ASEAN Para Games 2015 Blog

Tse Gan’s story
Thio Tse Gan, Enterprise Risk Services Executive Director & leader of the Deloitte 8th ASEAN Para Games engagement team

Three Saturdays ago, I made my way down to Marina Bay Sands – not for a simple weekend outing, but to be part of something extraordinary. I was just one among thousands of Singaporeans who were there to lend their support to the 8th ASEAN Para Games and our Team Singapore para athletes.

This big event was the One Team Singapore Rally, which featured a sports carnival showcasing different para sports to give the public a taste of what is it like to play a sport with a disability. Deloitte was there to lend our support – we had a big photo booth on the carnival grounds and encouraged visitors to snap a picture and wish the ASEAN Para Games athletes well. We also took the opportunity to present a cheque of the funds raised by our firm for our CSR partner, the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), an organisation that develops programmes to introduce sports to people with disabilities and to nurture them to excel in their chosen sports.

A major highlight of the day was the Reindeer Walk-a-Wheelathon organised by SDSC. This annual event seeks to raise awareness and funds for disability inclusiveness and this year saw the biggest turnout yet with more than 5,000 participants covering the Marina Bay Sands area in a sea of red – the colour of Team Singapore. This year’s Walk-a-Wheelathon also featured a world record giant human heart formation to symbolise the support for the athletes.

As the participants mingled with great enthusiasm, I could not help but liken Deloitte’s support for the ASEAN Para Games to the heart-warming scene I witnessed, as able-bodied supporters walked alongside their friends and family in a gesture of strong support.

Like the supporters at the walk, our firm is an organisation that has the ability to help this special group to realise their dreams and integrate better into the community. Taking a leaf from these supporters, we should go all out with our support and be front runners in helping our nation build an inclusive society.

While the ASEAN Para Games may seem smaller and less elite compared to the recent SEA Games, I believe that it has a bigger heart – and not just the human heart formation. The Deloitte engagement team is hard at work to deliver our commitment to the Games committee, and as we do so, we get to feel the pulse of para sports that extends beyond the competition. There is a deeper meaning for the ASEAN Para Games and para sports – one of community, acceptance and integration.

As the Games approaches and the pulse of this heart beats faster, I feel proud to be able to do my small part to ‘pay it forward’ with the capabilities that I have. I hope that each and every one of us will find a chance to contribute to the ASEAN Para Games in some way; and I hope you will join me as I stand and cheer fervently for the athletes as they do their best, pushing the boundaries, to make their family, friends, supporters and the nation proud.

Tse Gan