One of the most beautiful sights in the universe is the smile of a child; innocent and pure it can vanquish all the sorrows of the earth. But imagine the child being sick, lying on a hospital bed fighting a battle with cancer, hoping that one day he can go out to the world to smell a flower, to dance in the rain and to feel the breeze of the winds.
Had you ever visited the cancer hospital or know someone very near and dear to you suffering from a cancer, you would have seen the effort it takes them to breathe one more time or to live through one more day to see the sun shining again.
While you and I run a rat race, there are children and many other people out there fighting this deadly battle and we at the Rotaract Club of the University of Moratuwa decided to help spread a bit of happiness back their lives. Thus the “HAND IN HAND” was created. Hand In Hand is a foundation established by the Rotaract Club of the University of Moratuwa.
The Rotaract Club is one of the most active clubs at the university. Over the years it had completed a number of successful projects in many areas such as Community service and Professional Development. And in recognition of its outstanding work it had won many exciting awards over the years with the most recent being awarded as joint “Most Persevering Rotaract Club” at the Rotary District Assembly 2010.
The foundation, Hand In Hand was established to help the patients at the cancer hospital. As the very first project, Hand In Hand is going to donate medical and surgical instruments to the Children’s Unit of the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama. To raise the funds the foundation had printed beautiful greetings cards during the festive season. The art designs on the cover of these cards were designed by the children at the Cancer Hospital. The children - some of them having never set foot inside a school were wondering what these we were doing with their paintings. The innocent souls were simply amused at the thought of their drawings on greeting cards.
Two designs of greeting cards were created, printed and sent to the leading bookstalls and some supermarkets in the country. Furthermore corporates were approached to purchase these greeting cards. The Hand In Hand team was also successful in reaching out to the next generation of university entrants, the advancelevel students. They were impressed by our determination and gave their support.
From the sales we collected the amount of money we anticipated and every single cent of that money will be used in aid of the Cancer Hospital. Mid February will mark the donation ceremony. The president of the Rotaract Club, Rtr. Dilina Fernando says, “ It was a great experience for us to do something for the children suffering from cancer. And I also like to thank the Director of the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama, Dr. Kanishka Karunarathne and the Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Health Mr. Sarath Chandrasiri Vithana for their support in making the project a reality.”
The effort the young rotaractors put during the last months was wonderful. All the members gave their maximum strength in selling the greeting cards and raising the funds. The success was a result of teamwork and dedication. Furthermore a big thank you goes out to all who contributed to the project by buying a greeting card. Remember, the card you brought, will make somebody win the battle against the cancer and bring back that wonderful smile to a child’s face. |
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