Melissa is 17-year-old high school senior living in Tokyo, Japan. She is the founder and director of OrigPower ( @origpower_ ) , a youth-led organization aiming to create an inclusive society by connecting people with disabilities through individual stories. Through her love for volunteering on weekends, she discovered the need for more disability activism in Japan and in the rest of the world. Melissa hopes to foster a community with diverse backgrounds, where people with and without disabilities can come together and learn about each other’s passions. Along with advocating for disability inclusion, she also spends her time at Girl Up Tokyo and Space to Speak to advocate against gender inequality and sexual assault. In the future, Melissa hopes to go into the STEM field, where she will integrate AI and technology into her works of disability inclusion and create an accessible society for all!
Mei Hung is the educational resource director at OrigPower (@origpower_). Academically, Mei holds a Bachelor’s of Arts & Science in Human Geography & City Studies from the University of Toronto Scarborough. She is a woman proud to have cerebral palsy. She is a passionate self-advocate for people with disabilities for communities & students. She aims to make a change and gain connections with people of all physical abilities/ages. You might find her planning her next vacation, next game night with her friends, or singing to any song on the radio.
In this episode, learn why and how Melissa first founded OrigPower and advocates for disability inclusion through this channel, and learn about Mei's experiences helping to run OrigPower and advocate for disability rights as a woman with cerebral palsy.
