Restaurant provides street children with training and hope

In one of the first projects of its kind, Friends International started up Mak Phet restaurant to provide vocational training for former street children, with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Gustav Auer, regional hospitality and business coordinator of Friends International, says his proudest achievement is building up the children's confidence. "Most importantly, through their experience in the restaurant, we want to nurture in the former street kids a sense of self-esteem," he told IRIN.

It is unknown how many children live or work on the streets of Laos. This is partly because the problem was not recognised officially by the government until recently. Often the children were rounded up, returned home or put into detention centres.

The organisation set up the Peuan Mit ("Friends") programme in 2004 and it is still the only one helping street children. Peuan Mit provides shelter, counselling and medical care for half the estimated 500 street children in Vientiane. Its preventative outreach programmes provide services to more than 500 children and 100 families at risk.

Photo: Jim Holmes/FAO

Mak Phet students serve FAO Goodwill Ambassador and international football star Roberto Baggio (bottom right) organic Lao food during a 2007 visit

Vocational training

"Mak Phet ["Chilli"] is part of Peuan Mit's vocational training programme. It is run by former street youth, those at risk, and their teachers," explained Auer. The aim is to provide the street children with life skills, including education and employment skills, to give them a sustainable alternative to living on the streets.

The restaurant project began in 2006. "We had to recruit the people who would teach the kids how to cook, serve and run a restaurant. Finding highly skilled people in the Lao hospitality industry took time."

Peuan Mit's team goes out six days a week to work with kids on the streets, while the community prevention teams work with at-risk families.

"We take [the children] to the Peuan Mit centre and ask them if they'd like to come and live here and participate in the training," Auer told IRIN. "We have a strict rule. If they go back on the street, that's it. They have to leave the programme."

Mak Phet has 24 trainees. For Phon*, it was not a difficult decision. "My family has many problems. My father always yells at my mother and takes money from her, and my youngest brother cannot walk. There's no one to care for him," Phon said. "I worried that my family could not survive. So I decided to come here to get some vocational training."

Dao has a similar story to tell. "I was living on the streets before Mak Phet. It was a very hard life. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do, and didn't have any skills. I came to Mak Phet because here I could get education, train as a chef … and improve my life."

Building confidence

Students gain basic training in food-handling, cooking, service, hygiene and safety procedures as well as classes in English, Lao and mathematics. Strong emphasis is placed on building self-esteem and self-respect.

Photo: Jim Holmes/FAO

Former street kids receive training in the Mak Phet restaurant kitchen in Vientiane, Laos

The course lasts between 18 months and two years, depending on experience and abilities. Two students have already graduated, obtaining work at two of Vientiane's finest French restaurants.

"At the moment, apart from the salaries of our teachers, which are still funded by a donor [Haugland Foundation], we are covering all our expenses. They include costs associated with [building and running] the new dormitory for students which we opened last month," said Atzimba Luna, programme coordinator for Friends International in Laos. "In about a year, we should be able to cover 100 percent of the restaurant expenses, plus make a profit, which will support other Peuan Mit activities."

In the meantime, the students are happy with the benefits the programme has brought to their lives.

"I still worry but I feel much better than before I came to Mak Phet," says Phon. "Now I send the tips I earn to my family to help them, and soon I hope to get a good job and support my brother. My life has really changed. It's a good feeling."

Dao agrees. "I have knowledge now that I can use for my future. I know where I should go. I know what I should do … Now I have hope."

*Names have been changed

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