CNN Heroes - Michael Brosowski - Director of Blue Dragon Company

Profile:

The son of a German immigrant, Michael Brosowski, had a childhood that was far from comfortable - the family actually built their house, and struggled financially. "Looking back on it, I'm so glad that I had that experience," he reflects. "I think it's made me a bit more resilient to changes. I grew up in Sydney and then spent my teenage years on a little farm with nothing but trees and kangaroos for miles."



Michael was working as an English teacher in Sydney when one day, he decided to pack up his life and move to Vietnam. He was all set to spend his weekends on the beaches of Saigon, but he ran into a group of street kids who changed his life. Michael now runs the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation in Vietnam, supplying food, medical help and a future to 700 Vietnamese street kids every year. He treats them as extended family and now is boldly tackling child trafficking rings.
     Michael first became interested in Vietnam after teaching Vietnamese refugees English when he was a high school student - and when he became a teacher himself. "A lot of my students were the children of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees. I'd always had some Vietnamese friends, now I had Vietnamese students as well and I was fascinated by their work ethic, by their loyalty, by their determination. I wanted to go to Vietnam and see for myself where they were coming from."
     Michael moved to Vietnam when he was 28, and a chance meeting with street kids changed his life's direction. "Anyone who's been to Vietnam has met street kids, you know, they're around the place. It's very easy just to chat. Vietnamese people are very friendly and open. They love to talk and they love to practice their English. I really enjoyed just sitting down by the side of the street and having a chat, letting them shine my shoes and I'd use that as an excuse to talk to them."

     Michael formed the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation in Vietnam, to help the street kids build themselves a more promising future.The Blue Dragon Children's Foundation works with each child individually. "We work with kids on an individual basis, so it's individual and wholistic at the same time. Poverty is a multi faceted problem - there are always health issues. There are always family issues and of course, money issues. You've got to tackle all of those problems at the same time and the only way to do that, that I can see, that really works is one-on-one."

Blue Dragon Child's Foundation

History

     The foundation was begun by an Australian school teacher, Michael Brosowski. He visited Vietnam in 2002 to teach English at the university in Hanoi. While there he met many street children. At first, Michael, along with one of his language students Pham Sy Chung, offered the children tuition in maths, English and yoga and art. They also formed a football team - "Real Betis Vietnam" which would later be sponsored by their Spanish namesake. The idea was to promote a sense of sportsmanship and teamwork while getting exercise. Initially 3 teenage boys turned up for these games.

     By early 2003, Michael has quit his university job to concentrate full time on the needs of the street children. Word had got round and more kept arriving to seek help. Medical problems, educational needs, somewhere to sleep... the problems were varied. In February 2003, work began on formalising the small group's efforts into a registered organisation.

    The process wasn't a simple one, but in March 2004 Blue Dragon Children's Foundation was registered as an Incorporated Association in Australia. In September 2004, it was registered as an Independent Non-Government Organisation in Vietnam.

     In late 2005, Michael and a Vietnamese law student - Ta Ngoc Van - rescued a child from central Vietnam who had been bought slave labourers in Ho Chi Minh City. This was the start of another program dedicated to recovering many more children in the same situation. To do this, Michael hired Van and his wife full time as Vietnam's only Child Care Advocates. As of June 2008 one child trafficking ring has been permanently disrupted and over 30 children have been returned to their homes.

    In August 2007, Blue Dragon began assisting in the running of a children's Home in Hoi An, central Vietnam.

Blue Dragon's Work

Blue Dragon's central aim is to get children into school and keep them there with the view to improving their employability and long-term prospects. To achieve this, many other tasks are undertaken. Accommodation is provided, or repair/refurbishment of their existing home if living conditions simply aren't suitable. Out-of-school tuition is provided to help children study. Books and stationary are given to those who can't afford them.

     Medical care is paid for in some extreme cases where it can save the life or lifestyle of a child. To date, two instances of cosmetic surgery (one facial tumour and one hare lip) have been funded or part-funded by Blue Dragon. These two operations have allowed the afflicted children to return to an education that they were previously excluded from as a result of their conditions. Another boy, seriously injured by a gang wielding knives and machetes, was nursed back to health with the help of Blue Dragon and returned to an almost normal life afterwards.

     Child trafficking is a major issue in SE Asia, and Blue Dragon now tackles this as a permanent part of its workload. Two staff members work full-time on locating and rescuing children who have been bought, traded or kidnapped by child labourers. The parents of many of these children believe they are sending them to a better life with an opportunity for education and a proper job. However, this is not the case and the children find themselves working 15 or more hours per day with no pay, and living in cramped unsanitary conditions.

     The Hoi-An Children's Home is now run by Blue Dragon with a full-time volunteer in charge. Approximately 30 children live and are taught here. All children who attend the drop-in centre can receive help with homework and/or basic non-school tuition. Healthy meals are provided, as is a place to sleep. 

     Blue Dragon works alongside many other charities in Vietnam. One of these, KOTO, has accepted several children from Blue Dragon onto its training program.

Here's what Blue Dragon has done since 2003:

To date, Blue Dragon has:

Sent 1,928 kids back to school and training 
Provided accommodation to 109 girls and boys 
Served 213,425 meals 

Built or repaired 42 homes for families
Distributed 17,923 litres of milk
Handed out 23,454 kilos of rice
Reunited 84 runaway children with their families 

Taken 733 kids to a doctor or hospital
Put 5 teens through drug rehab
Obtained legal registration papers for 557 children 

Rescued 101 trafficked children
Placed 62 teens in jobs 

Played 918 games of soccer

The Spotlight

This week has certainly ended on a high note, with Blue Dragon's work being featured on CNN:
CNNHeroes.com

VietlishTV - Michael Brosowski Interview

source: youtube.com , langports.com , simones-design.com , en.wikipedia.org , vietnamstreets.blogspot.com ,   lookatvietnam.com