Our Story
Follow the extraordinary history of Blue Dragon. We invite you to be a part of the next chapter of our story.PHOTO BY JIRI PASZ
2002
Michael Brosowski, an Australian teacher, arrives in Vietnam to work at Hanoi’s National University. Within months, Michael finds himself teaching English to a group of kids he never expected to meet: shoeshine boys who walked the streets trying to earn enough money to survive.
2003
Enlisting the help of one of his university students, Pham Sy Chung, and a whole lot of friends, Michael teaches weekly classes in English, maths, art and yoga to shoeshine boys, and they start a football team. More and more kids seek their help, and within months the idea for Blue Dragon is born.
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The first Blue Dragon residence for six former street kids is established in Hanoi. The boys call their home ‘The Big Room’.
2004
In Bac Ninh province, Blue Dragon launches a sponsorship program to keep poor rural children in school and off the streets of Hanoi.
Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation is officially registered in both Australia and Vietnam.
2005
With just three full time staff, Blue Dragon opens a combined drop-in centre and office in the impoverished Long Bien area of Hanoi. Meanwhile, Michael and a law student volunteering for Blue Dragon rescue a trafficked 13 year old boy from the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, the first of many rescued children.
2006
Blue Dragon holds its first annual Tet Awards, celebrating the Vietnamese Lunar New Year and the achievements of all the children.
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We move to a larger centre to accommodate the increasing numbers of children seeking help, many for the new free lunch program.
2007
One major trafficking ring is permanently disrupted by Blue Dragon’s newly formed anti-trafficking team.
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The team also rescues 6 teenage girls who were trafficked and sold to brothels in China; this is Blue Dragon’s first experience rescuing victims of the sex trade.
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Blue Dragon begins supporting the Hoi An Children’s Home, a government-run home in central Vietnam for 30 girls and boys.
2008
Blue Dragon kids receive training through cooperation with local businesses to become chefs, social workers, beauticians, motorbike mechanics, mobile phone repairers, and salespeople.
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Students supported to stay in school achieve excellent results and Blue Dragon starts to see the first students enrolling in university.
2009
A Blue Dragon boy, rescued from labour trafficking in 2006, accepts a scholarship to study for four years at Chatsworth International School in Singapore.
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The Stay in School program expands to over 500 children.
2010
Blue Dragon’s weekly soccer team is re-launched as Blue Dragon United Football Club, with a weekly turnout of 60-80 children.
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To improve governance, the Australian Blue Dragon committee incorporate to form Blue Dragon International.
2011
Blue Dragon reaches a new milestone, with the 100th rescue of a trafficked child.
Blue Dragon’s founder, Michael Brosowski, is named as one of 2011’s CNN Heroes. He was the first Australian to ever receive this accolade.
PHOTO BY MARK CHEW
2012
Blue Dragon relocates to Dragon House, a new centre housing Blue Dragon’s office, kitchen, classrooms, Drop-in Centre and crisis accommodation.
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Michael is awarded a Member of the Order of Australia, an honour that reflects the huge impact of the organisation he co-founded.
2013
Two new residential facilities are established for children in need of a safe home, and for young adults transitioning to lives independent of Blue Dragon. Up to 30 children and youth can be accommodated.
Blue Dragon steps up the fight against human trafficking throughout Vietnam, expanding our work in Hue and Dien Bien provinces.
2014
Blue Dragon’s work in Hanoi turns increasingly toward protecting street children from sexual abuse. Our team works with police and government to arrest offenders and interrupt trafficking rings both within Vietnam and abroad.
2015
Blue Dragon works with the National Assembly to revise Vietnam’s laws on Child Protection while expanding our services to street children.
2016
Blue Dragon United plays its 2000th game of soccer.
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In remote Dien Bien province, Blue Dragon builds a boarding house for students from ethnic minority communities who otherwise could not attend school.
2017
Blue Dragon opens a new safe house for boys who are unable to live with their own families due to neglect and abuse.
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10 years since our first rescue of a teenage girl from slavery, Blue Dragon has rescued 276 girls and young women from forced marriages and brothels in China.
2018
An important milestone is reached: the 500th homeless child is reunited with their family.
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Blue Dragon and Vietnam People’s Police Academy begin working together to combat human trafficking.
2019
To tackle human trafficking from the root and in close collaboration with local communities, Blue Dragon expands our work into Ha Giang province.
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Blue Dragon led an initiative to ensure all victims of crime the right to legal representation.
2020
COVID-19 presented new challenges for vulnerable Vietnamese families. This lead to an influx in human trafficking cases, runaway children, and street kids.
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Blue Dragon rescued the 1,000th survivor of human trafficking, a somber milestone in our work.
2021
Today Blue Dragon is working directly with over 10,000 children and youth from around Vietnam, transforming the lives of kids in crisis.
Our story continues, and we invite you to be a part of our next chapter.
