KOTO - Know One, Train One

KOTO is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program that is changing the lives of street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.

“The greatest accomplishment for the person who has helped you, is to see you stand on your own two feet and then in turn help someone else that reminds you of yourself, because if you Know One, then you should Teach One.”

Mr Jimmy Pham,
KOTO Founder and Director

Jimmy Pham once helped four street kids get clean, now he runs a remarkable charity that has attracted international support, writes Fergus Shiel.

Since its establishment in September 2000, KOTO has trained well over 100 kids as skilled hospitality professionals, hosted international dignitaries including US president Bill Clinton and won the backing of the Australian Embassy among others. Graduates have the world at their feet with job offers coming from some of the best resturants and hotels in Vietnam and abroad.

Pham's life changed forever during a brief trip to frenetic Saigon in the mid-'90s.

"One evening I went for a walk and met four kids selling coconuts who told me they showered next to an open sewer twice a week and paid for the privilege. Next day, I organised for them to have a proper wash and by the time I left I was paying for 60 kids to wash and eat."

Pham financed KOTO with close to $100,000 borrowed from his family, having spent four years building trust among Hanoi's street kid community, supporting up to 60 of them on the money he earned as a travel industry consultant and tour guide.

KOTO is mostly self-funded but can always use help. It is a story of a hand up not a hand out.