Mr Wesley Wee, 41, who was born with cerebral palsy, had been selling packets of tissue from his wheelchair in Orchard Road for years. However, his finances were badly hit when he could not leave his flat because of the circuit breaker measures.
He is among those who used to eke out a living by plying wares on the streets, but now find it much harder to make ends meet.
To tide themselves over the crisis, they are now selling items through networking platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, or starting e-commerce careers on live-streaming platforms.
Mr Wee was one of the first individuals with cerebral palsy in Singapore to get into the live-streaming e-commerce business. He does livestreams on Facebook almost every day to sell T-shirts he designs himself, as well as household items. He tries his best to speak to his audience despite his severe speech impairment. His 49-year-old wife, Madam Lorena Buan, helps him.
Despite having around 500 views each session, Mr Wee said he gets very few actual customers. Some netizens also write nasty comments or send angry, frowning emojis.
“Thankfully, now we have established a good customer base. I’m not here to beg for money and I’m really serious about starting and conducting an honest business,” he said.
Madam Shirley Goh, 80, was paralysed from the waist down after a bad fall three years ago. She used to peddle handmade beaded keychains for $5 each at various malls in the east, making around $10 a day.
She now uses her smartphone in more savvy ways, spending more than 10 hours a day sending WhatsApp messages with pictures of the keychains to her friends, hoping they will forward her messages to others.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development has also put in place other measures to support people with disabilities – these individuals can tap the COVID-19 Support Grant and enhanced Jobs Support Scheme.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 29 June 2020