A major objective of a Rotary family is to work together by promoting fellowship and service while uniting with one another in creating a lasting impact across diverse communities. Accordingly, the Rotaract clubs have worked together with utmost dedication in bringing out impressive projects beneficial to the society over the past years. Here, we have a brief description of two eminent projects that were awarded under the category of ‘The Most Outstanding Rotary Family Initiative’ at the 30th Rotaract District Assembly!
රොටරි පවුලක ප්රධාන පරමාර්ථයක් වන්නේ විවිධ ප්රජාවන් අතර කල්පවතින සබඳතාවක් ඇති කිරීම සඳහා සහයෝගීතාවය හා සේවය තුළින් එකිනෙකා සමඟ එක්ව, එකමුතුව කටයුතු කිරීමයි. ඒ අනුව, පසුගිය වසර කිහිපය තුළ සමාජයට ප්රයෝජනවත් වන ආකර්ෂණීය ව්යාපෘති ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම සඳහා රොටරැක්ට් සමාජ ඉතා කැපවීමෙන් කටයුතු කර ඇත. ඒ අතරින්, 30 වන රොටරැක්ට් දිස්ත්රික් සමුළුවේ, “The Most Outstanding Rotary Family Initiative” යන කාණ්ඩය යටතේ සම්මාන දිනාගත් විශිෂ්ට ව්යාපෘති දෙකක් පිළිබඳ කෙටි විස්තරයක් මෙහි ඇතුලත් වේ.
றோட்டரி குடும்பத்தின் முக்கிய குறிக்கோள் ஒன்றிணைந்து செயல்படுவதும், வெவ்வேறு சமூகங்கள் முழுவதும் நீடித்த தாக்கத்தை உருவாக்குவதில் ஒருவருக்கொருவர் ஒன்றிணைவதுமாகும். அதன்படி, கடந்த ஆண்டுகளில் சமூகத்திற்கு நன்மை பயக்கும் திட்டங்களை வெளிக்கொண்டு வருவதில் றோட்டரக்ட் கழகங்கள் மிகுந்த அர்ப்பணிப்புடன் செயல்பட்டுள்ளன. ‘மிகச்சிறந்த றோட்டரி குடும்ப முயற்சி’ என்ற பிரிவின் கீழ் தங்க விருதை வென்ற இரண்டு சிறந்த திட்டங்கள் பற்றிய விளக்கங்களை வழங்கியுள்ளோம்.
West Aid 2.0 was a joint project executed by the Rotaract clubs of Colombo West, Alumni of University of Moratuwa, National School of Business Management and University of Moratuwa which was the second phase executed as an extension of project West Aid 1.0 conducted by the Rotaract club of Colombo West. This initiative was undertaken with the motive of helping the families affected due to the COVID 19 pandemic across the nation by donating packs of essential goods.
Each package worth approximately Rs.1500/=, put together with love and generosity consisted of essential food items including White Kakulu or White Samba rice, White sugar, Tea leaves, Dhal, Milk powder, Canned fish and Wheat flour. The welfare of West Aid 2.0 covered more than 20 different areas scattered across the country with the noble intention of reaching out to all ethnic and religious groups, as true Sri Lankans! (Badulla, Galle, Homagama, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Puttalam, Kandy, Monaragala, Kuliyapitiya, Wattala, Gampaha, Horana, Kundasale, Pannipitiya, Werahera, Kilinochchi, Malabe, Kuruwita, Moratumulla and Hunupitiya.) The impact of this monumental initiative which raised over Rs.300,000/=, benefitted around 850 individuals belonging to over 215 families in overcoming the financial hardships faced during the challenging times of the pandemic.
This endeavor is not only an example of the numerous charitable causes taken up by our fellow Rotaractors, but is also a prime example of the professionalism displayed by the movement as a whole. This fact was evident in the project’s public relations campaign as well as in the coordination that took place behind the curtains with the help of the Area Representatives assigned for the areas along with the Grama Sevakas in-charge.
‘Blind Walk 2019’ was hosted by the Rotaract Clubs of Achievers Business Lanka School, Australian College of Business and Technology, University of Colombo Faculty of Management and Finance and Colombo Midtown on 12th of October 2019, at Royal College Union Skills Center under the theme of “A Child- A Future”.
The participants walked with blind folds in in order to experience how it feels to be a blind person living with the difficulties inherent in their lives. Divided in to small teams of 15 to 20, guided by a few, with their hands placed on the shoulders of the individual in front of them, the blindfolded participants trudged along the busy streets of Colombo 07. In short, it was a mini-adventure, a challenge and a silent reminder of how blessed and fortunate we were.
It was initiated with the aim of creating awareness on reversible blindness and most importantly to collect funds enough for providing spectacles for 500 underprivileged children in schools. The required funds were collected through sale of tickets, sponsorship and donations.
Besides creating awareness, the walk also focused on increasing the eye donation pledges in Sri Lanka while also promoting sponsorships for cataract surgeries. Thus the sincere hopes of breathing in more colours to the lives of those who see only one colour, by deciding to make their eyes live twice, came true. It wouldn’t be wrong for one of them to believe that their pledge turned them in to superheroes whose names shall be remembered forever as they decided to pass it on and leave behind a legacy.
To know more about this initiative click on:
https://www.facebook.com/ColomboBW
At the end of the walk, following the distribution of certificates of participation, there was an open mic session organized by the Rotaract club of ACBT, to showcase the talents of our own Rotaractors while giving the participants the time to unwind and enjoy themselves while celebrating the successful completion of Blind Walk 2019.
A “veryyy biiiig” shout out to all the clubs who joined hands together and extended their fullest support in making these projects a remarkable reality while simultaneously exposing and highlighting timely and major concerns that the society has to look upon. However, as we always say, it’s beyond competing for awards! This category of awards is definitely a driving force of encouragement in urging all clubs to Strive as One, to look for pressing needs in communities and work together as one family in enhancing the betterment of such communities.
Thankyou to all our fellow clubs and fellow Rotaractors for providing us with the details!
Written & Compiled By:
The Blog Team 2020/21
