Now you're on your own and you've got nothing to fear

At half past nine this morning I was sat all alone at my customary spot at the counter in the KOTO restaurant.

There was something jazzy and melancholy on the stereo and once more there was a lump in my throat.

I had come in early to help Class Six with their interview techniques. Their time with us is coming to and end and today they're off visiting would-be employers.

Five minutes before, with the kids looking smart in their interview outfits of black trousers and white shirts, I had taken a group photo (above) outside the restaurant and waved them off and wished them good luck.

Of course, they have one more month with us, but it hit home that they would be leaving us soon.

And there they were, proud, upright, confident, beautiful, beautiful kids. Ready to take everything KOTO has taught them and use it to build a life and a career.

Their graduation is at the end of March. KOTO graduations are extraordinary. Imagine it, a group of former rag-tag post card sellers and shoe shiners, being celebrated in the grand surrounds of a five star hotel. In the audience are senior members of the Vietnamese government, ambassadors from several countries, tv crews, press and assorted VIPs. And alongside them are their families from the countryside - who we literally have to drag in from outside, and tell them...yes, this is for you too.

And the kids will sing and dance. Receive their certificates, get their photos taken and they'll be gone.

Of course we will see them again. They remain KOTO family but they will have their own lives to live. I will miss them all.

I can't overstate just how magical this place is. What an awesome job it does and how fantastic it is to work here. Today I waved off a group of smart, confident, happy young adults, almost a year and a half after I said hello to a disheveled group of nervous, scruffy young kids.

And I am proud. Proud of KOTO. Proud of the kids. Proud of being part of this organisation and their young lives. And sometimes, whisper it quietly, I'm proud of me too.

Ten minutes later, I jumped on the back of motorbike I went back to the training centre to get on with my work. And all the way back this song was going around my head.