Community Service:

I joined the community service program called “The Cleft lip and palette” group. The group helps raise money for children with the cleft lip disease. Cleft palate is a condition in which the two plates of the skull that form the roof of the mouth are not completely joined. This causes serious discomfort not only because of the condition but also due to difficulties in speech. I heard about the group from my friend who is also in it. I was deeply moved by the extent of damage this disease causes. When I heard that I can actually help in curing some children with this disease I joined the service. Children with the disease have to be operated within the first 2-3 months for maximum effect. Of course they can be treated at an older age but the process just becomes harder. Each operation here in Sri Lanka costs Rs. 15,000.

The objective for our service for this semester was to organize a party to raise money for the operations. We chose a venue, which was to be the Taj Samudra hotel. We then had to make advertisement posters. I was responsible for designing the posters which we then hung around the place. We also arranged a DJ. The theme of our party was to be Hawaiian. At the night of the party we were present at the venue with different tasks. My task was to sell the tickets at the door and make sure everyone donated for our cause. The party was a good idea as a reasonable amount of people showed up, however due to events out of our control the turnout was very low. Firstly the weekend we chose for our party happened to be a weekend where many students were studying for different upcoming exams. We also had an extended holiday weekend which meant that many families’ also left the city.

Since the semester is coming to an end and due logistical difficulties we were unable to book a bus to go visit a hospital where we could meet up with treated patients. However we have chalked out a plan for next semester where we will have regular visits to patients and various activities such as bake sales and charity dinners to raise money for operations. The Service program has helped me in fulfilling one of my aims of this year which was to Interact and help the community. Also I had to be creative to create the advertisement posters. It also happened to be the first time I had designed posters for a party.