In Chua’s view, much of the assistance provided to the disabled community today is driven more by sympathy rather than empathy. As a result, this has translated into a less impactful outcome and drawn backlash from the disabled community, he says.
SINGAPORE (Aug 23): Social entrepreneur Ken Chua has one career goal: to become irrelevant. His current mission is to change the way Singapore — from policymakers to corporate do-gooders to the man in the street — sees people who live with disabilities.
Chua, 28, is founder and director of (these)abilities, a company that designs assistive products and provides consulting services to companies that want to give back to the disabled community. His company designed a keyguard for people who have muscular weakness, tremors, athetosis or poor motor skills. The company also designed a device called the Plug-N-Play Safety System, which allows public buses to carry more than one wheelchair user at a time. Chua graduated from the Singapore University of Technology and Design with an undergraduate degree in design engineering.
