Jobstart
Karen 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 postcards on the street.
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, and is now a flourishing artist.
From this success story the Jobstart program was born.
- Meet HOA (pronounced HWAH)
Hoa was 16 years old when Karen met him and comes from a very poor family. He was one of six children and had been labelled by his community as the “crazy boy” because of his severe “tantrums”.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.
The 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.
- Meet THANH (pronounced TUN)
- Thanh was 20 years old when Karen met her.
Like 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 was extremely pleased with Thanh’s performance. She finished her 6 months training in 4 months and has more recently spent one year in Australia training at the Mariana Hardwick Emporium.
Ready blog entry: Thanh & Ghi’s First Month in Melbourne
- Meet DAO (pronounced DOW)
- Dao was 18 years old when Karen met her, 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 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.
Karen’s 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?”. She now completed her apprenticeship with Streets, a local project set up by an American couple, to help young people gain skills and experience in the hospitality industry. She is now working in the Streets Cafe. If you’d like to read more about Streets Cafe and our favourite restaurants in Hoi An you can read about our Top Restaurants.
All Jobstart recipients are personally mentored by Karen. Mentoring involves finding the recipient:
- suitable accommodation
- purchasing clothing and basic living essentials
- cv and interview preparation
- enrolment into English class and training programs
- medical support
- negotiation of contracts and working conditions with potential employees
- and of course lots of love, positive reinforcement and encouragement.