Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation

In October 2002 Michael Brosowski, an Australian teacher, arrived in Vietnam to work at Hanoi’s National Economics University. Within two months, Michael found himself teaching English to a group of kids he never expected to meet: shoeshine boys who walked the streets hoping to earn enough money to survive. By 2003, along with Pham Sy Chung, Michael was teaching weekly classes in English, math, art and yoga to 10 shoeshine boys. More and more kids sought their help, and by the end of that year, Michael and Chung decided to establish their own organisation. Within two years, Blue Dragon opened a combined drop-in centre and office in an impoverished area of Hanoi. From 10 shoeshine boys in 2002, the Step Ahead program which manages the Drop-in Centre, now provides individual support to 352 children. Our anti-trafficking work started in 2005, when Michael and a law student volunteering for Blue Dragon rescued a 13-year-old boy trafficked from Hue to work on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. This was to be the start of Blue Dragon anti-trafficking work which continues to this day. Blue Dragon's mission is to provide care to Vietnamese children and families in crisis while creating long-term change for a better world. Our work assists individuals, families, and whole communities; we use our experience of working with individuals to effect change to institutions, laws and systems. Currently, Blue Dragon is operating anti-trafficking programs in three different provinces in Vietnam and one dedicated to the exceptional care of street children based in the country’s capital city, Hanoi. We are granted permit to work in Ho Chi Minh city, Bac Lieu and Nghe An provinces. Our dedicated team of social workers, teachers, psychologists, lawyers and residential care staff offer a comprehensive range of services to our beneficiaries across all programs.