District Tour to Badulla & Nuwaraeliya

The Annual Visit of the Rotaract District 3220 to the beautiful city of Nuwaraeliya, also known as the Little England of Sri Lanka, is a much awaited event in the calendar. The main purpose of this visit is to attend the Installation ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Badulla and the Joint Installation ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya and the Rotaract Club of Beacon Hill Academy. However this year comprised of many more special events apart from the installations. In order to commemorate the 25th year of Rotaract of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya, an extravagant and fun filled vehicle parade was organized around the striking city of Nuwaraeliya. In addition to this, the newly launched Poya day community service project of the District 3220 “Project Serve” took place during this visit. This project was the prime highlight of this two day trip as serving another in any means is an immeasurable sentiment.

This trip commenced on the 29th of August 2015 at the Royal College Skills Union Centre, involving the participation of 30 Rotaractors inclusive of the District 3220 individuals. The main organizer of the two-day Nuwaraeliya visit, Rtr. Ama Sri Darsha Silva, did a tremendous job in communicating all the needful information beforehand such that timely departure was ensured.

The Rotaract Club of the University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance had three representatives attending this trip, namely, President Rtr. Praveen Fernando, Secretary Rtr. Nilukshi Jayawardena and Editor Rtr. Ruzni Faik. The Journey commenced at 6.15 a.m. and was an enjoyable one. It was an 8 hour journey that allowed all the Rotaractors to get to know one another and create networks. The singing sessions added much more color to the long journey.

Installation Ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Badulla
Our first destination, Badulla Hotel Sansa was where the installation ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Badulla took place. We arrived at 2.00 p.m. to this beautiful city surrounded by hills and the Installation Ceremony commenced at 2.30 p.m.

The installation ceremony saw the collaring of Rtr. Vinindu Lelum Dayananda as the 3rd President of the Rotaract Club of Badulla. The event was honored by the presence of Chief Guest, President of the Rotary Club of Badulla, Rtn. Krishantha Pussegoda along with the Guest of Honor Rtn. Rajeev Renganathan.

The Board of Directors of the Rotaract Club of Badulla for the year 2015/16-

President – Vinindu Lelum Dayananda
Immediate Past President – Rtr. Malithi Neluhena
Vice President & Director of International Understanding – Rtr. Amanda Marasinghe
Secretary – Rtr. Tharushi Malshani
Treasurer – Rtr. Sandeep Lakshanuka
Sargent-at-arms – Rtr. Muditha Srimal Ranasinghe
Club Service & IT Director – Rtr. Dhanusha Dissanayeka
Editor – Rtr. Chathuri Pathperuma
Community Service Director- Rtr. Rasangika Gunawardena
Professional Development Director- Rtr. Viran Susira Kumara
Finance Director- Rtr. Binuri Sirisena

Board of Directors 2015/16 of the Rotaract Club of Badulla

Journey to Nuwaraeliya
After the end of the installation ceremony we left Badulla at 5.00 p.m. to break journey for the night at Nuwaraeliya. At the end a 3 hour journey the Incoming President of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya Rtr. Dulan Tennakoon provided us tea and other refreshments at his home in Nuwaraeliya. This was a kind hospitality shown by Rtr. Dulan and his family which was highly appreciated by the entire District Council.

We arrived in Nuwaraeliya at 8.30 p.m. and spent the night at Hotel Queensbury. Dinner for the night was a BBQ array prepared by our very own Rotaractors.

Joint Installation Ceremony
The next day 30th of August 2015, we left the hotel for the Joint Installation Ceremony to one of the most eye-catching venues in Nuwaraeliya, the Nuwaraeliya Golf Club. This was the 26th installation ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya and the 3rd installation ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Beacon Hill Academy. The joint installation ceremony was graced by Chief Guest, the Director of Beacon Hill Academy, Chalani Godabama and the Guest of Honor was the President of the Rotary Club of Nuwaraeliya, Rtn. Dinesh Mahalingam. Member of Parliament Rtn. V. Radhakrishnan was also present to grace the occasion.

The Board of Directors of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya for the year 2015/16-

President – Rtr. Dulan Tennakoon
Immediate Past President – Rtr. Anuthara Costha
Secretary – Rtr. Kirushanthy Selvaraj
Treasurer – Rtr. Nithiwarshika
Club Service Director – Rtr. Askar Zain
Community Service Director – Rtr. Paul Raj
IT Director – Rtr. Inshaf Aman
Sargent-at-arms – Rtr. Prasanna Kumar

Board of Directors 2015/16 of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya

The Board of Directors of the Rotaract Club of Beacon Hill Academy for the year 2015/16-

President – Rtr. Kishokanth Kumar
Vice President – Rtr. Shihana Nazar
Secretary – Rtr. Kabilashini
Assistant Secretary – Rtr. Fazeed Ahamad
Treasurer – Rtr. Sadhun Chamara
Club Service Director – Rtr. Mohamad Hafees
IT Directors – Rtr. Dias Fernando & Rtr. Keerthana
International Understanding Director – Rtr. Nishadhi Weerashinge
Community Service Director – Rtr. Thiyagu Nadaraja
Sargent-at-arms – Rtr. Yowan
Professional Development Director – Rtr. Krishigaran
Public Relations Directors – Rtr. Gajalaxmi, Rtr. Grashan & Rtr. Thrishala

FMFers with the incoming Presidents of the Rotaract Clubs of Nuwaraeliya & Beacon Hill Academy

The installation ceremony was followed by a vehicle parade to commemorate 25 years of Rotaract of the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya. The parade went around this beautiful city with the involvement of Rotary and Rotaract participants. After the parade was the most awaited event of this trip, Project Serve.

Project Serve
Project Serve is a newly launched District community service project that takes place every month on the Poya Day, jointly organized by volunteering Rotaract Clubs. This project was jointly organized by the Rotaract Club of Nuwaraeliya, Rotaract Club of Badulla and the Rotaract Club of Beacon Hill Academy.

The project was conducted at the SOS children’s village of Nuwaraeliya. This village provides shelter to over 50 orphaned kids of the area. For our project 40 kids were selected and a birthday cake was cut to celebrate their birthdays as their birth dates are unknown. The kids were overjoyed and to see the smiles on their faces is an indescribable feeling of happiness.

Kids of the SOS Village

Afterwards each Rotaractor was given a child to talk to and partner with them to play games. The organizing clubs had planned few fun filled games that created a memorable day for all involved. The project ended by distributing gifts that included school essentials to the kids of the village. They were filled with joy and as Rotaractors it was the prime motive of the project.

Thereafter the district organized a tree planting project at the SOS village.

The DRR plants a tree at the SOS Village

At the end of a memorable “Project Serve“

This was the final event of a memorable two day trip to the beautiful city of Nuwaraeliya. As a club we were indeed honored to be a part of this as fellowship is valuable to us Rotaractors. This event enabled us to make new friends, serve the community and have an enjoyable time which really signifies the true meaning of Rotaract.

The Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Management & Finance thanks the District for organizing the tour to Badulla & Nuwaraeliya and for making the tour a memorable one for each of us.

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