A US non-profit organization is giving street kids in Hoi An an opportunity that could change their lives by providing them training in hospitality.
Streets International began the program last June by opening the Streets International Restaurant and culinary training center on Le Loi Street.
It is the brainchild of Dr. Neal F. Bermas, a consultant who taught courses in hospitality management and entrepreneurship at New York University and the Institute of Culinary Education.
He founded the organization in 2007 after he set foot in Vietnam for the first time a decade ago.
During his travel in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the poverty-ridden Central Highlands, and the central region, he saw the hardship of young children toiling on the streets as chewing gum and postcards sellers.
Bermas said the clear and innocent eyes of the kids haunted him and prompted him to set up the project in Vietnam rather than other poverty-stricken areas in Asia or Africa.
He gave up his teaching career in the US to focus on Streets International and its first center in Hoi An.
Hoi An, the first location
“It took me five years for the preparation work in both the US and Vietnam,” he said.
Bermas explained his choice of Hoi An for the project, saying the town was yet to have a foreign organization to aid impoverish kids unlike other cities like Hanoi and HCMC.
The training program includes lessons in cooking, hospitality services and management, other life skills and English language skills necessary for the industry.
The students are also provided housing, active community-based support, and medical care.
They go through an 18-month curriculum that requires them to work in every area of the restaurant -- from the front office to cooking and management.
They receive lessons in some basic tasks like cleaning vessels, arranging tables and flowers, and greeting guests from Bermas and Sondra Stewart, a senior member of the organization.
Bermas said his style of training is to let the trainees perform the tasks and point out their mistakes to help them remember better.
Initially, most of the trainees were taken from local charity centers, but an increasing number of kids from the streets as well as poor families are now registering to attend the class.
“The students learn English really fast because the town has many visitors, making it easier for them to practice the language,” he said. “The most difficult thing is to train them in living skills since lots of the kids have gotten used to life on the street.”
Bermas said it takes time for the kids to get used to a disciplined and healthy lifestyle.
Memorable encounters
His encounters with certain trainees and their compelling life stories have left him with unforgettable memories, he said.
D. was a trainee from a local charity center. The fatherless kid fled Streets International two days after his arrival after stealing a bike at the restaurant.
“You should think about what you did,” Bermas told D. when he managed to contact the student. “If you still want to study, contact me.”
Just a few days later D. knocked on the school’s doors again.
“When I was young, I used to make mistakes like you,” Bermas told the boy. “My father told me if I knew I had done something wrong, be honest and brave to fix my mistakes like a man.”
He also encouraged D. to turn himself in to the police and return the stolen bike. The boy has since been doing remarkably well at the restaurant.
“The first thing I tell my students to remember is to respect their and others’ dignity.”
He gives each student a monthly allowance of VND400,000 (US$21.66). “I know lots of the kids have difficulty staying in class since they have to work to support their families. This small sum of money will partially help them to continue their study.”
Bermas and Stewart also make frequent visits to the separate housing facilities for their male and female trainees to cook and eat with them.
Stewart said: “I love this. It makes me feel as if I were with my family.”
Nguyen Thi Ly, a young girl whose mother remarried after her father passed away, said: “Neal often tells us to be confident.
“He tells us to talk to our friends and teachers to help each other. For me, this class is my family and Neal and Sondra are my parents.” Ly lives with her grandmother.
Streets International is planning to expand to other locations in Vietnam as well as Laos and the Philippines.
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