UMM Students Became Cancer Volunteers in Sri Lanka

Author : Humas | Wednesday, January 30, 2019 14:10 WIB

Natalia Rahman Damayanti was with one of the children with cancer in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Photo: Special)

Cancer was a scourge for everyone. Based on data from the 2013 Basic Health Research, this disease was a problem in Indonesia with a high prevalence, which is 1.4 per 1,000 residents or around 347,000 people.

Feeling called, Natalia Rahman Damayanti, a Sociology Department student at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) underwent a program as a cancer prevention volunteer in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

His departure to the country in the north of the Indian Ocean was to undergo an International Community Service Program. Natalia had a mission to raise public awareness in the capital city of Sri Lanka.

Natalia (veiled) while conducting a survey of the Colombo community about cancer. (Photo: Special)

There, Natalia took an empowerment project through the Cancer Awareness program. "By joining this program, I became more interested to know cancer. The knowledge can also be conveyed to my friends and family," she said, Wednesday (1/30).

Natalia began the volunteer project from January 19 to February 27. The implementation of the International KKN program was one of the schemes of cooperation that had been established between UMM and AIESEC in UMM.

On another day, Natalia divided the questionnaire into the people of Colombo. The goal was to capture the general public's knowledge about cancer. "After that, we analysed the questionnaire. The next day, we have a presentation on knowledge about cancer, "she said.

Natalia also visited the healthy home of CCC House. It was a Special rehabilitation house for cancer patients. "At this CCC house, we play with children, sing, colour, fish toy fish, just entertain," she explained.

Besides targeting children, Natalia also visited adult cancer patients in other healthy homes. Natalia and one UMM friend, Rachmawati Bachruddin, provided support and attention to cancer sufferers.

KKN in this period was divided into three major groups, including International KKN, Thematic KKN Rehabilitation of Disaster Impacts, and Regular KKN. International KKN was attended by 27 students spread across 7 countries.

"It was Malaysia as many as 7 students, 12 students in Thailand, 1 student in Cambodia, 1 student in Nepal, 4 students in Sri Lanka, 1 student in Poland, and 1 student in Ukrainian," explained the Chairman of the KKN Division Alik Ansyori Alamsyah. (Win)

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