Third Sector Awards Social Entrepreneur of the Year is Weh Yeoh of OIC Cambodia
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Weh Yeoh was born in Sydney and lived, volunteered and worked in Cambodia for over five years. He is a professionally trained physiotherapist who has also completed a Masters in Development Studies. He has a diverse background, having travelled through remote parts of Asia, volunteered with people with disabilities in Vietnam, interned in India, and studied Mandarin in Beijing.
He founded OIC Cambodia after meeting Ling, a boy who slurs his speech. With basic speech therapy, Ling is going to school for the first time, coming second in his class.
Currently, there is not one local speech therapist in Cambodia, despite an estimated over 600,000 people needing speech therapy.
Since starting OIC Cambodia in 2012, he handed off leadership to a local team after four years. He is the chair of OIC Australia, a non profit organisation supporting OIC Cambodia. He is also the chair and co-founder of Happy Kids Clinic, a social enterprise in Cambodia which supports OIC Cambodia and donates 100 percent of profits.
He is now co-founding Umbo, a social enterprise bridging the gap for rural children to access allied health services. In 18 months, Umbo has already helped over 70 children access speech and occupational therapy.
Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.
