By Ha Tran | Grants and Sponsorship Manager
In the first half of 2021, it was bittersweet for the KOTO team to see class 35 finish their training and graduate. We bid farewell to our trainees with a heavy heart but were at the same time so happy to see them now mature and ready to embrace their opportunities. We believe they will do great things in the future.
In May, class 35 took on the greatest challenge so far at their final assessment, working together as a team to deliver a dinner to 30 guests. They have organized this event totally on their own, from planning, creating the menu, serving and sharing their stories through the food and beverages they had prepared. The dinner was an excellent performance that showed their creativity, technical skills and great teamwork, which meant that they successfully completed their 24-month training and were ready to receive their internationally-recognised Certificate III in Hospitality or Commercial Cookery. However due to COVID-19 which reduced their practice opportunities during the program, KOTO has arranged an extended 3-month internship for the whole class in two 6-star resorts in Phu Quoc island, a favorite holiday destination in Southern Vietnam. Upon completion of the internship, they have a high chance of becoming full-time staff.
Sad to see class 35 go, we were however glad to welcome new members to the KOTO family. In February, 19 young women joined our 6-month training program as part of the Her Turn, Women’s Economic Empowerment project, funded by the Australian Government, Lorinet Foundation and EMpower. These young women come from rural and remote areas, and 95% of them are from ethnic minorities. Then in April, we again welcomed another 27 trainees of class 38 to join our 24-month training program. They are disadvantaged and at-risk youth coming from 15 provinces across the country and 4 ethnicities. We hope the upcoming 24 months will be the most memorable and life-changing experience for these bright young people.
KOTO’s training centre located in Yen Vien, Gia Lam has been the home of our trainees for the past 5 years. During this time, the location has housed, fed and educated over 400 lives. However in June 2021, we decided to move our training center to a new location, now in Long Bien district. This new location is much closer to our training restaurant where our trainees have to commute everyday, and it allows us to save costs during COVID-19. The new training center is currently under renovation and we are excited to share with you more photos and news of our new home in the coming months.
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