STREETS INTERNATIONAL ("STREETS") is a not-for-profit, sustainable, social enterprise initiative for street kids and other disadvantaged youth. It is an innovative program model that builds on the experience gleaned from successful grassroots charities such as Koto and Hoa Sua in Hanoi, Vietnam; Makphet in Vientiane, Laos; and CafeChavalos in Granada, Nicaragua. In Hanoi, for example, the highly regarded, sustainable and self-supporting Koto reports a remarkable 100 percent job placement rate for its graduates. Combining restaurant operations with education, training, housing and lifestyle support -- STREETS has the potential to dramatically change the lives of the impoverished young adults it serves.

Hospitality and food industry educators and businesspersons, along with international development experts, have come together to launch and replicate this sustainable model. Incorporated in June 2007 as a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Streets International provides the initiative, experience and financial support to offer a future to greater numbers of disadvantaged youth throughout SE Asia and other developing countries.

In many countries, the legacy of war and struggling economies is that a large number of youth live in a vulnerable world of poverty. Most developing countries are predominately rural, with often as much as 75 percent of the populations living outside the cities; many below the world poverty line. The reality of this situation is that an enormous number of youth are impoverished, with little hope of finishing school, let alone finding a livelihood. Many are forced to move to the city to find money to support themselves and their families. Most end up living and working on the streets, selling postcards or gum or shining shoes. In Hanoi alone, an estimated 19,000 young people live on the streets. Many suffer from poor health and some fall prey to drugs, exploitation, crime, and prostitution.

The hospitality and tourism industries are a large part of developing economies throughout SE Asia and the world. STREETS represents the first real chance for many street kids and other disadvantaged young adults to transition from poverty and life on the streets to successful careers in hospitality. This allows them to provide for themselves, their rural families, and to contribute to the development of the country as a whole.