PSSA 2010 - Individual Category Award Winner

Ms Nancy Chia Siew Ngor

Ms Nancy Chia has dedicated over 30 years to community work and made significant contributions towards improving the lives of persons with disabilities.  She is currently serving as President of the Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA).  Since 1981, she has been involved in implementing innovative services that help to integrate those with disabilities into the community.

One good example is the setting up of dedicated transport services for persons with disabilities, including rehabilitation transport, charter services and the Handicare Cab Scheme.  For the last 30 years, these services have provided much-needed mobility for wheelchair-bound persons with disabilities, enabling them to pursue education, sustain employment, attend regular medical treatments, and thus facilitate their integration with society.  The Handicare Cab Scheme, which provides booking fee subsidies for those who are completely dependent on taxis, supported a total of 2,126 trips during the year.

Ms Chia, who has been affected by a physical disability since young, has been involved in planning and implementing barrier-free features with various government and non-government agencies since the early stages of the accessibility movement in the 1980s.  Representing HWA, she worked with the Building and Construction Agency in 1989 to formulate the Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility in Buildings, which was first published in 1990.  Her contribution was again sought when this was revised in 1995 and in 2002, to include the needs of persons with physical disabilities and other disadvantaged groups such as the frail elderly.

Ms Chia also goes the extra mile to visit those who are home-bound to encourage them to participate in community activities.  Ms Chia has demonstrated that persons with disabilities need not always be at the receiving end, and that they can also contribute to the community.  Her efforts to improve mobility and accessibility for those with disabilities have allowed many others to be meaningfully engaged and to contribute to the community at large.

Other PSSA 2010 winners: