Poh Wei Ye might not have the wings of an angel, but he has been helping orphans and the needy in Vietnam for the past eight years. However, in a tragic turn of events, he is now seeking help to pay his own hospital bills after he crashed his motorcycle last Saturday (May 25), resulting in him dislocating his left hand and injuring his left leg.
The 36-year-old, who is currently hospitalized in Ho Chi Minh City’s FV hospital, is hoping to raise S$25,000 via online fund-raising platform Give.asia to settle his medical expenses, which include surgery.
Poh’s campaign page on Give.asia said that “as a foreigner in Vietnam, Wei Ye does not have any subsidies for his medical, and he is not covered under any insurance. His hospital bill is mounting and he is in a lot of pain.”
As for his own backstory, Poh reportedly decided to take a six-month break to travel around Southeast Asia and work with non-governmental organizations to help children in need after he lost his mother to stomach cancer in 2010.
In an interview with Today, Poh revealed that he found his calling in helping underprivileged children who wandered the streets of Vietnam because he saw how vulnerable they were. “Adults with bad intentions can do anything to them. The boys may be roped in as runners for drug peddlers, while the girls may be made to provide sexual services for men,” he said.
Eager to offer aid and protect these children, the former corporate finance executive and father to a five-year-old son decided to pour his savings into starting an orphanage in Vung Tau, Vietnam. To cover the operating costs, he set up Blessed Discoveries, a social enterprise that arranges humanitarian trips to Vietnam for schools and businesses.
It was reported that Poh was on his way to meet up with student volunteers from the National University of Singapore when the accident occurred. But even through his injuries, he’s still committed to giving back to those in need. The social entrepreneur, who is currently undergoing physiotherapy, told The Straits Times that he wants to be discharged as soon as possible since it’s “a busy period with students from Singapore coming over to do their volunteering projects.”
