In Vietnam, two members of a family of street vendors -- street sellers -- are finding a way to help the poorest students in Hanoi. Pham Minh Dap and his brother are providing the students with mostly free English and Japanese lessons at a learning center they created. The men want to help people who would not normally have a chance to learn a foreign language.
Some education experts in Vietnam say such knowledge may help college graduates get jobs. The countrys economy has improved. But many graduates continue to have a hard time finding employment. Local media report ten percent of university graduates do not have a job.
Earlier this year, 24-year-old Pham Minh Dap and his brother established a school they call Stand By You. Volunteers teach poor students English and Japanese.
Many classes are free. Students with some language knowledge pay 25 to 50 cents per class.
Mr. Dap pays about $500 to rent the language center space and for other costs. He gives about $150 from his earnings as a street vendor and private language teaching. His brother gives the same amount from money he earns as a secretary. Friends provide the rest.
Mr. Dap says students come to the city from the countryside and must pay for food or rent. He says the students parents are farmers. And he said farmers are very poor in Vietnam.
But Pham Minh Dap is also poor. He sells balloons and childrens toys outside Hoa Binh Park in the center of Vietnams capital. He works there for a few hours on most afternoons. He earns about five dollars each day.
