The 41st Installation Ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Colombo Mid Town was held on the 19th of July 2020 at the JCI Colombo Secretariat and RACUOCFMF witnessed this glorious day via YouTube live.
The ceremony officially commenced with the brightening of the oil lamp by the dignitaries and following that, they were ushered to the head table. Once the conventional formalities; The National Anthem, Flag Salutation, Rotaract Invocation, Four Way Test and the Rotaract Song were concluded, the podium was open to the Secretary for the year 2019/20, Rtr. Nadeera Udawatte where she presented the Annual Report for the Year 2019/20. She further highlighted that the Club had successfully executed 70+ projects covering all avenues and ended her speech on a high note as she shared on the screen, a video that captured the beautiful moments of the past year.
Next, the President for the year 2019/20 Rtr. Nipun Alwis addressed the gathering and shared a glimpse of his experience as the 40th President and extended his heart-felt gratitude to all those who tremendously supported him throughout his year of presidency. Moments before he signed off, he enlightened the audience with the inspiring words; ‘’ Serve others, support others, always try to develop others and at the end of the day, Rotaract will pay you back.’’
Next up in the agenda was the distribution of the awards to the individuals who exhibited exceptional performance and dedication throughout the past Rotaract year.
Editor’s Note: We hope that RAC Colombo Mid Town achieve “greater heights” with such amazing personalities who are well prepared to carry on the legacy. (P.S heights as significant as Rtr. Haaziq’s height)
Momentarily, the incoming President Rtr. Dina Ali was introduced by Rtr. PP Insaf Ismail stating that she’s 5 feet tall but has an attitude of 100 women, and in conclusion a short video clip with photographs of Rtr. Dina Ali’s Rotaract Journey was presented on the screen. Afterwards, the most awaited moment of the ceremony, the graceful collaring took place as Rtr. IPP Nipun Alwis officially handed over the duties and responsibilities of carrying the Mid-Town legacy forward to the President for the year 2020/21 Rtr. Dina Ashroff Ali.
Next, the newly appointed President Rtr. Dina Ali was invited to share a few words and in her speech she briefed on the plan for the upcoming year and further emphasized on their focus this year, which is executing a small number of quality projects whilst making a lasting impact. “We are facing some challenging times. As the biggest youth organization in the country, we are the ones that can help make a difference” she said. At the end of her address she introduced her Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the year 2020/21. This year the club went away from the conventional way of inducting the board members as they introduced the Board in a novel manner, by featuring them as they swayed and sang along to the cheery song that was played in the background. It was indeed an enthusiastic moment which turned out to be a highlight of the astounding day.
The Executive Committee and Board of Directors for 2020/21 are as follows;
- President- Rtr. Dina Ali
- Immediate Past President- Rtr. IPP Nipun Alwis
- Vice President- Rtr. Nelushi Perera
- Vice President- PP Ahmed Hibshy
- Secretary- Rtr. Hamza Huzair
- Treasurer- Rtr. Anjana Kulasekara
- Coordinator of Avenues- Rtr. Ammar Imran
- Sergeant-At-Arms- Rtr. PP Ishqy Abdeen
- Assistant Treasurer- Rtr. Abilash Christopher
- Editor- Rtr. Maas Kaizer
- Co-Directors Club Service- PP Chamathka Kariyapperuma and Rtr. Sajid Ali
- Co-Directors Community Service- Rtr. Aadil Hafeez, Rtr. Pavithra Pradeep and Rtr. Ovin Bimsara
- Director International Service- Rtr. Haneef Mohamed
- Director Professional Development- Rtr. Stephanie Von Hagt
- Co-Directors Sports – Rtr. Chirag Amit, Rtr. Imran Rumy and Rtr. Umar Inthikab
- Co-Directors Public relations – Rtr. Haaziq Fhuazi, Rtr. Mushtaq Ahmed and Rtr. Kaizer Majid
Next up was the address by the District Rotaract Representative Rtn. Rtr. PP Kasun Sigera. He accentuated on the Club’ success throughout the past year and further elaborated on it by saying; “When you have so much of passion, energy and perseverance you can’t find anything that can stop you.” He then concluded his speech by extending his heartiest wishes to the newly appointed President and the Board.
Afterwards the District Rotaract Chair Rtn. Amjath Yousuf addressed the gathering and it was followed by the speech delivered by the Rotary President Representative Rtn. Damitha Pathirana. He shared a few words of wisdom as he stated, “There is no future without the reflection on our own past. Use this as a time to reflect on your purpose.”
Thereupon, tokens of appreciation were presented to the dignitaries and following that, the Vote of thanks was delivered by the Secretary Rtr. Hamza Huzair. Then the audience was treated to a soothing performance by a few talented Midtown Rotaractors, which certainly did add colour to the sensational evening.
Next, the felicitations by the fellow clubs were displayed on the screen and with that the remarkable day which marked the dawn of a novel era to the Rotaract Club of Colombo Mid Town came to a closure.
As part of one family, it has indeed been a delight for RACUOCFMF to witness this wonderful ceremony and would like to extend its heartiest wishes to President Rtr. Dina Ali and her exceptional Board of Directors for their upcoming journey they just embarked upon!
We believe that the Vivacious President Rtr. Dina Ali would without a doubt take the Club to reach greater heights in the upcoming year and we at RACUOCFMF look forward to working with the competent team.
