Play a Part in Dennis Kweh’s Mission

Courtesy of Sebastian Song

By now, you would have probably read, listened or viewed about Dennis Kweh, a Singapore librarian who suffers from the rare genetic disorder called Morquio Brailsford Disease, Spinal Sclerosis and is blinded in one eye due to Glaucoma. Because of his condition, Dennis has to get around in a motorised wheelchair, which can be hazardous if you consider the high vehicular and human traffic in practically every corner of our city.

At 47 years of age, Dennis decided to do something meaningful and ventured on a journey of 200 km around Singapore – aptly named Adventure 200 – on a motorised wheelchair. His intention is to raise a total of $200,000 for the Spastic Children’s Association of Singapore (SCAS), and the math works like this = a dollar each for every metre traveled, ie $200,000 for 200,000 metres covered (which is 200 km).  Management of the fundraising effort comes from the Start Centre Pte Ltd, and support was provided by various sponsors including the NLB, NParks, and several companies.
Now, this wasn’t just a walk in the park, considering the terrain which he has to traverse. Dennis didn’t just move through smooth and paved pathways, but across dirt trails at the Macritchie Reservoir and other offroad places. More information on Dennis’ quest and the challenges he anticipated could be found in his interview with Channel News Asia:

Thankfully, Dennis has completed his journey safe and sound, with the help of many volunteers who saw him through. My friend Ivan Chew has covered this event fairly comprehensively through a two part post here and here. In fact, Ivan did a very nice video of the first day of Dennis’ adventures here, complete with soundtrack and all:

You can also find a comprehensive set of photographs of the event here, courtesy of Sebastian Song.

What will the funds be used for?  According to the website Abletribe:

“Half of the funds raised will be invested in assistive devices like alternative communication device and computer access device where Occupational and Speech Therapist can conduct effective assessment and training; The other half shall be used to help disabled to invest in such devices and future maintenance of such device. This fund will be administered by SCAS.”

From what I understand, the organisers are still looking to hit the target for this quest. Dennis has already done his part, and it now remains for us to do ours. For information on how to contribute, click here. If you need more information about the event, do check out the official event website.