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= The Hnam Chang Ngeh project =

The Hnam Chang Ngeh project is one of Poussières de Vie's development projects. Poussières de Vie is a French NGO aiming to help the most disadvantaged young people in Vietnam through different educational programs in order to reach a successful social integration.

Hnam Chang Ngeh, meaning "House of Hope" in the local Bahnar language, is a hospitality training center, guesthouse, bar and restaurant situated in Kon Tum City, Kon Tum, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The project was inaugurated in July 2014 and has been running ever since.

General objective:
-         To contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of disadvantaged Vietnamese people through professional training and career development and contribute to the promotion of local cultures.

Specific objectives:
-         Train young people for careers in the hospitality industry and help their professional integration.

-         Use the hotel, bar and restaurant for the students’ practice of reception, service and housekeeping modules.

-         Open opportunity for volunteers and partners who want to participate and support the project through financing, job offering, or sharing knowledge and expertise

-         Accommodate tourists supportive of the project in Hnam Chang Ngeh hotel, restaurant and bar and develop tracks and other activities to promote the discovery of local cultures.

Sustainability objectives:
-         Human resources: recruit and train local staff for project, training center and hotel-restaurant management.

-         Premises: become owner of the hotel for students’ practice

-         Administration: obtain an operating license to be officially recognized as a training center

-         Students’ training: change and update the content and organization of the training according to the needs of the partners (eg period of training, duration of training, specific skills, etc.)

-         Partners: build partners' loyalty and develop the network

-         Project: to be self-sufficient. Firstly, with the hotel-restaurant part of the project so it can reverse its benefits to the training center part. Eventually, be self-sufficient fully with the hotel-restaurant and training center.

CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT
Kon Tum is a mountainous region of the central highlands of Vietnam. Ethnic minorities account for 54% of the population. In 2013, 20% of the population lived below the poverty line. More than 70% of the population lives on agriculture, but the region is increasingly opening up to tourism. The situation is said to be ‘sensitive’ in the Kon Tum region, particularly because of the strained relations between the government and the many ethnic minorities.

In this region, where the schooling rate is one of the lowest in the country, there are limited opportunities for vocational training. Many young people do not finish their schooling and leave school to contribute to family income by occupying jobs that are often precarious, seasonal and without any prospect of change.

GENESIS OF THE PROJECT
Xuân and Poussières de Vie are two NGOs ‘friends’ that have been working in Vietnam for more than 20 years to help disadvantaged children and youth. In 2013, these two associations, uniting their skills and network, have carried out joint projects to support ethnic minorities in the central highlands of Vietnam.

Their passion for the area and helping the ethnic minorities of the Central Highlands led them to the idea of undertaking an ambitious project:

Train young people from ethnic minorities for careers in the hospitality industry and assist them in their professional integration in order to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the ethnic minority families.

In July 2014, the two NGos opened “Hnam Chang Ngeh” Hospitality Training Center, which means “House of Hope” in Bahnar language. Since its opening, over 100 students have been trained (2014-2017) in a unique educational environment: a hotel for practice that allows students to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in class every day.

About Xuân
‘Xuân, The children of tomorrow’ is a non-profit organization, devoid of any political connotation, created in 1992, which aims to help the forgotten children of Vietnam victims of poverty. Xuân helps them access education and encourage them to strive for a brighter future by providing long-term and constructive support. The association believes that every child should have access to basic education. Hence since 2008 they have been actively assisting underprivileged schoolchildren in Kon Tum. Xuân withdrew from Hnam Chang Ngeh Hospitality Training Center in 2015, leaving Poussieres de Vie to pilot the development aid project.

About Poussières de Vie
Founded in 2002, Poussières de Vie, French for ‘Dust of Life’, is the translation of a Vietnamese phrase describing street children. Mainly made up of unpaid volunteers, Poussières de Vie is an independent, values-based non-profit, non-religious and non-political organization helping Vietnam’s most disadvantaged people through funding and managing a variety of projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Kon Tum province.

Poussières de Vie promotes lasting change in the lives of Vietnamese disadvantaged children by bringing them back to school, teaching them a trade and helping with their personal development. Poussières de Vie also trains the youth to use computers and speak English to broaden their horizons.

PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT
A hospitality training center called ‘Hnam Chang Ngeh’ ('House of Hope' in Bahnar language) was established in downtown Kon Tum and was inaugurated in July 2014 by two associations: Xuân and Poussières de Vie.

'Hnam Chang Ngeh' is the place where students come to acquire knowledge and skills and they have the opportunity to put them into practice in real situation in the hotel-restaurant of practice. The training center is close to the cathedral where students are accommodated and close to the Kon Tum market.

From July 2014 to August 2016, the premises are rented to the Family Garden Hotel in Kon Tum, which has agreed to leave a part of their premises available for the project.

In May 2016 began constructions of the own hotel, bar and restaurant of practice for students, new structure entirely dedicated to the Hnam Chang Ngeh project.

The construction of such a building is intended to accommodate more classes and also allow students to fully practice the theory learnt in class with real customers who have real expectations, which was restricted during the time in Family Garden Hotel.

Each year, 30 students are welcomed to attend a 10-month training course, including a 6-month training course in hotel and catering, which is complemented by a 4-month internship in one of the partner structures located throughout Vietnam.

During the first phase, several modules are taught to the students so that they get the sufficient knowledge to work in the hospitality industry:

-         English

-         Hotel and catering (reception, food and beverage service, housekeeping),

-         Computer (office tools and hotel management)

-         General modules (support in mathematics, geography, cultural differences and many other subjects).

At the end of the second stage (internship), students graduate and can be hired or referenced by one of the partner organizations or accompanied in their search for a stable job.

Others may decide to reorient themselves and receive support in their efforts and Hnam Chang Ngeh team will be there to support them in their actions.

1- Students are trained in the hospitality and catering industry and integrate professionally
·      30 young people a year receive a 10-month training course, including at least 4 months of internship

·      All young people undertake a minimum of 4 months internship in a partner hotel or resort outside Kon Tum.

·      Those who get a job in the hotel-restaurant or other sector within 3 months after graduation can then send part of their salary to support their families in the villages.

2- The training modules are regularly reviewed and adapted in a continuous improvement approach
·      Volunteers with specific skills contribute to the revision and creation of training modules.

·      Professional interventions are organized to convey concrete knowledge and experience in a particular sector.

3- Volunteers and tourists are welcomed and can discover the local cultures.
·      Volunteers, both local and foreign, deliver the courses; contribute to the pooling of knowledge and personal and professional development of the students.

·      Tourists are accommodated in the hotel of practice and participate directly in the training of the students.

·      Tours and activities organized by our partners are offered to tourists to promote local cultures.

-         Fondation TRYBA
"A world for children" - Fondation Tryba, supports programmes developed in Vietnam for children and teenagers' schooling who originate from rural families in extreme poverty. ‘Ever since 2015, we are happy to partially finance the professional training for youngsters of the ethnic minorities in Kon Tum with “Hnam Chang Ngeh" project by Poussières de Vie.’ - The CEO of ATRYA (TRYBA)

-         Solidarity Accor Hotels
‘Having worked abroad for 32 years, I never miss an opportunity to support the local NGOs! It is very gratifying to provide one’s help to the most disadvantaged and those excluded from society; I feel that I am useful for a noble cause.’

Lionel Moinard, General Manager Novotel Saigon Centre

Local partners
-         The local Father of the Wooden Church who provides accommodation for students at the boarding school of the cathedral

-         Hotels and cafés in Kon Tum training the students during their daily internships in their 6-month training

National partners
-         Hotels and resorts throughout Vietnam to accommodate students during their long-term internship

Technical and operational human resources
-         A "professional and experienced" project manager in the hospitality and catering industry, with excellent English speaking skills and preferably Vietnamese skills too. The project manager commits to set up and follow the training center project. The project manager is also responsible for the organization and management of the hotel

-         Local project management staff (training center and hotel-restaurant)

-         Local teachers

-         French civic services to support the project management staff and local teachers in the training center and hotel management activities

-         Volunteers of all nationalities with specific skills who can run various training courses. The volunteers also contribute to the revision, creation and organization of training modules. They are sensitized to the problems of the youth from ethnic minorities and have the chance to discover local cultures.

-         Local staff for the hotel-restaurant of practice

Poussières de Vie 's website