My name is Trong, I am 20 years old, and am currently studying at Langports Sydney. I am a child of the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. I received a scholarship from The Langports Foundation in 2016 to study English at Langports Sydney.
When I was 7 years old, my mother passed away. I had to move to my aunts’ house because my father had left me behind to find work in a bigger city. Her family was very poor. She struggled to make a living for her four children and me. I went to school with the help of her until I was in high school. During that time, she could not support me anymore and I went to Hanoi City by myself. I was lucky to meet the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation during that time. They let me live at the Blue Dragon's House, helped me to return to school and let me learn the necessary life skills. I joined most Blue Dragon activities such as dance, photography, swimming and soft skills training such as communication skills and how to be more mindful with money (initiated by ANZ bank) and a career orientation program.
I also participated in some specialized apprenticeship programs for coffee making. In this barista course at the Oriberry Café, I learned to make cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. However, it was important when I stayed at Blue Dragon to learn to love and support people and I have great friends at Blue Dragon. They have taught me to become a good person. I would like to support disadvantaged children someday. I started to teach and support kids at Blue Dragon how to dance, how to swim every week and I helped Blue Dragon's staff look for children as needed.
Many times I talked with the Blue Dragon's staff, I realized that English is very important. I would like to learn more English to help me in my life. I felt happy and lucky when I finished high school. When I was told that I was the person chosen to receive the scholarship of the three candidates for a one-year course in Australia, I was excited to have fulfilled all the criteria that The Langports Foundation asked for.
I'm the first student in Sydney to receive this scholarship. I'm very honoured and also find that I need more effort so that when the course finishes I can fulfil people's expectations. To maximize my experience and increase learning opportunities, I want to find work opportunities to be more knowledgeable about life and people in Sydney. I believe that the knowledge and skills I learned from my time here will support me in the future in terms of human development and understanding adaptability to different cultures.
“The Langports Foundation have created a scholarship program with the aim of giving the opportunity for disadvantaged children/youth to create better life prospects, through education.
This year we asked Blue Dragon to help select a suitable candidate, and Trong became the first recipient of our one year study abroad program. When Trong finally returns to Vietnam, he will be helped to find work at a level that wouldn’t have been attainable without his experience and knowledge gained with Langports.
Next year, we plan to offer a similar opportunity to 2 more children.