On the 5th of October, a batch of the Hope For Kids service group, which included, Pep and I (service leaders), Dimath, Avi, Avin, and Anneli, along with our service supervisors, Ms. Tanuja and Ms. Stella Damir, traveled to the Indira Cancer Trust Fund in Maharagama, which is an organization aimed to help attend to the treatment of various cancer patients. Located a couple of steps before the Apeksha Cancer Hospital, the Indira Fund comprises many faculties that any patient can use.
Before we took a tour of the building, we were greeted by Ms. Joan, who then showed us a video (picture above) of the story behind the trust fund. Indira Jayasuriya, who was the daughter of the former Parliament speaker, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. After chemotherapy and surgery, she was successfully treated, however, her cancer resurfaced in 2015, when she was pregnant with her second child. At that time, the chemotherapy had little effect, and she tragically passed away in 2016 at the age of 40. Hence, the trust fund was founded to raise awareness and prevent the risks of cancer.
Ms. Joan took all of us on a tour of the building from top to bottom (literally). We took the elevator to the outdoor balcony, accompanied by games, a small classroom, and an eye-catching view of Maharagama. From there, we went floor by floor, and she mentioned to us how each floor was sponsored by someone or an organization, including the Lions Clubs International, and a player of the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning team, Roshan Mahanama, who came to OSC and introduced us to the Indira Cancer Trust Fund.
One of the more hard-hitting moments of this visit was when we got a chance to visit a sample room. The rooms there can be used as rest spots between treatments from the Apeksha Cancer Hospital.
If you see that black door back there, we wondered if it was a closet. But we were told that all of the rooms are connected. They are called rainbow rooms, and the reason is……….they are if extended family members want to visit a loved one who is on end of life care. When we heard that, all of us were silent in the room and sighed. As I said before in my visit to the Blind School, I can handle being with these kinds of patients because I’ve been associated with them for so long. But even this is such a touchy subject.
Moving on, we go on and visit the wig-making room, which is arguably, one of the most interesting places in this whole establishment. They do receive donations, and they showed us the entire process of how they would handle and set the donated hair. We were also told of how the donors would get reactions from their family and friends, as they are not used to seeing them in that state.
After the visit, we immediately started brainstorming ideas on how to collaborate with the Trust Fund, and how we can involve our school……..perhaps another cricket match?