solution for Hoa's future was not easy as he has had little education, and needless to say, he does not get along with his peers, nor does he like social settings. After spending a lot of time with Hoa, Karen learned that the one thing he would like to do is become a wood carver. Karen made the necessary enquiries and found a master wood carver who was willing to train Hoa in this craft.

Hoa has now commenced a three year traineeship. A contribution or $240AUD per year will pay for Hoa's wood carving training.

Meet THANH (pronounced TUN)

Thanh is 20 years old.

ThanhLike many young people she had left her home and family on an island some distance away to come to Hoi An in search of work. Girls such as Thanh are usually desperate to get a job which will enable them to send money home to their families. Unfortunately this often leads them into conditions where they are completely exploited on all levels.

Thanh was fortunate to receive a generous sponsorship for unlimited funding. Thanh's sponsors agreed to pay for all living expenses while Thanh trained for her dream job, a masseuse. Thanh is now working at a 5 star hotel and has come a long way from the terrible work conditions where she once worked endless hours with no days off, sleeping on the floor with all her belongings in a plastic bag.

The hotel is extremely pleased with Thanh's performance, we believe she works so hard because she is not used to such a short 8-hour shift. She has finished her 6 months training in 4 months and has just signed a 12 month contract with Victoria Hotel Hoi An.

Meet DAO (pronounced DOW)

Dao is 18 years old, and comes from a village 70 kilometres from Hoi An.

She is 1 of 7 children. Her mother passed away when she was a year old, and her father is now very sick.

In order to help support her family financially, Dao left school after Year 9 to come to Hoi An to look for employment. She has had the same job at a seedy coffee shop for the past 4 years. Dao was working 7 days a week from 6am - 10pm (2am on game nights) for 500,000VND/month ($31.25 USD per month). She had no place to live and slept on the coffee shop floor at night.

Karens immediate plan for Dao was to move her into clean and safe accommodation . Next on the list was a bicycle which enabled her to attend classes and training. Dao was also provided with basic essentials such as a blanket, pillow, clothes, cooking equipment and utensils.

Thanks to Dao's sponsors her future now looks so much brighter.

Dao is one of the happiest girls you are likely to meet. However, when asked what her dream job would be, Dao had no answer as if she had never dared to have a dream, and it is doubtful that anyone ever bothered to ask her. A reminder of cultural differences, when in so many countries the number one question for a young person is "What do you want to be when you grow up?".

All Jobstart recipients are personally mentored by Karen. Mentoring involves finding the recipient:

Mentorship is ongoing.