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Minh and his bartending journey

date_range2021-02-22

Minh has been studying English at Thang Long School for four years and was introduced to saigonchildren’s Getting Ready For Work Programme to study bartending in 7/2020. Minh is considered one of the most studious and hard-working students by both his English class teachers and vocational teachers.

Minh’s father is not present in his life, he lives with his grandmother, mother, and 2 uncles in a rental house in District 8 of Ho Chi Minh city. One of his uncles has paralysis and cannot work; Minh’s grandmother makes keychains at home with an income of only VND50,000 / day; his mom works as a shopkeeper at the market; and Minh tutors English every evening for 2 kids, earning VND 1 million / month.

Le Minh Getting Ready For Work

Le Minh had dropped out of school since 5th grade because his mother had an unstable job, and they also had to change their rental house often. Minh then enrolled to study English at Thang Long school in June 2016. Being dedicated to his studies, Minh’s English communication skills have largely improved, so much so that he is now able to tutor English to two small children. In July 2020, Minh continued to be supported by saigonchildren’s Getting Ready For Work Programme when he was provided with a scholarship to study Bartending at Saigontourist Hospitality College.

‘I never thought that I could one day train in such a professional environment like Saigontourist. I would like to thank Thang Long School and Saigon Children’s Charity for making this dream a reality,’ Minh said.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the whole family’s finances, Minh and his family were provided with noodles, rice and other food staples to help them overcome the challenging time posed by the pandemic in 2020.

At the moment, Minh has completed the Bartender course at Saigontourist with great results. He was introduced to work at a bar located in Phu Nhuan District, but because of scheduling conflicts, Minh is currently looking for another job. With the current uncertainty of COVID-19, bars are at a risk to be closed at any time to minimise the spread of the virus, so our staff is following Minh’s journey closely to provide any help that he needs. We hope 2021 will be a good year for Minh.

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