HE TRADED his chef's uniform for a shovel. Instead of frying vegetables in a hotel kitchen, Mr Philip Li, 27, now grows kai lan for household consumption.
The best thing about it? He can help hone the gardening skills of the intellectually-disabled and improve their job prospects. Since 2005, he has been the programme instructor at the Association for Persons with Special Needs' (APSN) Centre for Adults in Katong. It is a far cry from his original dream.
"I wanted to open a cafe and be my own boss," he told my paper.
Things changed when his father's plastic-mould business folded in 2000, and the architecture-trained draughtsman found himself knocking on doors.
He said: "I was desperate for a job because I needed money to clear my father's debts."
The only son became a kitchen helper at Orchard Hotel. Two years later, he had risen to the rank of junior sous chef.
But something was still lacking.
"My mentality was to make as much money as possible, so I wasn't truly happy," he said.
When a friend told him about the APSN opening, he applied for it. He says it was his best career move as "there's
more meaning in what I do".
He organises activities for the centre's clients, who are above 18 and have IQ levels of 50 to 70. People with average intelligence have IQ levels between 90 and 109.
Besides treating better performers and former trainees to football matches, he arranges kayaking trips and camps for the centre's 142 young adults. Inspired by former centre manager Koh Guan Hoe, who suggested the idea of a garden, Mr Li started one last year.
As he confesses, he "knew nuts about plants" but wanted to create a relaxation spot in the centre. It blossomed into Green Fingers, a project where six horticulture-club members and their peers grow fruit, vegetables and potted plants for sale.
Today, the centre's five greenhouses and one nursery bear the fruits of Mr Li's labour.
Cerebral-palsy sufferer Saw Wei Yuan, 21, said: "We play classical music to make the plants grow better. I like hydroponics because I can cook and eat the kangkong that I grow."
For Mr Li, Mr Saw and his friends' increased confidence is the best reward of all.
