Suen Chun Hui

Cultivating kindred spirits for a cleaner Singapore

Suen Chun Hui, a 47-year-old software developer turned environmental advocate, has always been passionate about keeping Singapore clean. Inspired by mentors who taught him that even small actions can create big changes, he decided to take his commitment one step further. In 2018, he founded Kindred Community – a ground-up initiative that empowers people to take ownership of their surroundings and actively contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable Singapore.

^{Photo Caption: Chun Hui (back row, third from left) contributing to the major oil spill clean-up in 2024.}

What began as a personal quest has since grown into a community-led movement. Kindred isn't just about picking up trash; it is about building habits, raising awareness, and fostering a sense of camaraderie. Volunteers don’t just clean — they bond over shared meals after clean-ups, explore neighbourhoods together, and take part in appreciation events that make the experience both enjoyable and fulfilling. “We keep things fun and social, because we want people to come back and make this part of their lifestyle,” Chun Hui says.

Kindred organises both coastal and inland clean-ups, especially at Singapore’s heartlands, where trash often hides in plain sight. “Singapore may appear clean at first glance, but when you slow down and look deeper, you will notice cigarette butts in the grass, tissues under benches, and bottle caps scattered behind bushes”, he explains. “The litter is there. We have just stopped seeing it. I call this ‘trash-blindness’.’’

^{Photo Caption: Chun Hui getting hands on in cleaning up beaches.}

One of his lasting memories was from a coastal clean-up session where he and fellow volunteers found large discarded items, namely a washing machine and a refrigerator, washed ashore. “If these were just the pieces that surfaced, imagine what was hidden underwater,” he reflects. This eye-opening moment revealed the scale of ocean waste, and deepened his motivation to inspire more Singaporeans to step up.