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with Me believes strongly in supporting the communities we travel to,
and actively seeks opportunities to sponsor disadvantaged communities in
any way we can.
On our recent tour
to Vietnam, which involved some fantastic cooking classes, we heard
about the KOTO Training Centre. KOTO Hanoi - standing for Know One
Teach One - was founded by Australian Jimmy Phan in 2000 and has since
evolved from a small sandwich shop to a 120 seat restaurant. Providing
street and disadvantaged youth with an opportunity to acquire skills and
live a life of dignity and happiness are among the reasons Jimmy
started KOTO. KOTO is now recognised for its quality training centres
and dynamic restaurant and its effective grassroots development project
that is breaking the cycle of poverty in Vietnam.
Recognising
the importance of such a program in Vietnam, and impressed with the
impact KOTO was making on the lives of disadvantaged youth, TWMe
Director Annette Porter signed up immediately to sponsor a trainee.
Nguyen
Van Mung's father passed away when he was small. His 58 year old
mother is blind and he has supported the family from an early age in low
paying unskilled jobs. Through TWMe's sponsorship Mung will gain
valuable skills that will secure him a well paying job in the
hospitality industry.
Mung's life philosophy is to "respect the faithfulness of human beings. I believe that everybody is good when they was born".
All
of us at TWMe look forward to meeting up with Mung on our next TWMe
Culinary Sensations Tour of Vietnam, departing 2011 and checking on his
progress.
Please contact us for futher information on KOTO sponsorship or to register for our next Vietnam tour!
Letters From Mung
Culinary Sensations Tour of Vietnam 2011