The Good Samaritan

30 The Good Samaritan Quoc Thyungen is a 40-year-old Vietnamese Canadian. His story really inspires me. He came to Canada as a refugee with his family when he was just a three-year-old boy. There was a war in his country, and his parents wanted to move to a place where they could raise their children in peace and safety. Quoc grew up just like any normal Canadian boy. He went to school, played sports, and did well in university. When he graduated, he opened a restaurant. He was very successful. But something was missing in his life. He didn't really feel happy, although he had all the money he could ever wish for. One summer, he went on a trip to Vietnam. When he arrived in Hanoi, he saw many young boys living on the streets. They had no one to care for them. As he spoke with them, he realized how little they had and how much he had been given in his life.

He felt a strong need to do something big. He sat in his hotel room and thought about it. What could he do to help these forgotten and unloved street kids? He knew that giving them money was not enough. He knew that a hand-out would not really change their lives. He thought about his own life and all the people who had extended a helping hand to him so that he could help himself. Now, he knew what to do. He bought a small building in downtown Hanoi and converted it into a restaurant for tourists. It served Victnamese and Western-style food. He hired only street kids to work there. He taught some of them to cook, others to work with the cash, and others to wait on tables. It became a very successful business. So far, more than 75 boys who had been living without hope on the dangerous streets of Hanoi have learned a skill. Best of all, they earned their own money and no longer had to beg for it from strangers. And you know what? Quoc says that helping these kids has helped him find what was missing in his life.