Shared Programme Updates

This page will document the lessons, workshops, field visits, assessments and important milestones they experience together.

Updates are shared with the apprentices’ knowledge and approval.

Tuesday 1st September 2026

Today is Day One.

This morning, Ta May, Sinh and Pang arrived at the ETHOS Apprentice House carrying bags, clothes and all the practical things needed to make a new place feel like home, but they were also stepping into something much bigger.

Today marks the beginning of a two-and-a-half-year journey. Over the months ahead, there will be classroom-based learning and fieldwork, new skills and unfamiliar situations, successes and mistakes, difficult days and very good ones. There will be plenty of questions. Hopefully, there will be lots of laughter. We hope this is the beginning of new friendships and, we hope, the beginning of new found confidence.

Around them is a community of people who will teach, encourage, challenge, listen, work alongside them and be there when things get tough.

Thirty months is a long time. None of us know exactly who these three young women will be when they reach the other end of it, and perhaps that is one of the most exciting things about today.

For now, there is a new house to settle into and the first small steps of a very long journey to take. Ta May, Sinh and Pang, from all of us in the ETHOS community: welcome. We are very happy to have you as part of our team.

2nd September 2026

Getting to Know Sapa: The ETHOS Treasure Hunt

Moving to a new place is about much more than finding somewhere to live.  If you are going to feel settled, confident and independent, you need to understand the place around you.  That was the purpose of our ETHOS Treasure Hunt.

For Pang, Sinh and Ta May, the activity was designed to build friendships, encourage teamwork and give them the opportunity to explore Sapa together as they begin their new lives here.

Their route took them across very different parts of the town, from the Sapa Museum to the grand entrance halls of five-star hotels, from fast-food restaurants to the temple and Sapa Market, but the challenge was not simply to find places.

We encouraged the apprentices to look beyond the obvious and focus on the variety of Sapa.  Which areas feel peaceful?  Where are you most likely to meet large crowds?  Where can you find the best-value food?  Which parts of town are dominated by tourism, and which still feel connected to everyday local life?

These details matter.  Over time, this kind of knowledge creates a much deeper understanding of where you live.  It helps you navigate confidently, make better decisions, discover useful places and begin to feel that a new town is becoming home.

For Pang, Sinh and Ta May, the Treasure Hunt was also something simpler and equally important: a chance to explore, solve problems, laugh together and begin building friendships as a new team.

Friday 4th Sepetember 2026

Today marked another first for Ta May, Sinh and Pang: their first English lesson as ETHOS apprentices.

We deliberately started with something simple and practical: meeting guests and introducing yourself.

On paper, these are basic language skills. In reality, they are the beginning of something much larger. Over the next two and a half years, English will gradually become one of the tools they use to communicate with people from around the world, ask questions, explain ideas, share knowledge and, most importantly, speak with confidence in their own voices.

Before beginning the exercises, we spent time talking about the longer-term goal and the steps that will take us there. Progress will not come from trying to learn everything quickly. It will come through regular practice, repetition, real conversations, mistakes, corrections and hundreds of small improvements along the way.

Today was therefore less about how much English they already know, and more about establishing where we are starting from and understanding the journey ahead.

There was plenty of concentration, a few uncertain moments, some laughter and a very encouraging start.

One lesson down. Many, many more to come.

Why do some children sell to tourists in Sapa?

Our three apprentices have been working on a self-study task exploring this question, with the aim of looking beyond first impressions and learning how to approach a sensitive subject with curiosity, care and an open mind.

The purpose is not simply to produce an answer, but to develop the skills needed to reach a considered one. Through independent study and discussion, the task asks them to distinguish between what they have observed and what they have assumed, examine the evidence behind different explanations, and consider the perspectives of children, families, visitors and others in the local community.

We are not asking them to repeat a particular ETHOS viewpoint. We want them to question what they read and hear, recognise where information is missing, and feel able to reconsider their initial opinions as they learn more.

This is where our visitors and followers can get involved.

We have put together a short, anonymous questionnaire asking about visitors’ experiences and opinions concerning children selling to tourists in Sapa, including any advice they have seen or heard during their visit. The responses will give the apprentices an opportunity to explore how different visitors understand the situation and bring those perspectives into their wider study.

Are you in Sapa now, or have you visited before? We would be grateful if you could take part, whether or not you have personally encountered children selling. You do not need any specialist knowledge, and there are no right or wrong answers; we are interested in your own experiences and what you think.

Thank you for contributing to the apprentices’ learning and helping them consider this question from a wider range of perspectives.

Take part here: