I think it is fair to say that forward planning isn't generally a common Cambodian characteristic.
The other day my Cambodian friend asked me to help him with a spreadsheet, he wanted to know how to generate a formula to add up the columns & rows. I showed him the Sum function on Excel & as he played about getting familiar with how it worked I read the headings to his columns. They were in Khmer but my grade 4 reading meant I could recognize 'School lessons', 'Food' & 'Petrol'.
Is this a work spreadsheet? I asked, curious.
No, its a monthly budget for my family - I was told.
I was slightly surprised by this revelation & also very impressed.
We went through the existing column titles & I suggested a few more to try & minimize the variability of the 'other' column.
This is really good - I exclaimed - it will really help you manage your families finances. Its a great idea! What made you think to do this?
You - He deadpanned.
Really? How? - now I was even more taken back.
You told me that if I budgeted I would be able to manage my money better & that I could use excel to make a spreadsheet to help me do this.
I have no recollection of this as a recent conversation so I asked - when did I tell you this?
Pause....
18 months or maybe even 2 years ago.
And this may just be a perfect example of how capacity building works & how long it can take to see any change however small.....
The other day my Cambodian friend asked me to help him with a spreadsheet, he wanted to know how to generate a formula to add up the columns & rows. I showed him the Sum function on Excel & as he played about getting familiar with how it worked I read the headings to his columns. They were in Khmer but my grade 4 reading meant I could recognize 'School lessons', 'Food' & 'Petrol'.
Is this a work spreadsheet? I asked, curious.
No, its a monthly budget for my family - I was told.
I was slightly surprised by this revelation & also very impressed.
We went through the existing column titles & I suggested a few more to try & minimize the variability of the 'other' column.
This is really good - I exclaimed - it will really help you manage your families finances. Its a great idea! What made you think to do this?
You - He deadpanned.
Really? How? - now I was even more taken back.
You told me that if I budgeted I would be able to manage my money better & that I could use excel to make a spreadsheet to help me do this.
I have no recollection of this as a recent conversation so I asked - when did I tell you this?
Pause....
18 months or maybe even 2 years ago.
And this may just be a perfect example of how capacity building works & how long it can take to see any change however small.....
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