Ep 25: Chong Chan-Yau (CEO, CarbonCare Innolab & President, Hong Kong Blind Union)

Chong Chan-Yau is the CEO of CarbonCare InnoLab, the President of the Hong Kong Blind Union, former Chairman and current Director of The Board of the Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong Foundation, former Chairman of and current Board Director of Carbon Care Asia, former Executive Director of Oxfam Hong Kong. He received awards, including Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award, MBE, China Poverty Alleviation Award, and Honorary Fellowship from the University of Hong Kong. Chan-Yau grew up in Kowloon City, Hong Kong, and became blind at the age of 6. However, Chan-Yau has never allowed his blindness to hold him back from defying society’s expectations & creating great impact whether it’s in the area of fighting for equal rights for the disabled to combating global poverty and climate change. In this STIMY episode, we discuss: 1:41: Growing up in a large family of 10 in Kowloon City, Hong Kong 3:49: Going blind at the age of 6 7:37: Studying at the Ebenezer School for the Blind & why it took 1 year for his family to decide to let him go (including learning Braille) 9:28: What it’s like learning Braille 12:03: Being rebellious & defying expectations of what being blind could do as students 16:04: Aspiring to further education & not doing what was expected of blind people then (being telephone operators or fortune-tellers) 20:44: What drove Chan-Yau to constantly prove others wrong, that “our ability is not affected by our blindness” 21:39: Attending regular school & receiving assistance from Sister Moira of the Maryknoll Convent School 25:10: Entering the University of Hong Kong as one of its first blind students 27:07: Petitioning the Governor of Hong Kong to provide more equal rights and opportunities to blind people 30:44: Studying at the London School of Economics 33:35: Becoming the first Hong Kong government administrative officer 34:48: Reason for joining Oxfam and becoming the Director of Fundraising 36:06: How Chan-Yau developed the monthly donor base for Oxfam Hong Kong from 3000 to over 100,000 39:47: Developing Oxfam rice & why rice was the medium chosen 42:07: The development of rights of the blind in Hong Kong 44:48: Founding the Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong 46:40: How can employers create a more inclusive workplace for the blind? 48:31: Entering the climate change space Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/25