VietNamNet Bridge – Slim body, gentle face, especially the eyes, Patrick Desir, a French-Vietnamese man, can only speak Vietnamese, not writing.

However, with Patrick, Vietnam is a place filled with his love. Despite anger from his wife, suspicion from his children, Patrick returned to Vietnam alone, determined to pursue charitable programs for street children.

The Pointcon Center was established by charitable organization Poussieres de Vie (Uncared-for Children) of manager Patrick Desir. This is where street children can learn English, computer using techniques and play sports free.

The center’s students are lottery ticket sellers, shoeshine boys, waste collectors and homeless children. These children have no big passion or desire except for the hobbies of playing computer games and surfing the web. So why don’t they join Pointcon to satisfy their hobbies for free and to fill their empty time!

However, this is the "trap" that Patrick "set." Poussieres de Vie Organization established Pointcon centers just to attract street children. Once they have these kids, Patrick begins his work.

Social workers will talk with these kids to ask them about their familial status, talk about the future and point out the nice life of an educated person.

The most difficult task of Patrick is to convince the families of these kids to send them to the center. Working on the street but these children bring about a significant source of income for their families. If they spend their time for studying at the center, their families will lose some money, while they do not know what their children can earn from the center. Many families did not want to let’s their children to join the center.

Patrick and his staff did not give up. They took a lot of time to visit these families to explain that knowledge is an important means to change the destiny of a person. And finally, they have been successful although it is not easy.

After 10 years, with two centers in HCM City and one Kon Tum province, Pointcon have helped the growth of many street children. Many people are married, have children and good jobs.

Many people have returned to the centers to help street children who have similar start as themselves in the past.

Previously, Patrick needed only $2,000/year to maintain the operation of Pointcon but now the amount is $100,000 for three centers.

As doing charity, people often focus on children with disabilities or orphans so Patrick’s desire to help street children raises many doubts.

"I have four sons. When I saw the kids at the same age as my children, I could not be content. For the orphans, they need a place to live and study. It is too much for me. For children with disabilities, they need people with the expertise to properly care for them. It is also too much for me. Meanwhile, I found out that street children are the subjects who need immediate help and more importantly, that task fit my ability. In the future, if I have sufficient conditions, I will help handicapped children and orphans," he said.

Each Pointcon center has over 100 trainees. The meetings at the center are lectures by guests about work, about the future that people deserve to have. They open up the desire for street children. To achieve those aspirations, the only way that street children must do is studying.

The biggest difficulty for Patrick now is how to share his time to the work, the centers and his family.

His wife and children live in France while he lives alone in Vietnam, so he regularly faces misunderstandings and blame.

"I can’t do “nothing,” because I cannot give up halfway through," Patrick, 50, said.

To maintain operation of Pointcon centers, Patrick called for assistance from the French community in Vietnam and charitable organizations in France.

The program to pick up bottle lids of French charitable organizations is a way to make money for Poussieres de Vie and its Pointcon centers. Patrick also regularly organizes events such as concerts by singer Christophe to generate revenue for charity.

Nguoi Lao Dong