Hoang Long Pham

Founder,
Circular Toys Program

Hoang Long Pham is a 14 year old teenage advocate interested in advancing progress in the areas of poverty alleviation, food security, climate change as well as corruption reduction. Ball has, through his academic and leadership activities, focused on acquiring the right set of skills and experiences to make him effective in tackling these global issues. 

Ball believes that the most crucial factors for success are durability and patience. This he has learnt through running with his father, since the age of 8. When I first began, 1km of continuous running had always been my limit. The progress of training was harsh, tiring, and running was not necessarily the most appealing exercise for an 8 year old - especially where the progress was slow and not quite noticeable. At the verge of giving up, my dad have pushed me through, making me run 3 times a week. Now, I am able to run 4-5km continuously. Through this, I have learnt that everything in life, not just running, you should never give up - always trying your best and push yourself through. You may not be successful in the short term, but with dedication, determination and patience, you will definitely be successful in the long run.

Currently, Ball is taking IGCSE Mathematics, English (language and literature), Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Chinese, Business and Vietnamese, unofficially. In terms of his extracurricular activities, he is actively engaging in Debate Club, Economics Club and Global Goals Club at school to pursue his various interests.  He is also in a basketball team as well as participating in piano concerts. At the moment, he is planning on his first capstone project, which is starting a business reselling toys. The mission of the project is three fold: i) to better upcycle previously owned toys and reduce waste, ii) to further children’s rights and well-being as well as equitable quality education, and iii) create a sustainable (financially and otherwise) platform for long-term growth. He will start with coding a website for his toy shop, and further develop a business plan after conducting the necessary research and due diligence. 

Having the privilege of attending a great University, is ofcourse, commonly for personal reasons, such as making your family proud, ultimately, to be able to be successful in life. Which I have to admit is somewhat also the case for me. However, another very important reason is that I want to contribute to the success of my thriving country. Making my family proud not simply through personal financial success, but also to improve Vietnam, and be of benefit to society. Vietnam is in many places still very underdeveloped, with poor living conditions, even in Ho Chi Minh - our most developed city, still suffering from poverty. Me, having grown up in these environments, I truly understand the unique values of my country, especially what people are going through. Therefore, having access to great universities and education, I wish to come back to my country packed with useful knowledge and skills to be able to make changes and actively support the development of my home country, making it a better place, whilst still being successful as an individual.