Overseeing the well-being of the needy

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

Hope for Kids – Maharagama Cancer hospital's children's ward

Game time – Rehabilitation Centre of the Communication Impaired, Nawala

Moved by other's pain and suffering, they decided to devote a chapter of their life to look towards the welfare of less fortunate beings. Working together and initiating path breaking projects, they dedicated themselves into its cause. What began in a small way soon snowballed into mass scale projects, serving much needed purposes.

These activities are spearheaded by the students of Overseas School of Colombo (OSC). Known as the oldest international school in the island, OSC will be celebrating their 55th anniversary this year. The school is headed by Areta Williams and has over 400 students from 43 different countries. It is also part of Kiwanis International and the first Sri Lankan school to have a key club.

Community service is a part and parcel of OSC's curriculum. They have allocated Thursdays to work on community service projects on a weekly basis. Students from grade six to 12 are involved in the tasks.

“It is very easy to give gifts or fund an event but our service projects are more about engaging in activities. Kids visit these centres and work with the people who are undergoing various difficulties. This way they get to actually see and experience the situations faced by these individuals,” said OSC Community Service coordinator Shameela Rajudin.

She said that the school runs around 12 service projects: SOS Orphanage, Recycling and Sustainability, Bethlehem Creche, Rehabilitation Centre for the Communication Impaired (RCCI), Temple School, Dog Awareness and Welfare Group (DAWG), Gecko Inc., Library Service, Hope for kids cancer hospital project, Habitat for Humanity, Sunflower project (swimming programme with the local schools), Sri Lanka Alzheimer Foundation and Cleft Lip and Palate – Awareness and fund raising. Some of these programmes have been in progress for many years.

“The Cancer hospital project is one of our oldest programmes. Our school has funded and built a Play House which organises art and crafts related activities. The students also interact with children whose fathers are in prison in the Bethlehem Creche project. It is similar to a daycare centre where children from two to 12 years are looked after. We also work with elders in the Sri Lanka Alzheimer Foundation and animals in the sterilization project,” she said stressing how the OSC students get involved with different communities of all ages and from all walks of life.

The projects are part of the school's semester scheme and kids are allowed to sign up for those of their choice. Student leaders and supervisors are there to guide them.

“Teachers are basically in the back seat observing the proceedings while students make plans, organize and conduct the events. They are trained to shoulder responsibilities at an early age,” Rajudin explained.

Painting with pre-school students from the Temple School

Recycling and sustainability campaign

Annual dogs and cats sterilization and immunization campaign

Helping the schools in Hambantota where the child victims of the tsunami attended

Social welfare is more than a one-time initiative. Looking towards other's well-being is a way of life. These are some of the values taught at OSC and ones that the students have taken to heart.

“Community service is not merely project based. It is more about the learning which occurs through service. Our students learn a lot about the local community. They learn to interact with the people and think about helping others. It is more about service learning than community service alone,” Rajudin said.

The school's primary programme involving pre-school to grade five students comprises lessons with a purpose where the ultimate is the action component. The middle years programme which deals with grade six to grade 10 students have lessons based on the understanding and knowledge they glean out of service. In the advanced level (A/L) years the students are encouraged to come up with their own projects.

“Two years ago a student introduced the Cleft Lip and Palate project. Later it became a school project. Another student who was passionate about cricket decided to continue Kumar Sangakara's 'Bike for Life' campaign. The school raised about Rs 18, 000 within two weeks. Sangakkara even came to support the programme. Students are given the independency to choose what they would like to work on. We assess the transition of skills like participation, leadership qualities, independence and global thinking,” she said.

Queried on how the student's response is towards community service Rajudin said that practice brings about a change of attitudes.

She says, “Once they engage in the projects regularly and meet up with people, their perceptions change. It is touching to see how out students bond with these needy people. We got a lot of funds after the tsunami since we are credited with the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). Therefore we were able to work with the government to build seven pre-schools and worked with two government schools in Galle. Even today we continue to pay the teacher's salary and equip them with necessary equipment.

Our 'Week Without Walls' programme gives students the opportunity to visit various parts of the country and get involved in service with schools in those areas for two or three days. They work together to change the environment of the school.”

Speaking to Daily News 'Punch' OSC Business Development Officer Dharshana Abeysekera said that the impact of the student's learning is quite long lasting.

Students who have left the school and moved to other countries tend to return to the island and engage in similar activities.

“Two students recently returned to donate clothing and toys for flood victims recently. This means that they have become more globally aware of poverty and the struggles that others go through though they themselves are fortunate in many ways. This does not tally with the perception that international school children are not aware of what goes on in the country. OSC students still carry out the values taught at school after graduating,” he noted.

This year OSC sterilized and immunized 97 cats and dogs and donated 50 kilograms of rice to the animal shelter. They also work with street children as an after school project.