A short summary of your project
Story behind the project
Feeling the hot wind on your skin surrounded by unusual yet fascinating Sri Lankan architecture you start to walk towards the Psychiatric Unit where your working day will start. Dealing with mental health patients may be stressful but knowing you are making their day better just by spending time with them and not to mention the benefits for their health just fills the air around you. Some days you might do work with people with special needs where you focus on explaining them that being different is not a bad things. Seeing their struggle might break your heart but they put it back together with just one smile. Other days you might teach local people English and show them the customs and traditions of the Western cultures. Immersing yourself in a totally different culture and life settings to help those less fortunate is possible thanks to NGO called SLV.global led by psychology graduates that wanted to make a change in a place with scarce resources.
This is what one day of my life spent in Sri Lanka would look like. Do you think you can help me make this true?
As Mother Theresa once said: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Please let me be the person in the story above and fill the hot Sri Lankan air on my skin.
Who am I?
My name is Patricia and I am a first year BSc Psychology with Cognitive Neuroscience student from Croatia. I have been volunteering most of my life both in the UK and Europe. Getting involved in different projects allows me to gain valuable experience and knowledge about the science of psychology and to explore different culture at the same time. My volunteering trip to Sri Lanka is the next adventure on my list.
MY story
Sometimes people get immersed in their lives so much that they forget that not all people have the privilege of having a house or a loving and supportive family. While mental health disorders are a very well-known thing in the West, the situation is very different in the East. In countries such as Sri Lanka people still believe that someone with any type of mental disorder or even an indication for disorder has been possessed by evil spirits. Hence, what they do in most cases is taking the one to priests not seeking help from professionals. Moreover, the majority of people with mental health problems would never ask for any kind of help because they fear being rejected or embarrassed.
Going to Sri Lanka would mean for me trying to change the current view of mental disorders and giving a hand to under-resourced facilities and staff. I know that making even the smallest change would have a great impact in the current situation in Sri Lanka and would be also beneficial for my future career and development.
In elementary school we had to learn a poem from Dobrisa Cesaric, a Croatian poet, called Waterfall and it goes like this:
"A waterfall flows, and flows, and flows; What does my little drop mean to it? Look, a rainbow appears in the water, And it shines, and tremble in thousand colours. My little drop helps to create That dream in the waterfall and makes it shine"
Every donation is like a drop in the waterfall, together we can make it shine.
Where will the money go
The funding I receive will go to:
-programme fee: £1,300
-admission fee: £250
-flight: £450
Rewards
I have prepared some very interesting rewards for everyone who get involved. There is aplenty of them so pleas be generous!
Find ME here
Email: patricia.rubinic@gmail.com
I’ll be giving regular updates during my fundraising campaign. Subscribe to be a supporter on the page here to follow every step from my trip to Sri Lanka.
Please Help ME succeed!
Help me make my dream come true!
If you can't donate, please share my project on Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, Linkedin, Snapchat or any other social media. Spread the word to anyone you know!
