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TODAYonline | Sunday | Face in the Crowd | A heart for the deaf
Knowing what it's like to not be given a chance, social entrepreneur Leona Leong opens up opportunities for hearing-impaired workers
When she first began working with hearing-impaired staff, entrepreneur Leona Leong always ordered lunch for them because she thought they could not do so themselves. That is, until one of her deaf employees took her Long John Silver's lunch order and bought it back for her one day.
Laughing now at the memory, Ms Leong, co-owner of a social enterprise that hires the hearing-impaired, said she hopes to help clear up such misconceptions the public might have about this group.
The 27-year-old currently employs three deaf workers for her candy business. Two of them handle marketing activities, while the third, Ms Micah Sanjose, is the resident handicraft expert. They also help with workshops for customers as Ms Leong wants them to interact with more people.
"Some people call themselves a social enterprise by giving beneficiaries very simple tasks to do, like throwing rubbish, packing and cleaning tables," said Ms Leong, who comes across as down-to-earth, chatty and a straight talker.
Two of her employees, Ms Sanjose and Ms Hina Liang, used to do menial tasks at their previous workplace. "A social enterprise, in my opinion, is to let people work on their strengths so that they can show they are very capable people as well," stressed the former air stewardess.
The slim, doe-eyed businesswoman is a university dropout - she just "could not sit still" for lessons - who could not even secure a job interview after she left Singapore Airlines.
Understanding what it feels like to not be given a chance, Ms Leong said she started the social enterprise because she wanted to give others marginalised in society "the opportunity to prove themselves".
With business partner Daryl Teo, 34, Ms Leong then set up Aii (meaning "love" in Mandarin) in February this year with a start-up cost of S$2,000. Aii sells pastries and conceptualises gifts, food and candy tables for events.
She was introduced to her staff by the Singapore Association for the Deaf and is currently in the process of interviewing others. She offers the same starting pay as she would an able-bodied person but the initial increments are slower because it takes a longer time to train her staff, explained Ms Leong.
Working together has been a learning process for all parties.
When it comes to communication, for instance, Ms Leong has to specify the urgency of a task because her employees cannot hear the tone of her voice. Yet this probably makes them among "the most patient, nicest people around" because they cannot hear when a customer is being impatient or nasty, she quipped candidly.
They communicate by writing notes or through instant messaging. It helps that Ms Liang can lip-read but, even then, she only catches about 70 to 80 per cent of what's being said. Ms Leong, who is learning sign language, pointed out that words such as "I love you", "elephant shoes" and "colourful" all look the same when pronounced.
One thing she stressed is that her staff do not get special treatment. "If they make a mistake, they will get reprimanded. There is no pity or sympathy for them."
If they encounter difficult customers, she tries to let her staff handle them because it is a skill they will need to learn. Ms Leong, however, highlighted that she has little trouble working with her staff because "they are very capable people". Some workshop participants have also been "very nice", she added. They photocopy cake pop books or handicraft books for Ms Sanjose and learn how to sign simple phrases like "thank you" and "see you again".
In an email response, Ms Liang and Ms Sanjose said they enjoyed their job because of the opportunities it gives them. Ms Liang, who used to be a packer, said she was "grateful and happy" to have her current marketing job as the deaf "have a hard time finding jobs in Singapore due to discrimination from employers".
Beaming with pride at her employees' progress, Ms Leong noted: "All these talents were not discovered until they joined us and were given the chance to do what they like."
She added: "In life, there are certain people that we can help and certain people that we can't. I will help those that I can, as much as I can."
With Aii turning a profit after its third month of operations, she pointed out: "If we celebrate our first-year anniversary, I can tell people that, 'Hey, I succeeded doing this for one year and my deaf girls are the ones helping me run this business'."
Knowing what it's like to not be given a chance, social entrepreneur Leona Leong opens up opportunities for hearing-impaired workers
When she first began working with hearing-impaired staff, entrepreneur Leona Leong always ordered lunch for them because she thought they could not do so themselves. That is, until one of her deaf employees took her Long John Silver's lunch order and bought it back for her one day.
Laughing now at the memory, Ms Leong, co-owner of a social enterprise that hires the hearing-impaired, said she hopes to help clear up such misconceptions the public might have about this group.
The 27-year-old currently employs three deaf workers for her candy business. Two of them handle marketing activities, while the third, Ms Micah Sanjose, is the resident handicraft expert. They also help with workshops for customers as Ms Leong wants them to interact with more people.
"Some people call themselves a social enterprise by giving beneficiaries very simple tasks to do, like throwing rubbish, packing and cleaning tables," said Ms Leong, who comes across as down-to-earth, chatty and a straight talker.
Two of her employees, Ms Sanjose and Ms Hina Liang, used to do menial tasks at their previous workplace. "A social enterprise, in my opinion, is to let people work on their strengths so that they can show they are very capable people as well," stressed the former air stewardess.
The slim, doe-eyed businesswoman is a university dropout - she just "could not sit still" for lessons - who could not even secure a job interview after she left Singapore Airlines.
Understanding what it feels like to not be given a chance, Ms Leong said she started the social enterprise because she wanted to give others marginalised in society "the opportunity to prove themselves".
With business partner Daryl Teo, 34, Ms Leong then set up Aii (meaning "love" in Mandarin) in February this year with a start-up cost of S$2,000. Aii sells pastries and conceptualises gifts, food and candy tables for events.
She was introduced to her staff by the Singapore Association for the Deaf and is currently in the process of interviewing others. She offers the same starting pay as she would an able-bodied person but the initial increments are slower because it takes a longer time to train her staff, explained Ms Leong.
Working together has been a learning process for all parties.
When it comes to communication, for instance, Ms Leong has to specify the urgency of a task because her employees cannot hear the tone of her voice. Yet this probably makes them among "the most patient, nicest people around" because they cannot hear when a customer is being impatient or nasty, she quipped candidly.
They communicate by writing notes or through instant messaging. It helps that Ms Liang can lip-read but, even then, she only catches about 70 to 80 per cent of what's being said. Ms Leong, who is learning sign language, pointed out that words such as "I love you", "elephant shoes" and "colourful" all look the same when pronounced.
One thing she stressed is that her staff do not get special treatment. "If they make a mistake, they will get reprimanded. There is no pity or sympathy for them."
If they encounter difficult customers, she tries to let her staff handle them because it is a skill they will need to learn. Ms Leong, however, highlighted that she has little trouble working with her staff because "they are very capable people". Some workshop participants have also been "very nice", she added. They photocopy cake pop books or handicraft books for Ms Sanjose and learn how to sign simple phrases like "thank you" and "see you again".
In an email response, Ms Liang and Ms Sanjose said they enjoyed their job because of the opportunities it gives them. Ms Liang, who used to be a packer, said she was "grateful and happy" to have her current marketing job as the deaf "have a hard time finding jobs in Singapore due to discrimination from employers".
Beaming with pride at her employees' progress, Ms Leong noted: "All these talents were not discovered until they joined us and were given the chance to do what they like."
She added: "In life, there are certain people that we can help and certain people that we can't. I will help those that I can, as much as I can."
With Aii turning a profit after its third month of operations, she pointed out: "If we celebrate our first-year anniversary, I can tell people that, 'Hey, I succeeded doing this for one year and my deaf girls are the ones helping me run this business'."