KOTO (know one teach one)
Hanoi, Vietnam
KOTO stands for ‘Know One, Teach One,’ and reflects our belief that if you’re in a position where you can help someone less fortunate, then you should help them; and the greatest thanks you can receive is to one day see that person be in a position to do the same for someone else.
KOTO transforms the lives of disadvantaged and at-risk youth in Vietnam through an internationally-certified 24-month holistic hospitality training program along our KOTO Van Mieu Training Restaurant in Hanoi, which provides real life hospitality training and a source of income to support the Training Centre and the welfare of our trainees.
Established in 1999, KOTO has provided almost 1,000 youth with the opportunity to transform their lives and they have. KOTO alumni can now be found managing hotels and restaurants, head chefs at renowned hotels and leading restaurants, over forty now manage their own businesses, twenty have been awarded scholarships to study abroad, eight hold a Bachelor or Master degree and can be found working in twelve countries internationally. Most importantly they have embraced the KOTO philosophy of giving back to society as well as KOTO.
There’s an excellent little film about KoTo on YouTube which details their early years.