Diversity Week

In recognition of the diverse background of The "O", our office dedicated this week as the "Diversity Week".

Yesterday was fund raising for a nominated children's sports camp.

UK is a "charitable" country. Even when the economy has turned dire, the country continues to help unfortunate people and give them a second chance to live. This impresses me a lot, really. In fact, it is through the generosity of the British government that I am able to be educated in this country.

Staff in our office were asked to dress in their favourite sports attire. A majority of us wore football jerseys.

I formed the minority and it must be easy to guess mine.

I had a choice between a Singapore Marathon or the recently acquired 2008 Malaysia Triathlon Series tee. I would not allow myself to be insulted, so the choice was obvious!;)

Dr Hee must understand that I am grateful for his contribution to my attire too.

Earlier in the week we sent out a plea for cakes. We wanted people who can bake or buy cakes so we can sell them and raise money for the charity.

The reason we asked for cakes was because we knew they will sell. It is as easy to sell cakes here as it is to get Malaysians to go to Jusco and Isetan for the preview sales.

I volunteered to sell the cakes. Pitching for donations was much harder than I thought. And I couldn't book the time to a job number, so I must make up time for work afterwards.

Cakes under my charge

We didn't have enough cakes to sell. So we went to nearby Sainsbury's to buy more. In fact, the cakes were donated to us by colleagues who went to buy them. I have enjoyed a lot participating in a "business" where cost was zero.

Two containers full of money

We managed to sell all our cakes and collected two containers full of money! I also doubled as the "auditor" for our cash pot. In total, we collected £294.19.

Even though this may not be a lot of money to provide for a sports camp, I think that's a lot of money raised by just selling cakes!

We recommended £1 for a slice of cake but I don't remember selling 294 slices.

Some people paid into the pot without taking a piece and some paid in more than the recommendation. We had notes.

Today's event was equally interesting. We met up with a select group of paralympians to exchange ideas of The "O"; we presented about the work we're doing, where we're going and how different we would be this time.

Briefing to paralympians

They told us about their past experiences in Beijing and Athens. What worked, what didn't, what they'd like to see more or less and how we can build on our strengths.

It was an interesting exchange. The "O" is truly customised and made for sportspeople, rather than being pretentious of what we interpret an "O" to be.