Wai Jia is the Founder of Kitesong Global, an international social venture dedicated to inspiring people to pursue their dreams by sharing stories of hope. Through the power of art and narrative, philanthropy, advocacy and education, Kitesong Global empowers people to catalyze change for community transformation.
Selected in Forbes Asia’s 2016 “30 under 30” list, Wai Jia’s extensive medical & humanitarian work internationally has raised almost $200,000 for vulnerable women and children in need globally. She is a physician, author and sought-after speaker on international platforms.
An author and illustrator of 4 books
At the age of 19, Wai Jia published her first picture book “Kitesong” to raise more than $110’000 to build an orphanage in Nepal. Her 2nd book, “A Taste of Rainbow” raised awareness about depression and eating disorders, after her battle with anorexia and depression herself. Her 3rd book “I love you”, launched on the couple’s wedding day in 2012, raised funds for anti-human trafficking ministries in Cambodia and Calcutta. Her latest book “Savour”, which challenges the meaning of Success, raises funds for needy children in Africa and challenges us to rethink the meaning the purpose of our lives.
In particular, Wai Jia’s journey of overcoming depression and an eating disorder inspires many today. After her recovery, she served as a medical volunteer for a year in Uganda and was featured on Channel NewsAsia in their documentary series in 2015 as a Singaporean making outstanding contributions abroad. She was awarded as an Honoree of the Singapore Woman Award in 2015 and Young Outstanding Singaporean Award in 2011 at the age of 24.
Most recently, Wai Jia graduated Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a Masters of Public Health. Her studies were fully funded on 3 scholarships – the Fulbright Scholarship, Johns Hopkins MPH Scholarship and the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship. She graduated with 4 awards and honors:
- Delta Omega Award(2018)- awarded to those in the top 10% of the graduating class.
- Excellence in International Public Health Practice Award (2018) for starting Kitesong Global. Awarded to only 1 Masters student, it recognizes one for outstanding public health practice contributions that has made or has great potential to make a sustained impact on a health-related outcome.
- Johns Hopkins Masters of Public Health Field Experience Award (2017)
- Student Recognition Award (2018), recognizing and honoring those that have shown excellence in improving education or quality of life at the School or community.
A sought-after speaker on various international platforms, Wai Jia’s passion is to impact our next generation to be emotionally-resilient, faith-filled, and globally-minded changemakers of tomorrow.
You may contact her at [email protected] and visit www.kitesong.com.