Media
Kick-starting Thanh's life
The Times - 2004
by Gerard Kelly
Karen Leonard backpacked around the world for 30 years before realising she couldn't return to her "normal" way of life in Melbourne.
She had experienced the highs and lows of overseas adventure, but it was becoming difficult to shut out her own memories of how cruel life can be.
It started when she made her first trip to Vietnam five years ago, trekking through the poverty-stricken Quang Nam Province.
"You can only hide for so long and ignore the plight and slot back into your regular life," she said.
It was in Hoi An that Karen befriended a 13-year-old street worker, Thanh, who was selling postcards on the street to support his family.
After buying a few postcards, Karen offered to buy Thanh a meal at a nearby cafe, where she listened to the stories of hardship faced by his community.
Thanh was the youngest of four children. His father was a fisherman, but hadn't landed a substantial catch in a while, so Thanh had to be the sole provider for his siblings and his sick mother.
Karen felt obliged to do something, and subsequently decided to foster him. Her first financial donation bought Thanh a new set of clothes and paid for his enrolment at school.
Five years later, Thanh is employed at a restaurant and will soon start an apprenticeship to become a chef.
Although he works seven days a week, 12 hours a day for the equivalent of $1 a day, Karen said he couldn't be happier.
"He now has a sense of dignity, worthiness and self-respect."
Upon returning to Melbourne after her first trip to Vietnam, Karen, an Essendon music teacher, vowed to return during her holidays to help as many children and families as she could.
Every year since, Karen, who has a 23-year-old daughter, has returned to Vietnam. Her trips to date have been self-funded, while she also has received financial support from family and friends.
But to make an impact, Karen this year created the Lifestart Foundation, a registered not-for-profit charity.
Through her first-hand encounters, three programs were born, each aimed at improving the lives and conditions of the people she had become close to.
"At first, I was literally on the back of a motorbike, carrying pigs and chickens to a family, and teaching them to keep one, so they could breed it and sell it at the market next year." Since then, the Lifestart Foundation has paid for medical costs and equipment, started education programs and improved living standards at orphanages in Quang Nam.
Lifestart's Adopt a Family Program was set up to help families living in poverty. It teaches families the basics of small business, with the hope it will lead to self-sufficiency.
The second program is designed to get street kids into apprenticeships and training courses, while the Orphan Assist program is designed to improve orphanage facilities.
"Conditions at the orphanages are extremely spartan. Children usually sleep eight to 10 per room, wood bunk-beds without mattresses are normal and comforts we take for granted don't exist."
The Lifestart Foundation will next month hold a Mid-Winter Christmas Dinner Dance, its first annual fundraising event, at 501 Receptions in Barkly St, Footscray.
Karen said she hoped to attract plenty of support from the Vietnamese community and businesses.
Tickets for the black-tie event on Saturday, August 7, are $60 a person, which includes a three-course dinner, drinks and entertainment.
Lifestart Foundation guarantees all donations go towards helping and providing for children and families in need.
Inquiries: Karen on 9331 2540 or 0402 132 432.