Chào PK!

When PK returned to Vietnam from her year studying English abroad, she knew what she wanted to do: Pass on her new skills to children growing up in hardship like she did.

Right on board

It was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools around Hanoi were closed and disadvantaged children had nowhere to spend their days. Some followed their parents around the streets collecting scrap to sell at recycling centres; others stayed home alone for days on end.

Seeing that these children needed help, Blue Dragon stepped in to offer them safety, nutritious food and education at our centre. We ran classes on multiple subjects, making sure that kids around Hanoi could continue learning and playing until schools reopened. 

As our classes got into full-swing, a former Blue Dragon kid returned to Hanoi and offered to run some of the English lessons. Her name was PK, and she had experienced the transformative power of education firsthand.

PK running with Blue Dragon kids at this year’s Vietnam Ultra Marathon.

Behind the mask

Coming from an extremely poor family, PK was forced to spend her childhood days and nights selling trinkets to strangers on the streets of Hanoi. She caught people’s attention with her big smile and used her natural charm to get them to make a purchase. 

But her smile masked the cruel reality of her situation: The streets are no place for a child to wander alone, and she was in constant danger of exploitation and abuse.

Days and nights on end of covering her hunger, fear and exhaustion with a disarming smile took an increasingly heavy toll on PK. Whenever she thought about the future, all she could imagine was bleak trudge through more pain and more danger.

PK has always been curious and eager to learn new things.

The power of the present

Blue Dragon co-CEO Vi, who was once a street kid himself, met PK while he was out looking for vulnerable children to help one evening. Just like Vi turned his life around with Blue Dragon’s support, he offered PK the chance to do the same.

In our care, PK’s bleak picture of the future gave way to the thrill of the present moment. Suddenly, she was making friends, playing sports and learning about the world – and dancing!

PK found a sense of belonging in Blue Dragon hip hop classes that she had never known before. She joined sessions and events whenever she could, throwing herself into every routine and spending hours upon hours perfecting all her techniques. 

As PK learnt how to enjoy life again, she gradually began to envision a much different future for herself: One filled with hope, laughter and learning. 

PK showing her moves at a Blue Dragon hip hop performance.

Cycle of transformation

PK wanted to keep learning after she graduated from school, so we assisted her to successfully apply for an extremely competitive one-year English language scholarship with our friends Langports College in Australia. She returned to Vietnam a year later and put her new skills straight to use at our centre. 

Every time that PK passed on her knowledge to a child, she recognised the thrill and the sense of wonder in their eyes; that feeling of the world opening up into endless possibilities. 

After the lockdowns were lifted and a sense of normalcy returned to Hanoi, PK took a vocational training course and got a job for a Hanoi-based company that offers overseas employment opportunities for Vietnamese people. PK plays a big role in her company’s social media presence and helps them to organise huge events across the country.

Throughout her journey from street kid to marketing maestro, PK has maintained her relentless love of learning as she strives to embody her life motto: “You can’t choose where you were born, but you can choose where you succeed.”

The future is bright for PK.