Cancer Hospital art

The Cancer Hospital group helped out at the Maharagama children’s hospital art exhibition in October. It was a great experience as it allowed us to truly give the children an opportunity to display a myriad of talents. In order to make this exhibition a success we the Hope for kids service group, members of the Children’s hospital and the kids themselves needed to work collaboratively together.

Helping hands at the event

We helped the kids paste, draw as well as find necessary materials needed to make their art piece the best expression of themselves. It was a challenging experience for me and I believe this experience changed me completely. Whilst we were pairing up the kids art pieces and hanging them up in groups we came across a 10 pictures drawn with no follow up signature. All 10 paintings were done a week ago as the artist had written the date. We just needed them to sign. Whilst going across the rooms looking for the artist a mother saw the picture and burst out crying. Her son who drew this beautiful picture of the sun, the picture I was holding had passed away two days ago and she came to collect his stuff. This picture she said was his pride, his happiness and she was sad that it would not be showcased. After talking with the organizers we managed to persuade them to showcase all the pictures of the kids who had passed away. It was their dream, passion and love in these pictures and it was out duty to show it to them world.

The children hard at work for the exhibition

I believe this moment was my most profound as I managed to change the life of kids as well as honoring them in the best way possible. 

UN DAY

The UN day is an initiative of the MUN club to embrace the diversity and ethnicity of different cultures and countries. As a member of the UN club this was an extremely important event as it allowed us to deal with issues surrounding different countries and how it affects its citizens. This year’s theme was “ Youth and media”. It was a great collaborative effort from the whole MUN team to make this a great event, but most importantly we managed to convey a lot of information to the kids at school. At a day and age that “facebook, tumblr” are famous amongst the youth, this theme was an effort to inform people about the benefits and problems associated with media. It’s a global issue, where kids are more inclined to take advice and orders from people on cyber space than their own parents. It is where all our information is online and open to easy access. This has lead to cyber bullying, suicides amongst the youth and this years UN day was to bring this information to light and show how we could make media a more positive influence.

Diversity! say hello to Sri Lanka, america philipines and australia!

Personally I believe I showed good leadership as one of the 10 MUN leaders in charge of the event. It was nice to work with everyone and get their perspectives on the topic of youth and social media. When preparing for this event the MUN club was discussing perspectives only amongst the 20 of us, however this event opened my eyes and I saw things completely differently. One thing that particularly struck me was the debate between an Indian boy in my class and an America. According to them social media and its benefits were so different due to culture. One saw it as a distraction, taking away from the purest form of culture and privacy whilst another saw it as an opening into better global connections. I was able to develop a new perspective, a skill where I could analyze a situation on its most basic level and form a strong unbiased opinion. My proudest moment was when I read a poem regarding social media during assembly in front of all my peers. I was nervous, scared id make a mistake but I overcame that fear the minute I spoke and embraced this new opportunity and challenge. I have been a public speaker, orator for 8 years and I was glad to have the opportunity to display my skill whilst making a change, informing people of an issue of global and ethical importance.  

Embracing Sri Lanka

MUN 2013- 2014

This year I joined the MUN club after 2 years of absence. I rejoined it as I no longer wanted the excuse of “ too much work” to dictate me engaging in things that I’m passionate about.  The MUN club works on understanding the situations and issue that are prevalent in society. The Global Issues of “ privacy right, Sovereign right and human rights are the most commonly discussed issues in the MUN club. The discussions that take place at MUN allow me to see multiple perspectives of people and what it means to be in certain situations. I better understand how “ I” can impact society and change it through these discussions. When analyzing solutions to the issues I was personally shocked to understand how simple words and attitudes can change society completely.  The right to express ourselves stops the moment we infringe on someone else’s privacy. It is this thought that affected me this week, as I truly believe we have the power to change what’s happening in our society.

“Working together collaboratively” helps develop the solutions to the problems we face in society. For instance we came up with different ways to help Syria’s war situation. As we had so many people contributing we were able to come up with strong ideas of change as opposed to coming up with individual ideas. I personally enjoyed working with the other members as they saw things different to what I see. It’s this diversity, which made me rethink and evaluate what’s happening around me. The most important factor in discussing global issues is truly understanding the ethical implications of our actions. When coming up with solutions or analyzing the solutions carried out by other countries we constantly scrutinized every aspect to see if its ethical or if its virtuous.

WEEK 1-3 of MUN club was concluded.  Wait for next weeks update and improvements!

Discussions at MUN

Coming up with solutions together.

Volleyball Diary

This is my journey for Volleyball. Senior year!

Ill keep it updated with all the results, improvements of very game 🙂

GO GECKOS!!

New goals for 2013 :)

Goals for 2013-2014

Action-

 

As par having the previous goals, I have a few more for senior year. As done a year ago I want to take part in SAISA volleyball and hopefully move up to the position of striker (forward striker). Although I most probably will be inundated with work this year I am looking forward to trying out for SAISA basketball this year. Getting in to the basketball team is the new goal that I am going to work extremely hard towards, as it might be one of my final opportunities to play basketball competitively.

For Tennis I am working more towards fitness and improving agility and movement around the court. After a year of tournaments it was evident to me that I need to get fitter and movement around the court needs to be smoother, thus my goal for tennis is to improve on these factors.

 

 

Service-

 

For the year 2013- 2104 I am deciding to keep my service as hope for Kids. This service has taught me more lessons and built me up as a person than I could have imagined. Towards the latter part of the year I was given the role of being PR head for the group, which entailed writing articles for the newsletter and creating projects to promote the group throughout Colombo. As a group I think we achieved our goal of spreading the message of Hope for kids throughout Colombo, my new goal is to create a program that can be carried forward even after I graduate. The group has already discussed a few ideas, such as a reading and teaching program or a buddy program. Although its not finalized the goal to create such a long lasting program is top priority.

 

Creativity-

 

My goals remained the same for the 2013-2014 year, take part in the drama production as well as complete my drama diploma exam, as I am already one-year in. however this year I was given the opportunity of participating in the interschool drama competition (part of the OSC team), my goal for that is to make the finals. It will take hours of practice and a lot of dedication but since acting is a passion it will definitely be worth it. Also this year I am taking part in CO-MUN administration, as I am extremely interested in seeing the whole delegate action that takes place at such events. This year I am also taking part in the school debating club and participating in two interschool debating championships, my goal for this is to reach the semi finals as I am sure there will be some serious competition.

Reflect :D

Growing up. That’s what I’ve done throughout this year, I’ve become someone who thinks more globally and has a wider, broader perspective on life. OSC introduced me to new things. There are two main things I have improved, they are working collaboratively with others and developing skills. Whether it is service, creativity or action these are the main aspects of my character that I developed beyond what I though I was capable of, furthermore they are the skills I look forward to developing further.

 

Action.

 

This year I undertook a new challenge. The determination to take part in SAISA event was great within me; I played volleyball for the first time this year and I made the team although at the start there were many who were better than me. I thought me a valuable lesson, which is if you apply your self enough and have enough want and passion to achieve something; nothing truly is out of reach, Such a cliché, however it was this year that I learnt what it truly meant. Cliché really care true. J I showed perseverance and passion and I achieved something which I though impossible.

At the end of the year I not only learnt something new about my self but I took the initiative to develop a new skill. 

Tennis is an important aspect to who I am, although due to the abundance of schoolwork I was not able to travel for tournaments I still stayed committed to the sport and practiced often.  I was able to use the money won in club tournaments to help the poorer people working at the Tennis association. Although it is not something of global importance, I still managed to make a difference in the lives of few, giving them money thus giving them options.

The ethical implications of my actions were good, something I am proud of.

I was the team leader of the club division 2 and the leadership position made me work collaboratively with others. Pairing everyone with a partner who would suit them, understanding people and their strengths and weaknesses. We won the tournament and I realized I had a skill I didn’t realize before I was a good leader. I feel like I really grew up this year and started being more independent.

 

Creativity.

 

Dramatic. One word people may use to describe me. I intended to put my “talent” to the best use this year. I take chemistry as a subject and therefore I was not able to take drama. Yet I did not let that deter me from going after theatre with passion. (Showing perseverance and commitment) this year I finished the final grade of drama, exams I have been taking since I was ten. I am in the process of getting an acting diploma, thus showing commitment to whatever I undertake. Throughout this year I developed new skills, I developed my acting skills when it comes to being more vulnerable. Although transitioning from a strong female character to someone who was vulnerable in a short time was not easy at first through constant practice I was able to master the skill, and get honors for the examinations.

In order to improve my skills I had to work collaboratively with others.  Others who had done similar plays or styles were willing to help so that I could do my best. At first I was quiet and reserved but later I was able to interact more and better and communicate ideas better.

Food and fun fair :) Hope for kids

The food and fun fair, is the annual food expo at OSC. Food lovers, wait the entire year to have all the cuisines around the world in one place.  The hope for kids service group decided that is one of the best places to spread the message of pediatric cancer. One of our main ventures at raising funds was to sell t-shirts that the kids at the hospital had panted on. “Photo booth” a company that well, has a photo booth offered to help bring in more people to the “ hope for kids” stall by giving us half off on their service. This was such a good feeling, it ensured that lots of people were with us on our mission to spread the message of pediatric cancer and find ways of helping the kids. The goal for the semester was to find ways of spreading the message to a wider audience and the goal was achieved to a great extent by the stall set up at the food and fun fair.

 

 

Duchess it up :) IB IPP drama

A friend of mine approached me and asked me to perform in his IB IPP drama production. I jumped at the opportunity. Being a chemistry student the secondary school production and the IB IPP drama are the only opportunities’ I have for engaging in acting. We had only a few short weeks to prepare for this; therefore this required our fullest effort from the start. Acting in an IB IPP play was a lot different to acting in any other school production. In the plays I have acted in the past the stance, motive and essence of who I thought my character is decided by me. Yet, in the IB IPP play the director (Imran) decided all of that. He has a vision for the play and he works in a way to portray certain aspects of drama he has learnt during his IB diploma. The drama that Imran had for mehr and I (a two character drama) was a comedy of manners. I love comedy of manners yet, I am more confident with my acting when it comes to more darker, tragic roles.  Call it a sudden surge of confidence or the impact of a good breakfast but I felt daring and outgoing and decided to undertake the role of the duchess in the play. Comedy of manners was a new genre of acting to me but I wanted to undertake a new challenge, not only to help my friend but also to prove to my self that I can undertake a new challenge improve on my acting skills.

In order to get in to the character of a snobby, airy upper class duchess I needed to watch more films that portrayed the character.

The day of the production, all went well. the lines were smooth and the portrayal of the characters was on point.

The lesson that I learnt which is something I will carry with me is the fact that challenges and obstacles are bound to turn up when you try something new. The most important fact is that it should not restrict you from trying something new. comedy of manners was new to me and its now one of my stronger facets of acting. Do some thing beyond your comfort zone, it might just be the thing you are best at. 

Connecting :D

The service aspect of out WWW trip to Jaffna was visiting St Johns’ boy’s school. It was a great way to connect with people with such a different perspective on life. They are kids of our age and with the same aspirations and needs as us, but when you talk to them it is greatly obvious that they have witnessed and lived through experiences that we have only read about.. Their maturity and understanding of life and people were far beyond their years.Their stories, were inspirational and their thoughts were provoking. By collaborating  with them we were able to understand what it meant and felt like living in Jaffna in the hardest and darkest of times.

The teachers with the headmaster of the school. no matter where, the opinion of the importance of education stays the same.

The newly built auditorium. courtesy of the Norwegian government.

The St John library. Although most of the books got destroyed, the love of education didn’t change.

The auditorium.

The scars of the war. The school was attacked by the LTTE during the war and the buildings still remain as a reminder of the consequences of hatred.

The talent of the boys.
The walls are covered with messages about the environment and society.

 

we were split up in to groups and were given the opportunity to have one on one interactions with the boys from St Johns. After talking to them it was apparent that we were all the same. when you asked them what they would like added to Jaffna they all replied movie theatres and KFC. This was so surprising as its one of the things that I take for granted living in Colombo. This experience though me to be more grateful for the things I have and also to be more appreciative and grateful of the resources in Colombo. Yes, sometimes I do complain and wish we has more Resources in Colombo but after Jaffna I realised that I need to be more thankful and not take things or people for granted. This was my area of growth.

Another instance where I was surprised and inspired was when one of the boys said his favorite childhood experience was his father leaving them and going to Canada. Usually this would be our worst nightmare, however the underlying fact of his father’s safety was guaranteed proved to be his best memory. Although I felt that ethically I shouldnt probe in to his sadness or childhood too much, in order for me to tell his story I needed to know the facts. He was gracious in his story telling and by being sensitive and collaborating well with this boy I truly understood who he was as a person and what it felt like to live in Jaffna.

It wasnt very easy , trying to do justice to the stories of the Jaffna people. However, the passion to tell their stories and the understanding that developed through our stay in Jaffna helped this endeavour. Through perseverance, dedication and commitment to this activity I was able to tell the story of the Boys of St. John.

Letting go :D

 

On our return, we decided to explore the war-torn areas’ of Jaffna. This was an experience that was close to my heart. I grew up when the war was at its peak and it was an eye-opening experience to learn how the other people, the other side lived during the conflict.  As we were going into the different bunkers of terrorist leaders I no longer felt the deep sense of anger I felt before.  It was a testament to the face that our trip to Jaffna had changed my perspective. I was more open to different trends of thought. If the people of Jaffna could forgive and move on, so could I.  The challenge I set myself before embarking on the trip was to be more open-minded and to work with others towards a common goal and I had undertaken the challenge.  I was successful in collaborating with others in order to be more open-minded and establish better connections with the people of Jaffna.

Pool used by the LTTE

 

 

 

When visiting the hide away of LTTE leader, we all had to hold each other and guide each other through the dark and confined under ground space. We may have lost our way if we didn’t have each other for help. This made us all realise that we needed one another as strength. We worked collaboratively to ensure our safety. In the end the Jaffna trip thought us to be more open-minded and in the process we all got hell of a lot closer.

pool used for deep sea diving practice by the LTTE