Founder of Vietnam's first social enterprise KOTO: Meeting 4 street children changed his life

Not feeling sad or disappointed when he learned that the homeless and disadvantaged children he took care of used the money he received to do other things, Vietnamese-Australian Jimmy Pham suddenly realized that giving a fishing rod was much more important than giving a fish. That was the motivation for him to overcome difficulties and establish the first social enterprise in Vietnam called KOTO - an abbreviation of the English phrase Know One, Teach One.

Arriving late for the interview in his usual clothes, Jimmy Pham said he was still “sore” after taking his kids to the movies the night before. Jimmy Pham’s assistant said he had no family of his own and that caring for and educating children from special backgrounds took up most of his week. Jimmy Pham is a man of Korean-Vietnamese descent. He was born in Vietnam and moved to Australia with his family. After more than twenty years, he returned to his homeland and founded a restaurant called KOTO, followed by a training center. KOTO was later officially recognized as the first social enterprise in Vietnam. Visitors to KOTO’s restaurant next to West Lake cannot help but notice the words right above the entrance: “The greatest achievement for someone who has helped you is to see you stand on your own two feet and be able to help others as they have. So, know one, teach one.” And that seems to be what he was most passionate about when telling me about his journey to becoming an elder brother to disadvantaged and disadvantaged teenagers.

There are people who will help women because they are the weaker sex and often face disadvantages in society. There are people who focus on helping patients in difficult circumstances. So why did you choose to help children and street youth? In 1996, meeting 4 children in Ho Chi Minh City changed my whole life. At that time, Vietnam still had many difficulties. District 1 was not as modern as it is now. The park in front of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater was full of street children. After taking the 4 children out to eat and talk, I realized many situations that I could not ignore. Therefore, when I returned to Vietnam again, I set a very clear goal: to help street children. For 3 years, I met disadvantaged children to give them money and teach them English. At that time, I thought I had done something wonderful. But then I received a "trick" that made me rethink how to help them. During a meal with the children in Hanoi to check on their situation, they apologized for lying to me. The money I gave them to rent a house, they used for other things. At that time, I was not angry with them, but I felt like I had failed them. So I went a step further and gave them “fishing rods” instead of “fish”. From there, the idea of opening a sandwich shop emerged. In June 1999, I opened KOTO in Quoc Tu Giam with the first 9 children.

Was the idea of forming KOTO already there when you returned to Vietnam, sir? If not, what led you to the idea of founding KOTO? In my time, everything was very clear. At that time, Vietnam only had non- governmental organizations and enterprises, there was no concept of social enterprises. I could not register KOTO as an NGO, nor could I register as a business because I did not have Vietnamese nationality. In a dilemma, I started looking for partners. But when I presented to my partners the model of opening a restaurant, using profits to raise disadvantaged youth, they all waved their hands in refusal. Because the concept of social enterprises was not widely known, my partners were afraid of being "reputed" when sponsoring my business. But in my thinking, to raise and train children, you need money. Secondly, they need an environment where they can both study and practice. So, the restaurant was the most practical place. However, if I sent them to another restaurant, people would stereotype them as lazy and untrustworthy. So I decided to open my own restaurant. Step by step, I came to the decision to establish the social enterprise KOTO.

It is known that you are the founder and CEO of the first social enterprise in Vietnam called KOTO, so could you explain what a social enterprise is? Unlike commercial enterprises, social enterprises like KOTO will use profits from business activities to serve society, to provide training for students and provide accommodation for them. In comparison, commercial enterprises will use profits to invest in business activities, continue to make profits and develop the company. But social enterprises invest in people. We need to create continuous profits to serve social activities. As a business, it will need a source of capital to establish, so how did you manage in the early days of establishing KOTO? KOTO started as a sandwich shop. At the time of establishment, my savings after 4 years working in the tourism industry were enough to buy 2 houses in Long Bien. But I did not buy a house but saved the money to take care of the children. I spent $10,000 to buy a baking machine, ran around to buy recipes and other supplies. After 1 year of opening the shop, I received sponsorship from 4 embassies to open a training school in Thuy Khue, Hanoi. The British embassy sponsored KOTO with a $21,000 stove, followed by the Danish, Swiss and Australian embassies. Just like that, KOTO gradually grew and the restaurant became known to many tourists. After that, I opened a training center for the children so that I could take on more students.

Usually, those who have been in a specific situation can understand and sympathize with the situation of others. Is it because you have your own story that motivates you to help others? My mother and siblings and I traveled through 6 different countries, from Singapore to Arabia. When I was 8 years old, my family moved to Australia. When I was young, I often thought that I was not someone who could bring much hope to my family. I felt that I was not good-looking, my academic performance was not excellent, and I lived in a family with no conditions. The thought that I would only become a "coolie" in the future haunted me. But my mother was the one who had a great impact on my life. She was an orphan but an extremely wonderful woman. Even though she could not read or write, and did not have a husband to share the burden, she still raised the 6 of us to become good people. I began to feel that I could rise up and become the person I wanted to be. Having lived through difficult circumstances, I could easily sympathize with those who had nothing. I wanted to reach out to the most “complicated” children in society, find out why, and help them change their thinking. It was like challenging myself, and I enjoyed finding ways to overcome that challenge.

Is it difficult to approach the children when the target audience is young people with special circumstances? It is extremely difficult for strangers from all over the country to live together under a roof of less than 500 square meters. But the children at KOTO have never quarreled or fought. Because I set 3 rules for them to follow, including not hitting others, not using stimulants and not defaming KOTO, the place that takes care of them. In addition to those 3 rules, if they do something wrong, they will be taught. They are always afraid of me because they cannot predict the "punishments" I will give. For example, there was a child from the West who always opposed his foster mother. I punished him to sleep with her. A month later, he stopped arguing with his foster mother.

Surely each young person who comes to KOTO has their own story and feelings? So is there any case that has impressed you the most, most touched you? If you ask me about the sponsors from 3 years ago, I probably won’t remember. But if you ask me about any of the more than 1,200 children, I can tell you where they are from, whether they are married, and what they are doing now.

When I intervene in time and help one more child have a better life than before, that is already a success. For example, a child who used to be homeless in Thuy Khue now has 2 houses in Hanoi. Both he and his wife are former KOTO students and have 3 children. Now he can give his child a better life than before. I also determined from the beginning that KOTO was not established to teach a profession. Teaching a profession only accounts for 1/3 of KOTO's meaning. What is important is that KOTO wants to teach children to become kind, useful people, people who know where they are and what they need to do for society. So in the past 6 years, I no longer "give them fishing rods to go fishing" but focus on changing the "fishing profession". We want to teach them core values so that they understand that they have the responsibility to build a sustainable society. Those children do not need to repay KOTO, they just need to contribute to the development of society. There are many street children, so what criteria does KOTO have to accept them? And during that time, did any of them give up, sir? KOTO has changed a lot in its policies and procedures for accepting students. Our admissions team has 3 criteria for admission. The first criterion includes the level of difficulty, whether they have violated the law or are violent. The second criterion is whether the child lives with the attitude that the whole world owes them and must help them. The third criterion is whether they have the spirit of Know One, Teach One. KOTO will also have a department to verify the children's circumstances. That shows that the admissions process is quite strict, not everyone who applies is accepted. Besides, we give the children a 1-month trial to see if they can adapt and love the environment at KOTO. We divide the training program into two phases with milestones of 1 year and 2 years. Those who cannot keep up can stop after 1 year, receive a regular certificate and receive support from KOTO to find a job. Those who can adapt and learn, KOTO will be with them until the end. So the entire program will be free. They will attend the graduation ceremony and receive an international degree. If they drop out before the end of 1 or 2 years, they will have to compensate for the costs that KOTO has supported them. This regulation is in place to make them more responsible and also to reduce the number of dropouts. Because if they really love their family, they need to prove it.

What will students be trained in at KOTO? When they arrive at KOTO, they will have an orientation week to observe and experience. After that, they will decide on their field of choice including: bartending, serving and cooking. They will also practice at KOTO's own restaurants. In addition to specialized training, students are equipped with many other skills such as basic information technology to serve their work. Second is learning English. Third is life skills training because they are disadvantaged children. 100% of graduates will work in the restaurant and beverage service industry (F&B). When graduating, KOTO will have partners to create job opportunities for students. After many years, some students may change careers, but that is only a minority. Currently, we are still renting a place to serve as a training center for students. Therefore, what I am most concerned about and looking forward to is to be able to build a separate, larger, more spacious school to continue KOTO's mission. At each graduation ceremony, seeing the students grow and change, how do you feel? There is no graduation ceremony that I do not shed tears. When the first classes graduated, as an older brother, I was truly proud. I wanted to stand on a high mountain and shout out loud how proud I was. At the recent graduation ceremony, what moved me most was when I heard an ethnic minority student say that his mother was very worried when he left him alone in the city, especially when he had never been to Hanoi. But after 2 years, he wanted to tell his mother: "I have grown up and I am about to go to Australia, Mom". He has changed his mindset and knows that he is the master of his own destiny. For me, that moment cannot be bought with money.

A non-profit enterprise, working to help society is a positive thing, but have you ever felt pressured or tired from this work? I feel pressured almost every day. When I decided to follow this path, there were no books written about social enterprises or anyone to guide me through the difficulties. But that was the good thing. I threw myself into it, got beaten up a lot and that helped me learn and gain experience. Although many people doubted that KOTO was “false advertising”, or that Jimmy Pham was just a “rich overseas Vietnamese”, I let people come to see for themselves how KOTO operates and see the achievements that KOTO has built. Then, they will naturally stop doubting me and my business. After nearly 18 years of hard work, KOTO was finally recognized as the first social enterprise in Vietnam. When I heard this news, I was very moved. Although I do not do it for recognition, it is a great source of encouragement for me. There are more than 50,000 social enterprises operating today and that promises a brighter future.

If you could choose again, would you want to live a more individualistic life, less attached to the community? I just thought about it yesterday. Everyone wants to have their own happiness, such as buying a house, buying a car. However, my desire is like planting a tree, waiting for it to bear fruit. For me, the ideal of serving the community is like the story of two guys on the beach. The one in front turned around and saw his friend holding stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. But there were thousands of stranded starfish on the beach. He told his friend that he could not save all the remaining thousand. The friend continued to hold another starfish, threw it into the water and said: "At least I can give the ones I help a chance to live". Therefore, we do not need to save the whole world, if each person just helps one more person, society will change a lot. Our country Vietnam will also be better. I have planned that by 2026, which is exactly 30 years since I returned to Vietnam, I will hand over KOTO to my successor. I have faith in my successor, who is also my former student. He is creative and has the ability to help KOTO develop further. As a recipient of the 2011 Young Global Leader Award from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Waislitz Global Citizen Award, do you feel proud of the achievements you and your colleagues have made for society? I do not spend time looking at the awards I have received, because these awards are not necessarily mine alone. In fact, thanks to the awards and big events, more people will know about KOTO and we will have more financial resources to invest and care for the children.

So, as the founder of the first social enterprise in Vietnam, what do you think about the contributions of yourself and KOTO to the overall development of the country? I think what I have done in the past is not enough. KOTO should be spread many times more than it is now. KOTO graduates have been able to do many things. They have developed themselves on the path they have chosen, developing their career fields such as tourism, hotels, restaurants. In addition, some of them even founded an organization called Hope Box to support women who are victims of violence. They are the ones who are constantly contributing to the country. For the country, successful citizens who pay taxes are much better than those who fall into social evils. KOTO has helped them choose the right path, become active citizens and contribute to society. Do you have any message or words of encouragement for those who are also serving the country in many different areas of life? Not only social entrepreneurs but also young people in general, we should stop thinking that we will only do useful work for society when we are full. Let's join hands to develop a civilized society. I hope that everyone can change their mindset to combine self-development and helping others, like the spirit of "Know One, Teach One". I firmly believe that when we do that, Vietnam will develop more and more. Thank you very much!

Article: Khanh Ly, Minh Phuong

Design: Hai An

According to Toquoc.vn