As my third year as a service member and first year as a service leader, Hope for Kids occupies a very special place in my heart. This year we started off with just shy of 5 members. It was a tight knit group but it meant when we were organizing events to the caliber we were executing everyone had to pick up there slack. At the start of the new semester I was very placed that our groups message reached the hearts of others and we were able to welcome 5 new members. The increase in members meant that we were allowed to undertake bigger projects and start of several legacies that I hope to carry forward into next year, which would be my final year with the service. This is merely just a taste of what we have accomplished together. My biggest pride as a service leader comes not from the amount of money we have collected, or the publicity we have gained but seeing each and every member of our small group learn to take responsibility and grow in compassion and kindness with every event. I would also like to take this time to thank everyone within the OSC community for their continued support.
DRY RATIONS DRIVE
Our first major project this semester was conducting our annual food drive. We are pleased to say that every grade as well as teachers donated various dry ration items such as coconuts, dhal, sugar and tea. In total we were able to package around 50 packs of assorted dry rations, which through a visit before Sinhala and Tamil New Year we dropped them off.
VESAK LANTERNS + DANSALA
For Vesak this year, Mr. Piyal from the service staff taught us how to make vesak lanterns. Through a combined effort we were able to make over 30 lanterns in various colors, which we handed over to the center so they decorate the space in time for the festivities. Vesak, whilst being a holiday celebrated primarily by Buddhists, we at Hope for Kids believe the principle of generosity and almsgiving is something that should be practiced as often as possible with no regrets. So to continue the spirit, with leftover ice cream we had from our cricket match, we hosted a dansala (roadside stalls with food, drinks and desserts where people give food as an act of merit) catering to both primary and secondary students as a thanks for all their support in any of our events.
CRICKET MATCH (read more about it here!)
One of our biggest projects this year was hosting the Hope For Kids Annual Charity Cricket Match, a tradition started by last year’s service group members. This year we were able to take the match to new heights by featuring 3 teams full of budding student, teacher and service staff cricketers. On Saturday 13th May, it was a brilliant day full of exciting plays and great sportsmanships. And of course what Sri Lankan cricket match isn’t complete without cool drinks and snacks as well as wonderful papare music played by DJ Ishan. Next year we hope to expand this tradition even further by involving parents as well as potentially other schools.
ROSHAN MAHANAMA TALK
Finally we were privileged to have Mr. Roshan Manahama come and speak to us about his journey into philanthropy and his work with various organizations like the Roshan Mahanama Trust and the Indira Cancer Hospital. We were also joined by the SOS Village service group and members of Eco-School. Every member within the Hope for Kids service was deeply moved by his dedication to various causes, and after hearing about the ongoing challenges of raising money we donated Rs. 100,000 towards buying medical equipment and treatment. The money came from the funds we raised in the cricket match (Rs.83,000) and the rest was matched by a very generous donation from Evan Wijeratne, who through his PYP Exhibition was able to collect Rs.64,000. One thing that impressed me from his talk was both the breadth and the depth of his philanthropic actions. Sincerity was just overflowing from every word he spoke and his mission to give back to the community so earnestly touched me. I was very lucky to have a chance to speak to him privately afterwards and coming out of that my biggest takeaway is with our service program we tend to define and therefore constrain ourselves with the limit of impact. Even Hope for Kids, we specialize in pediatric cancer, but by rigorously following that and not allowing room for collaboration we actual lessen our impact. Which why next year I want to spend more time widening my involvement in service and helping out truly wherever I can.
CANCER WALK
Our very last action for this academic year is to join a 2.5K walk to raise awareness for the first pediatric palliative care center in Sri Lanka. This is hosted by the Suwa Arana and Indira Cancer Trust and will take place on the 4th of June.