‘I Am More Than How I Look’: Burn Survivor Goes From Hiding at Home to Opening Bakery

'It’s my dream now to help others. It is by giving back that one can make a difference in society.'

Courtesy of Ngo Quy Hai

A bright and cheerful place, Hai’s coffee and cake shop displays many of the best things about Vietnam. But behind the light, colorful atmosphere and warm hospitality lies an immense story of struggle and bravery.

The owner of Sunhouse Coffee, Ngo Quy Hai, 27, is a burn survivor who overcame all odds to open his own prize bakery in his birthplace, Kon Tum city. His enrolment in KOTO, a hospitality training school in Hanoi that supported him in finally learning to write after years of childhood bullying, was his launchpad.