“A person’s smile is worth much more than the greatest treasure on earth,” said Organising Chairperson Joshua Yeoh Chin Hock portraying the core value of SMILE! Yoga Charity Event 2020. SMILE! Yoga Charity Event 2020 was organised by the Counselling Guidance Unit of UTAR  Department of Student Affairs and UTAR Yoga Society from 13 to 15 January 2020 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus.

The event aimed to raise awareness on common diseases, disorders and disabilities faced by Malaysians. It also aimed to provide visitors with an opportunity to experience the life of a disabled and diseased person. Various activities were organised at the event. The event featured talks, workshops, games and exhibition. 

Organising Chairperson Joshua Yeoh said in his opening speech, “A smile will definitely make a person’s life better. Despite whatever circumstances we may be in, it is always important to smile! Diseases, disabilities and disorders are common and are becoming global issues these days. Instead of living in negativity and depression, let us smile and hope for a better future and optimistic life. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s bring smiles to people around the world.”
The event continued with an opening performance by UTAR Wushu Club and UTAR Dance Club, followed by the opening ceremony.

Invited to deliver the talks were Malaysian AIDS Foundation Representative Dr Shazard Amani Mohamed Zaffian, Hong Kong Vision Foundation Chairman Dr Soon Lee Fong and UTAR Counsellor Chew Seow Ping.

Dr Shazard presented his topic titled “Get In and Get Out of HIV in 2020”. Dr Shazard shared the differences between HIV and AIDS; the origin of HIV; how HIV is contracted; the risk of developing HIV; the statistic of HIV in Malaysia; How HIV attacks and how it is detected; the treatment for HIV patients; stigma and discrimination against HIV and the prevention method.

Dr Shazard graduated from the University of Malaya with a degree in Medicine. He is the founder of Ilmu Seks, an online media platform where he and his team educate, conduct open discussions and bring awareness on sexual and reproductive health. Currently, he is working with the Malaysian AIDS Foundation to raise awareness and debunk myths and stigma pertaining to HIV and AIDS. He also organises fundraising events to help people who are living with HIV.

Dr Soon delivered his talk titled “Glaucoma”. The talk focused on Glaucoma Social Program Movement; what is a Glaucoma; how Glaucoma takes place; the types of Glaucoma; eye pressure test and treatments given to Glaucoma patients.

Dr Soon is the chairman of Hong Kong Vision Foundation and the chairman of IonSpec Foundation Malaysia. He is also the inventor of IonSpec Medical Eyeglasses Frame. His invention aimed to help people prevent blindness and recover from poor eye vision to 20/20 vision by wearing the eyeglasses.

DSA Counsellor Chew Seow Ping presented her talk titled “Understanding Depression”.  The talk focused on mental illness; what is depression; symptoms of depression; how to identify depression; illness associated with depression; causes of depression; types of depression; treatment for depression; how to manage depression and mental health stigma.