Problem solving, Politicking, and Presenting

Wednesday March 8th - Another early morning. We rode the bus the Cheng's house and spent the morning watching him work his routes and helping him problem solve a few minor issues. He and Kendra are doing quite well overall. Later Cheng was able to arrange an audience with the Ambassador of Foreign Affairs, Professor Tommy Koh. We took a taxi to the Ministry which has high security including unsmiling guards holding enormous machine guns. We were escorted to a comfortable meeting room where Professor Koh met us a few minutes later. He is a kind, gracious man who is a dog lover and was delighted to meet Kendra. Professor Koh has been working for to get rights and access for the disabled since the 1980s and is a strong supporter of Cheng Hock and the guide dog movement. He chatted with us for about 40 minutes, asking several times if there was anything he could assist us with during our stay. He and Cheng discussed the status of the Singapore Society of Guide Dogs for the Blind and he offered to make several important contacts on Cheng's behalf.

He walked us to the lobby watching in amazement and delight as Cheng and Kendra worked together. The photo here was taken in the lobby while we waited for our taxi.

Later that night Susan, Cheng, and I went to the Society for the Blind offices where we met with 9 visually impaired people and gave a presentation about Guide Dogs. Some of the attendees were people we will be interviewing later and some just wanted to know more about guide dogs in general. Several of us went to dinner afterwards... Another long day!