In the Limelight'- 3rd Quarter Roundup

The end of another successful quarter for RC UOC FMF! After finishing a successful 1st half of the year we were able to carry on the same momentum to the 3rd quarter. We were able to successfully complete a staggering 35 projects within these three quarters. “In the Limelight” the quarterly roundup gives you an insight of the activities and achievements of the club during the 3rd quarter. 

Awards & Recognitions

Celebrate Rotaract T-shirt competition
The Celebrate Rotaract t-shirt competition organized by the Rotaract District 3220 in partnership with the Rotaract Club of Faculty of Science UOC, was won by our Director of IT Rtr. Radun de Silva. The t-shirt designed by Rtr. Radun was thus selected as the official t-shirt of the Rotaract District 3220. The winner of the t-shirt design competition was announced during the opening ceremony of RCL 2016. Our club was awarded with 10 Celebrate Rotaract t-shirts for coming up with the winning design. 

Conquer Colombo 2016
Conquer Colombo was a scavenger hunt organized by the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School in partnership with the Rotaract District 3220. This year’s Conquer Colombo was organized as a part of Rotasia 2016 and thus saw the participation of various international delegates along with many local teams, making it the biggest scavenger hunt to be held in Sri Lanka. Three teams representing our club participated in Conquer Colombo 2016 and one such team, Team FMF, comprising of President Rtr. Praveen Fernando, Rtr. Mirangi Lanka Prasada, Rtr. Gehanya Gamage and Rtr. Madhumali Kodikara, emerged champions of Conquer Colombo and won return tickets to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Read more

 Conquer Colombo 2016 Winners - Team FMF (Source: facebook.com/conquercolombolk)

Rotaractors of the Quarter

Rtr. Akhila Wijetunga and Rtr. Manahari Singarchchi were recognized as the Rotaractors of the 3rd Quarter by our club. This award is given by our club to recognize the most outstanding members of the club who have made a significant contribution in terms of club projects and active participation in events of other Rotaract Clubs. During the 1st Quarter the award was won by Rtr. Ruvini Nuwangi while Rtr. Isuri Weeraman won it during the 2nd Quarter.

Avenue Updates

International Understanding

Rotasia

Rotasia 2016 – Ayubowan Sri Lanka was held between the 5th and 8th of February 2016. This is a major milestone for the Rotaract District 3220 as this is the first ever Rotasia to be held in Sri Lanka. The main purpose of Rotasia is to create a platform for Rotaractors around the world to come together. Thus Rotasia 2016 saw the participation of delegates from various countries. The first day of the conference was the Opening Ceremony while the second day was organized as a Business Day and followed by a Cultural Event. 

Rotasia 2016 (Source: Official Media Arm of Rotaract District 3220)

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The third day of the conference saw the biggest scavenger hunt to be held in Sri Lanka, Conquer Colombo 2016. This was followed by Lost in Paradise, a beach party which was co-organized by our club. Rotasia 2016 came to an end on the 4th day with the Closing Ceremony. Kudos to the Rotaract District 3220 for successfully pulling off Rotasia 2016 making it the best Rotasia to be ever held thereby setting new standards for future Rotasia conferences. Read more

Finance

Bake Sale

A bake sale was organized by our club on the second day of Rotasia which was held on the 6th of February 2016 from 8.30 a.m. onwards at Trace Expert City Maradana. The stall consisted of homemade cupcakes, drinks such as black current, passion, fruit, ice coffee, souvenirs such as Sri Lankan pins, key tags Homemade cards, Rotasia mugs and badges. This project was chaired by Rtr. Devmini Weerasuriya and Rtr. Gayaka Karunarathne. It should also be mentioned that the Project was commended by the Rotaract District 3220 as it was the only stall that was run by a Rotaract Club at the Trace Expert City.

Car Wash 2016

The annual Car Wash of our club was held on the 30th of January at the BRC Grounds. The Car Wash which is organized by our club each and every year, is one of the most anticipated events as it is the very first project that is organized by the first year club members. The Car Wash this year is arguably the best car wash organized by our club and we managed to collect more than what we targeted to achieve. The funds of the Car Wash will be used to contribute towards the World Down Syndrome Day which will be held in March. The project was chaired by Rtr. Akhila Wijetunga and Rtr. Manahari Singarchchi. 

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Club Service

Rotaract Champions League 2016

The Rotaract Champions League, the annual sporting extravaganza of the Rotaract District 3220, was held on the 9th and 10th of January at the Royal Sports Complex and the University of Colombo grounds respectively. RCL was organized by the Rotaract District along with 13 Rotaract Clubs who were giving the responsibility of organizing different games, where our club hosted athletics and shot put. 

The Rotaract Club of Kothalawala Defense University emerged the Champions of RCL 2016 while the Rotaract Club of Faculty of Science UOC and the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa were adjudged the runners-up and 2nd runners-up respectively. Our club was placed 4th in the overall rankings of RCL 2016. Read more

Club Trip

The annual Rotaract trip of our club was held during the month at the Ocean Ripples Resort. It was a fun filled trip which saw the participation of around 40 members of the club. The activities and games that were organized provided the opportunity for the members to bond together and also provided the opportunity for the new members to get to know the other members of the club. 

Thanks to the efforts of the Club Service Directors and Project Chairs Rtr. Mirangi Lanka Prasada and Rtr. Jude Fonseka, for making the club trip one of the most memorable experiences to all the members that participated. 

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Club Party
The annual Birthday party of the club was held on the 12th of February at President Rtr. Praveen Fernando’s residence in Kirulapone. It was one of the most memorable nights for all the members. The night brought together not only the members of the club but also the past members, which provided an opportunity for the current members to meet and interact with the past club members of RC UOC FMF. The project was chaired by our Club Service Director Rtr. Mirangi Lanka Prasada. Read more

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Secret Valentine
The secret Valentine was a project organized to celebrate the Valentine’s Day and was chaired by Rtr. Ranithri Samarawickrama. The members were asked to pick another member’s name and purchase a gift to him or her anonymously. The gifts were distributed on the day of the club party which added more colour to the party.

Community Service

Clothing Drive
The distribution of clothes collected through the project Clothing Drive happened during the month. On the 13th of January the clothes were donated to The Haven – a Salvation Army home for girls, which houses around 60 girls between the ages of 6 and 18. Clothes were also distributed among few of the workers in the University. The project was chaired by Rtr. Ranisha Fernando and Rtr. Kushlani Keppetipola.

Future For Us
"Future for us 2.0" took a up a new challenge this time, five schools were chosen and a specific project in terms of school's improvement was to be implemented utilizing the skills and support of club members. The first project was done at Al Hamza vidyala in Colombo-15, where we reorganized the primary section of the school in order to make it a pleasant, interesting and fun environment for the students. 

The second project was done at Al Iqbal Maha Vidyalaya in Colombo-2, where we transformed the school into an environmentally friendly atmosphere. Firstly we cleaned the school premises and then planted trees all around the premises, with the help of the newly formed environment society. The responsibility for maintenance was given to the environment club and we instructed them on how to look after the plants along with providing the necessary materials and equipment. The remaining projects will be carried out in the next few weeks in 3 other schools. This project is chaired by Co-Community Service Director Rtr. Aqeela Najeeb and Rtr. Peshala Samaratunga.

World Down Syndrome Day 

The annual celebration of the World Down Syndrome Day organized by the Kosala Dullewa Foundation and the Rotaract District 3220, was held on the 27th of March 2016 for the fourth consecutive year. 

The program for the day involved various activities designed to promote awareness on the subject of Down syndrome and its related issues, focused on creating an understanding and changing social perception on what this demographic can achieve given the right resources at the right time. The programs included a health camp, art competition and a variety show. The health camp was organized by our club and was a mammoth success. On behalf of our club the project was chaired by Rtr. Gehanya Gamage and Rtr. Ranithri Samarawickrama. Read more

World Down Syndrome Day 2016 (Source: Official Media Arm of Rotaract District 3220)

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Hope
Project “Hope” was initiated by our club to give employment opportunities to the families of differently abled kids. This project is done in partnership with the Jelly Bean Foundation and Panther Stationery. To start off the project our club approached a learning Centre for differently abled kids in Badowita, which is under the Asha Trust Foundation. Panther stationery has provided work for the parents in Badowita and the parents get paid for the work they do. The project is chaired by Rtr. Dinuk Wickramanayake and Vice President Rtr. Shalini Wijewardena. Recently we were able to complete the second phase of this project.

Happy Street Pooch
Project Happy Street Pooch was organized for the second time this year after its mammoth success last year. As a part of the project, a vaccination programme for dogs and cats in the University premises was conducted on the 31st of March. The project is chaired by Rtr. Amali Wijekoon and Rtr. Mandree Dissanayake.

The Blog and Social Media

The club blog continued its recording breaking stride and was able to reach major milestones during the quarter. We published our 75th blog post and in commemorating this major milestone we launched a new column titled ‘Center Stage’ which is a fun interview with Rotaractors. The first such interview featured the DRR himself Rtr. PHF. Sathiyeandra Tharmakulerajasingham. Thus far the blog has published 85 blog posts.

The Blog also reached 10,000 views during the quarter making it one of the most actively viewed Rotaract blogs in the District. In commemorating this milestone we launched another new column titled 'Journey Through Rotaract' which features success stories of past Rotaractors of our club. The first interview featured our charter President Rtr. Mifrah Ismail.

Further the blog post on Rotasia 2016 written by President-elect Rtr. Hiruni Perera reached 550 views and is now the highest viewed post on the blog. 

Our club took a new leap this quarter by introducing a social media platform for all Rotaractors around the world. This initiative is a brainchild of our Director of IT Rtr. Radun de Silva. We seek to enhance the features of the platform to enable it to provide comprehensive service to the users. Do check out the website by logging into rotaractonline.club