Poussires de Vie

We promote lasting change in the lives of Vietnamese disadvantaged children by bringing them back to school, teaching them a trade and helping with their personal development. We train the youth to use computers and speak English to broaden their horizons. Founded in 2002 by Patrick Désir and Olivier Petiot, Poussières de Vie's projects have since helped thousands of children. "We want to help street children in Ho Chi Minh City by giving them the means to support themselves and their families--not by begging but by going back to school or learning a trade," Patrick says. Since 1998, Patrick Désir has lived in Ho Chi Minh City, where he manages his own IT services company. Both of his grandmothers were Vietnamese. Paris-based Olivier Petiot also manages an IT company and one of his grandmothers was Vietnamese. "Obviously our backgrounds in the IT industry explain PdV's significant focus on IT training," Patrick says with a smile.