Since 2017
YUU Organization is a youth-led non-profit organization aiming to empower ethnic minority youth in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Working closely with the community members, we develop a sustainable ecosystem of education, career development and cultural conservation to provide opportunity and narrow gaps for Highlands’ youth.
Since 2018, we have been part of VVC, a national organization specializing in promoting, supporting and coordinating volunteer activities for the community in Vietnam. In 2021, we received a recognition for our contributions to community service from the Vietnam Youth Federation of Kon Tum Province.
We provide tailored programs with local schools, orphanages, and civil society organizations to provide qualified education and extra-curricular programs for young people.
We provide career orientation and mentoring programs for high school students, train professional skills, and support students to apply for financial aid to study in higher education and vocational training.
We collaborate with local people and artists to promote community traditions and rituals on digital platforms and at in-person events.
Run by youth,to support youth
YUU Organization provides service-learning, project-based learning, and civic engagement training for staff members and volunteers before their direct services with vulnerable communities in the area. We believe that every youngster is a kernel of change, and our job is to support them in driving impact in a positive way.
“From a charitable project, YUU Organization has continuously improved to better serve our local community, build community force and support ethnic minority youth.”
9/2017
Our first project: a Mid-Autumn Festival for children in the Central Highlands.
2018
The first Youth Engagement Training Initiative summer camp, themed “Lửa Khát Vọng” (Fire of Aspiration).
2018
One sentence about Smile Class goes here.
2018
A second Mid-Autumn Festival for children, this time in Dak Ha.
2019
YETI’s second summer camp, themed “Ngàn Ước Mơ Việt Nam” (A Thousand Vietnamese Dreams).
2019
One sentence about Ấm Tình Xuân Sang goes here.
2020
One sentence about Smile Class and the Đừng Từ Bỏ Summit goes here.
2020
Online and in-person classes for 130 lower-secondary students at five shelters and boarding houses in Kon Tum, adapting to COVID-19.
2021
YETI brought students and facilitators together for The Local Cohort Summit.
2021
An educational project with Bahnar students to improve active learning and raise awareness of the local culture.
2021
A YETI camp themed “Liberate Your Potential”.
2022
A documentary and research on the tomb house statues of the Bahnar and Jrai people in Kon Tum.
2023
Động Tượng, an exhibition bringing the art of the tomb house statues to a new generation.
Counting down to our tenth anniversary on 12 September 2027.
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Together, we have supported 4,000+ beneficiaries from 16 orphanages and villages, with over 400 students in our programs since 2017.
Partner with usBridging the gap of accessing opportunities for Highlands youth.
Since 2018, YETI is an annual community-based summer camp that provides skill and leadership training for minority students. Every year, YETI organizes a multi-day camp with a different theme, such as career orientation, emotional intelligence, sex education and localized leadership. Built on project-based learning, we deliver interactive learning activities and guide students in active learning.
For 8 years, YETI has supported 350+ ethnic minority students. Many of them have successfully graduated from universities and colleges.
The program was funded by the OSUN Global Fellowship Grant and Fulbright University Vietnam’s Student-led Initiative Grant.
Read the story“Localized Project-based Learning” is an educational project for Bahnar students to improve active learning methods and raise awareness of the local culture. The project includes three main activities: running a summer class, creating project-based learning toolkits for local teachers, and supporting students to run their projects for a school competition.
Students and teachers access multiple teaching methods, and find the ones that help students carry their knowledge from theory into practice.
The program was funded by the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS) and Irish Aid.
Read the storyThe Wooden Funeral Sculpture Program aims to preserve the folk art of the tomb house statues in Kon Tum, and to introduce the cultural beauty of the tomb statues to the next generations of the Bahnar and Jrai people and to the wider community.
Through the program, YUU Organization shares the cultural values of the Bahnar people, preserves the folk art of sculpting, and encourages new folk art forms that bring the tomb statues closer to the younger generation.
The program was funded by Fulbright University Vietnam’s Community Change-maker Scholarship, the OSUN Center for Human Rights and the Arts Microgrant, and the LIN Center for Community Development Seed Fund.
Read the storyHear our volunteers and students talk about YUU Organization.
“If I get the chance, I still want to join YETI next season, because through the programme I can learn new things I didn’t know before. I also want to meet the organisers again: such creative, passionate people.”
“I remember learning much more about community development, and ideas about charity, community and culture. We even practised being tour guides, introducing the beauty of our homeland.”
“What stayed with me most were Phong’s inspiring talks, especially his story about how, when life got stressful, he chose to clean the bathroom to relieve the pressure.”
“I am grateful to YUU, and to the core team who poured so much heart into giving me such a memorable journey. Without YUU, I might still be a shy girl who only dared to watch the world from afar, not the Linh who dared to step out, to talk, to connect and to dream.”
“After the project, I felt so happy and grateful to have been part of this programme. The exchange days taught me about the culture and history of the ethnic minority peoples of Kon Tum, and gave me the chance to proudly introduce my own homeland. The most meaningful part was connecting with new friends, sharing and learning together, and making memories worth keeping.”
“How happy I was when the children realised I couldn’t speak loudly: they went quiet, listened closely to my lesson, and made it a lively class with the games I brought. Those eyes made me proud that I had given it my all, and I will never forget the energy of the children in Vinh Sơn.”
“For me, YUU is a bright part of the most wonderful, carefree years of my youth, a piece of the puzzle that made the Khánh Ly I am today. The 2018 summer camp was my first real experience, working with amazing Yuuers who are still my closest friends. That year changed who I am: since then, volunteering has been part of me whenever I can.”
“In a small group discussion, a shy student raised her hand and said: “I don’t think I have the right to dream, because my family is poor, I’m a girl, and I’m from an ethnic minority.” That moment left me speechless. But it is also why I understood why YETI exists: to give young people in places with less light the right to dream, to know, and to choose.”
Join us to support the ethnic minority youth in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
