ATOM is a non-profit organization based in the Philippines. Their main objective is to help kids in rural areas of the Philippines to be able to express themselves through art. 

In the past year, they have been working to extend their program to Sri Lanka and I have been a part of that.  I was really attracted to their vision which is:

“Developing the minds of the underprivileged through art.”

 The mission of ATOM is to reduce the stigma of the pursuit of the arts as a profession; to inspire children, especially the underprivileged, to express themselves through art; and to empower these budding artists to recognize their value in society.

I have been a volunteer at both ATOM Philippines and in setting up ATOM in Sri Lanka.

In the first nine months, I spent working with ATOM Philipines on their many projects such as the Artmobile, the Artbook, and the Quarantine Series. Unfortunately, because all these projects occurred in the Philippines I never saw the final product in person.  However, the thought that I may have given a child in the Philippines a reason to smile is more than enough.

Eventually, ATOM started its expansion project in Sri Lanka, ATOM Lanka. My role at ATOM Lanka was to be the Social Media Manager. Essentially, my job was to create and be in charge of all the social media accounts. Social media accounts are one of the main ways to gain volunteers, so it is important that ATOM had an interesting and engaging social media, to attract volunteers. I created all the social media accounts back in November and have been looking for other art organizations and companies that may want to partner with ATOM Lanka. 

 

Due to IB exams, I have recently left my position at ATOM Lanka to focus on my exams. However, I will continue to help ATOM in any way I can. 

 

Learning outcomes:

Learning Outcome 3: Initiative and planning :

In ATOM we had to plan and organize many different activities, and projects to happen in the Philippines. In addition, I was a part of helping setting up ATOM Lanka. This was done through collaboration and communication with other people. 

 

Learning Outcome 4: Working Collaboratively with others :

Being a part of ATOM required me to work with many other people my age to create this project. My experience was a bit different from a typical volunteer at ATOM because I was in Sri Lanka working on projects based in the Philippines. This required me to communicate with other volunteers who were all the way in the Philippines and work with them to complete our part of the project. 

 

Learning Outcome 6: Global engagement:

ATOM working towards breaking the negative stigma against art and encourage the pursuit of the arts as a profession; to inspire children, especially the underprivileged, to express themselves through art; and empowering these budding artists to recognize their value in society.