Nguyen Viet Hoa gave up a stable job to set up an art and reading club for kids in his neighbourhood. He tells Duc Hanh why
Nguyen Viet Hoa is still haunted by the memories of his own deprived childhood. He recalls summer days with little to do and nowhere to go while kicking around the dusty streets of Hanoi’s Thanh Xuan district, where he was raised.
“Many of my schoolmates got up no good,” recalls Hoa. “You couldn’t find a course for drawing or music, or even a library around my house in those days. Now I see the kids around me living in a bad environment, only playing games online, watching violent cartoons, reading comic books or playing in the dusty streets.”
This inspired him to create an alternative, so three years ago he started the community art club Coc, Coc, Coc, which is the equivalent of “knock, knock” in Vietnamese. His plan was to offer kids a clean and pure space with more quality, enriching ways of entertainment.
“I want to offer kids a variety of choices with good books and a space for painting and reading,” he explains. Currently there are around 50 children attending Hoa’s classes, which are held on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons through the year with extra classes on Wednesday and Saturday morning through summer.
There is a fee – VND160,000 per month – but Hoa provides all the materials while also paying an allowance for two teachers and three assistants. He assures me he’s running at a loss. “Up till now I have lost VND40 million,” he says.
It’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make. A graduate of Hanoi Industrial Design & Art College, the young artist was being pushed by his parents to work in the agricultural industry. He landed a job easily enough but soon called it quits.
“When I gave up my job, my parents even called me a wicked son. My relatives called me an odd boy,” says Hoa. “But I still had a desire to make art and work on my craft and so while I was creating paintings, I realised I could open a class to teach kids how to paint.”
His parents still have not come to terms with his career decision. They describe him as “unemployed man who likes to play with kids” to their friends. But Hoa relishes his new role.
“In the early days, I sometimes felt very disheartened because only a few kids showed up but when I saw how they loved making art, I decided to keep at it,” he says.
His first class was held in a small yard on Vu Huu street in Thanh Xuan where Hoa rented a flat. His retired neighbours then kindly offered him the use of the hamlet’s meeting room to escape inclement weather. Some of the kids’ parents also canvassed others to allow Hoa to teach a second class for free under the stairs of an apartment building.
After he held a painting exhibition of his two classes’ work, the school managing board of Thanh Xuan Trung Primary School asked Hoa to open up a third class for which he charges a small fee. It didn’t come naturally to Hoa. He struggled to create a lesson plan for kids.
“Fine arts books in universities are not suitable for kids and are out of date as well while there is no modern art book for children available in Vietnam,” he says.
Over time Hoa worked with friends from Vietnam, Korea and the US and gradually over time he has improved his methodology. Now to make a lesson more interesting and lively, he will use music or poetry to inspire his kids. For example, when the kids are trying to draw the sea or the beach, he will read a simple poem about the sea and the sand or maybe he’ll play a CD with the sound of sea waves to encourage the kids’ imagination and inspiration.
To learn to draw people, at first he asked students to trace characters from cartoons or pictures before encouraging the kids to try creating their own. Hoa provides the kids with felt pens, watercolours, or oils. With the approval of the kids’ parents, he also organises picnics and excursions outside Hanoi.
The kids have showcased their work at exhibitions and some kids’ paintings have even been used as images for books published by the Kim Dong Publishing House in 2010.
The parents clearly believe in Hoa’s ability as an educator. They have even asked him to raise the tuition fee so as to improve operations or purchase materials for the club. The parents also source good books which are donated to the Coc Coc Coc library.
“When I started this class, I did not think it would become my profession. I just wanted to spend my free time helping children so they would not betray the trust of their parents,” adds Hoa.
But after three years working with the kids, Hoa is now trying to find an official course on social and community work. He also plans to open more Coc Coc Coc Clubs around Hanoi to help create spaces for kids from all backgrounds in Hanoi to learn more about art and literature.
At present, Coc Coc Coc Club is based in Room 18, D6, Thanh Xuan Bac Living Quarter, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi. Everyone is welcome – just “coc, coc, coc” on the door!
Contact Hoa at lopvecoccoccoc@yahoo.com.vn to find out more. about Coc Coc Coc Club
