Cambodian Disability Sports Development

Ms Tol Kolab– Breaking Down Prejudice, Being a Role Model and Pioneering the Push for CSR and Financial Transparency as a Cambodian Woman with a Disability. Ms Tol Kolab, 28, the most recent appointee to the CNVLD team, represents the new generation of Cambodian Women with a Disability who are determined to provide role models for their peers while being an active part of the increasing push for CSR and Financial Transparency in Cambodia. The appointment of Ms Tol Kolab as the new CNVLD Trainee Financial Manager is an integral element of one of the most pioneering financial management programmes in Cambodia. The CNVLD set new standards of transparency among NGOs in 2008 by inviting ANZ Royal Bank to oversee all aspects of its financial management. ANZ Royal Bank appointed their internal auditor Ms Sochanna Thai to conduct a review of all financial systems and subsequently identify and employ a part-time trainee to implement her recommendations. This unique partnership is funded by a combination of the CNVLD and a special ANZ Royal Internship Programme. Ms Tol Kolab has been working with Digital Divide Data (DDD) since 2002 and in a financial capacity since 2006. DDD was the Winner of the 2008 Annual CNVLD ‘Best Employer - Persons with a Disability’ Award and their dedicated staff also provide the core Volunteer Crew for the Annual National Volleyball League. ANZ Royal identified Miss Tol Kolab as an ideal candidate for the position of CNVLD Financial Manager and she now works part time with both organisations. At weekends, Kolab receives tutelage and supervision from ANZ Royal Bank internal auditor Ms. Sochanna Thai who volunteers her time for this purpose. The result is one of the most outstanding examples of the unique power of sport to foster positive social change within a framework of Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Transparency in the NGO sector. Kolab, who suffered polio at a young age, went to school in Kandal Province before moving to Phnom Penh in 1999 where she studied initially at Wat Thanh in a programme supported by Mary Knoll. After a friend told her about DDD, she began work there in 2002, first as an Operator digitizing archives for Richmond University and then in accounting. “I wanted to become an accountant to understand clearly about financial planning and how successful organisations and businesses are budgeted run and reported.” Thanks to her dedication, Kolab is enjoying great success, but her dignity belies the challenges she continues to face as a young Cambodian woman with a disability. Kolab spoke with the CNVLD about her experiences and ambition. “When I was young and went to school some of the students always mocked me and said ‘Why do you waste your time studying so hard and wanting to go to university? You are disabled and will never get a job.’ I used to cry a lot but never stopped studying because I knew the only way to stop this happening was to improve myself and prove them wrong. Now that I have a good education and a good job, people have changed their attitudes towards me. They congratulate me, are happy to talk with me and are very friendly.” “In my life, my goal is to have the opportunity to help persons with a disability have hope that they can succeed in changing people’s attitudes towards them. I don’t want to see people with a disability begging for money on the street because it makes people look down on them.” “Being independent is very important. People often look down on persons with a disability because they think we cannot do things for ourselves. Now I support myself – I ride my own motorbike I study and have a good job – if you help yourself, people help you back.” “When I studied at university, many people were very good to me. The teacher’s especially were very kind and also a lot of the students who helped me get up the stairs and reach the classroom. But some people still looked down on me and it was mostly the younger people aged 16 to 19. A few people joke or say bad words. I have found that older people in Cambodia are often more understanding and caring than younger people now. Education is the most important thing. You need education to understand about disability.” “I found about the ANZ CNVLD Internship through the DDD human resources department. I am very interested in working with the disability sports organisation because I want to work with this issue and with the athletes who have successfully overcome their disabilities. The athletes are a great example for all people with a disability because they can inspire them to feel they can succeed just like them.” “The new Disability Law is very important for Cambodia because many places are difficult to access. After being promoted to the position of cashier at DDD, I went to university to study accounting. Because of the time needed to study, I had to go back to being an operator at DDD. But then I had to give up my studies because the classrooms were on the 4th and 5th floors of the school and after climbing the stairs my legs hurt so much I couldn’t concentrate. Now I am looking for the new school where I can access the classrooms easily. I would like to ask all the managers and investors in Cambodia to think about their offices when they design them so there are ramps and lifts so that people with a disability can have equal access. “My ambition for the future is to work for a company like ANZ Royal where I can learn international standard financial management and service provision, have a very secure job and also be a role model for Cambodian women with a disability. “I am so happy learning with Sochanna because she is able to do a very high job, has a lot of responsibility and trains me very clearly. It also shows the changing role of women in Cambodian society. In the past the men here did everything and the women stayed at home but now they can have good jobs. I want to show that women can do these jobs as well.” “This has taught me an important lesson – the only way you can change people’s attitudes is to do it yourself. If I can be successful, I can help change people’s attitudes about people with a disability. I want to be a role model and people with a disability to study hard, work hard and try their best because when they are successful, they will change people’s thinking.”

The CNVLD Welcomes Ms Tol Kolab to the Nation’s Best Sports Programme!

Ms Tol Kolab, CNVLD, ANZ Royal Bank and DDD – CSR In Action At It’s Best