Neither polio nor prejudice stopped entrepreneur nominated for Spirit of Hong Kong Awards
- Due to his condition Yip Cham-kai was forced to crawl until he was 10
- After struggling to find a job, he set up a restaurant on mainland China, and later numerous NGOs
Yip Cham-kai, who had the door slammed in his face repeatedly early in life, knows how important it is to hang in there.
“I was diagnosed with polio within several months after birth,” the 60-year-old Hongkonger said. “As my legs were weak, I crawled until the age of 10.”
Citing his personal experience, Yip said children with special needs from less well-off families did not receive adequate care in the city in the 1960s and 1970s like they do today.
He started school when he was about 10 but had difficulty securing places in mainstream establishments because of his condition.
“I was once told to withdraw from a school I had attended for only about a week after my classmates’ parents complained that I crawled on the floor and soiled the classroom,” Yip said.
As he grew older, he began using crutches to help him walk. At about 18, he decided to look for a job before finishing high school.
I had neither a qualification nor a physical strength
Yet potential employers gave him the cold shoulder one after another, apparently due to his impairment. “I had neither a qualification nor a physical strength,” Yip said.