I have been a regular in the gym and I I am happy to share that I have lost another kilo. It is encouraging to lose weight after working out and this further helps me to keep working out. I have not been training with my trainer as our timings are not working out. It is becoming increasingly challenging to manage my activities and studies in a given day. Hence, I have been following the old schedule and doing it on my own.

My golf on the other hand is progressing well and I should be able to get my handicap in about a month or so. Recently my father's friend from Dubai came to the driving range with us and watched me play (a good golf player with a handicap of 6) . He gave me some very important tips for short game and even gifted me a book "The Best Short Game". He also pointed out some mistakes that I was making, for example, I was lifting my head too early and this is one of the reasons why the ball was turning, instead of going straight. I realized that I need to develop my short game skills. It was an interesting session and very encouraging. He told me that, if I had started playing golf two years earlier, I would have got a golf scholarship to College. He also told me that golf is a life style and once you start playing refularly, it really becomes a way of life meaning, Commitment and perseverance will be keys to golfing success. Interesting session!! Above are some photos of me in the driving range and putting green.

Smile With Confidence

CLEFT LIP AND PALATE

My dream to plan and initiate a service activity which would make a difference to a child's life. I do not want the service activity to be something where we collect funds and donate to another charity for them to complete the task. My main goal is to make sure that the children benefit from our activity. Hence my research lead to me to children suffering from Cleft lip and palate. My commitment and perseverance over the last few months lead me to the doctor with whom we would be collaborating for this service.

Believing is one thing but doing what you believe is an entirely different thing. I learnt that it can be very challenging but perseverance will make it possible. I believed that I wanted to to make a real, tangible difference in my community service activity and due to this, my iniative to start my own service activity was delayed by a whole semester as it was extremely difficult to find doctors willing to conduct a cleft lip and palate surgery for less than RS. 25,000.


There are millions of children suffering from this syndrome in Asia especially in South Asia. It was extremely painful for me so look at the photos of these suffering children who cannot smile even if they wanted to, due to the gap in their upper lip or palate or both. Imagine That. They cannot smile, they are bullied constantly by others over and above the not being able to eat and sometimes hear clearly.


Fortunately there are charities like Operation smile and Smile Train amongst others, which are working constantly to help these underprevileged children and these charities have trained the local doctors to perform these surgeries efficiently. My research raised my awareness about cleft lip and palate and helped me understand that our service would make a difference to those underprivileged children.


I was clear about one thing from the begining and that is not to just collect funds and donate to existing charities. Finally I found a doctor who conducts cleft lip and palate surgeries for free (operation theatre and large scale equipment is offered free by Lady Rideway Hospital) and expenses are the disposable medical equipment and the nursing service which works upto 15,000 LKR. Now, I am ready to go. The research and my visits to the hospital helped me watch the underprivileged children in this society stuggle for basic medical attention. I became more determined to make this service project a success. I see this as a beginning of my personal development as service took on a whole new meaning.


Ms.Shamila approved our project and Rajindh was very keen to work with me on this project. Collaboration with doctors, teachers and other students would be the keys to the success fo this service. We talked to other students regarding this by presenting them the power point above. We managed to get 9 students to enroll in our service. Ms.Flynn is going to be our supervisor and we'll be meeting every Thursday after school.