The Christmas Gift Box

'The Christmas Gift Box', a project we conduct annually was carried out successfully where we commemorated the festival of Christmas with a true sense of giving by donating provisions to the needy.
This year, we selected a junior school located in a remote area of Galgamuwa for the donation. The students of  Hettiarachchigama junior college, Galgamuwa, warmly welcomed all members of the Rotaract Club of Kandy on the 27th of December 2015.

The school itself is located in one of the most rural regions of the island. The buildings of the school are dilapidated and only a few spaces function as classrooms. The entire school has only 7 teachers including the principal. Regardless of all of these drawbacks, the students of the Hettiarachchigama Junior School are doing well in their studies. All grade 5 students who sat for the scholarship exam have obtained more than 100 marks and one student has passed with excellent marks, bringing so much honour to their little school.

They were highly thrilled with the gifts we gave them. Each student was given a gift package that included exercise books, other stationary, a lunch box, water bottle, pencil case and chocolates. A total of 43 students received gifts on this day. A special gift was given to the student who excelled in the scholarship examination.

Despite all their difficulties, the parents of the students had prepared a delicious traditional meal for all our club members. The students also presented 3 items in English, Sinhala and Tamil to entertain us.

We sincerely thank everyone who contributed towards this project which enabled us to put a smile on the faces of these children and brighten their future. The Christmas Gift Box project for the year 2015 was an immense success.

Christmas Lunch for Daya Niwasa

We the Rotaract Club of Kandy dedicated the 24 th of December 2015 to provide a lunch for the differently abled children at Daya Niwasa Kandy under the avenue of community service.We got funds for this project through a main sponsor and our club members also contributed to buy goods for the lunch and to make this project a success.

We bought the goods on the same day and all the members of the club came to Daya Nivasa at around 11 a.m and the we handed over the goods to the sisters in charge of the orphanage to be provided for the children for lunch.

Christmas Carols at the Elders' Home

The elders at the Mahaiyawa Elders home were excited to have us with them on the 13th of December 2015. Singing Christmas Carols for these elders is a project the Rotaract Club of Kandy conducts every year. The elders were eagerly waiting for us to come entertain them as every other year.

The elders were entertained with Christmas carols in both Sinhala and Tamil. They sang along with us and requested more songs. We sang some popular baila songs for them to dance and enjoy. It was a fun filled evening for everyone present at the home.

The elders were served tea and cake while we sang for them. At the end of the program we wished the elders a joyful christmas and a happy new year. We hope to continue this project every christmas to entertain and share our love with them.

Multi Religious Offerings

The multi religious offerings program was organized to celebrate the 29th Anniversary of the Rotaract Club of Kandy.
The day began at 6:30 am in the Temple of the Tooth Relic where our club members made religious offerings. Next we visited the mosque, and then the pilliyar Kovil.

The church was our last stop. We visited St. Anthony's Cathedral in Kandy and obtained a blessing from the priest.

Joy of Hearing

Joy of Hearing is another annual project of the Rotaract Club of Kandy. This project has been carried out many times in the recent past to help children with hearing disabilities.

Joy of hearing Phase 1 for the year 2015/2016 took place on the 22nd of November at the Kandy Club. Hearing aids worth Rs. 75,000 each were donated to 5 children.

LOST

 Lost was organized by the Cluster 2 of the RI District 3220 covering all four avenues of Club Service, Professional Development, International Understanding and Community Service catering to Rotaractors from the organizing clubs and the district. The idea of ‘Lost’ came from being lost in a maze that is part treasure hunt, part Amazing Race and part puzzle solving. This was one of a kind where each team travelled through the country unraveling clues and completing tasks that will be both exciting and challenging.

Armed with a map of the Sri Lanka and a clue sheet, teams of five had to advance in the game by solving challenges at Checkpoints located at iconic venues and quirky locations across Sri Lanka. They had to interact with locals from different parts of Sri Lanka, work in unfamiliar situations and locations and maximize on the limited resources of each team. Teams had forty-eight hours in which they faced a range of challenges which included community service projects, engaging in international understanding and teams building tasks. The team routes and team members were predetermined however the allocation of routes to the five teams happened once the project commenced.

The unusual challengers that were completed during the project were:

- Improve Time Management, Team Building Skills among the teams

- Collecting donations items through singing and performing

- Interacting with foreigners while promoting our culture and the beauty of the country

- Learning about the things related to Sri Lanka Railway System

- Learning about the rules and procedures in Sri Lanka Police Department

- Selling handmade products while do awareness about something (diseases) in public

 

“Lost” cluster project was organized by the Rotaract Club of Kandy along with the Rotaract Clubs of Colombo-East, Wellawatte, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo, Pamunugama, Trincomalee and Manipay. And it was held from 27th of November 2015 to 29th of November 2015.

Project chairpersons were Rtr.PP.Ravindra Tammita, Rtr.Vijayadas Devdas, Rtr.Tilani Subasinghe, Rtr.Sajeevan Veeriah, Rtr.Charya Gamlath, and Rtr.Dale Nonis.

Members from Rotaract Clubs of Wellawatte, University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Colombo-East, Pamunugama, University of Colombo-Faculty of Arts, and Nuwara-Eliya participated in Lost.

Prior to the Project the organizing committee met several times in order to arrange things. The clues were handed over to the necessary locations in advance.

The teams gathered on the 27th of November 2015 evening near the Race Course Colombo They were then briefed on the project and assigned a route. Afterwards the teams were taken to the Pettah Bus stand where they were sent off to various locations on early next morning.

The Teams and the respective routes were as follows.

Argon

Race Course, Colombo / Pettah Bus Stand - Bandarawela Railway Station - Tea Factory - Ratnapura Area - Balangoda Police Station, - Balangoda Community Service Venue - Matara Railway Station - Matara Star Fort/Fort - Matara Police Station - Matara Accommodation Venue - Galle Police Station - Galle Community Service Venue - Aluthgama Police Station

Helium

Race Course, Colombo / Pettah Bus Stand - Bandarawela Railway Station - Tea Factory - Ratnapura Area - Balangoda Police Station, - Balangoda Community Service Venue - Matara Railway Station - Matara Star Fort/Fort - Matara Police Station - Matara Accommodation Venue - Galle Police Station - Galle Community Service Venue - Panadura Police Station

Neon

Race Course, Colombo / Pettah Bus Stand - Bandarawela Railway Station - Tea Factory - Ratnapura Area - Balangoda Police Station, - Balangoda Community Service Venue - Matara Railway Station - Matara Star Fort/Fort - Matara Police Station - Matara Accommodation Venue - Galle Police Station - Galle Community Service Venue - Kalutara Police Station

Carbon

Race Course, Colombo / Pettah Bus Stand - Bandarawela Railway Station - Tea Factory - Ratnapura Area - Balangoda Police Station, - Balangoda Community Service Venue - Matara

Railway Station - Matara Star Fort/Fort - Matara Police Station - Matara Accommodation Venue - Galle Police Station - Galle Community Service Venue - Hikkaduwa Police Station

Crypton

Race Course, Colombo / Pettah Bus Stand - Bandarawela Railway Station - Tea Factory - Ratnapura Area - Balangoda Police Station, - Balangoda Community Service Venue - Matara Railway Station - Matara Star Fort/Fort - Matara Police Station - Matara Accommodation Venue - Galle Police Station - Galle Community Service Venue - Ambalangoda Police Station.

On a lighter note, it was a fun-filled experience. We made friends for life and experienced things that money can’t buy through Lost.

Happiness Hour

The 9th of November was dedicated to the kids in the Singithi Sevana Orphanage.
The Happiness Hour Project was conducted to bring happiness to orphan kids by spending some quality time with them.

The Club members visited the children in the Singithi Sevana Orphanage and engaged in various fun and educational activities with them. A few unique games were organized to entertain and educate the kids.

They were served chocolate milk and cake at the end of the session.

The 33rd Installation Ceremony of RCK

     The installation ceremony of the Rotaract Club of Kandy was held in grandeur for the year 2015/2016 at the Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy on the 24^th of October.

The installation ceremony carried the theme of a Black Tie event for which the members of the club worked many days untiringly. This day is special to the incoming President of the club; Rtr. Tilani Subasinghe and all the members since it marked the completion of a successful year and the beginning of a remarkable era of service through Rotaract. Completing 45 projects for the year 2014/2015, the Rotaract Club of Kandy remains resolute as it has always been through the ages.

The occasion was graced by chief guest Rtn. PHF Vinoth Kumar, Guest of Honour Rtn PHF Yalini Jeyaseelan, The District Rotaract Committee Chair Rtn. PHF Saifudeen Adamaly, representatives of many Rotaract and Interact clubs, parents and friends. The guests lit the oil lamp that the club members had designed and built themselves before the flag salutation, Rotaract Invocation, and the four way test was recited and the Rotaract song was sung.
The Club Advisor; Rtr PP Sachinthani Meeriyagalle spoke a few heart touching words and moved the crowd in her introduction to the incoming president, Rtr. Tilani Subasinghe. A short video was presented following her speech that helped the crowd get to know the incoming president better.

The chairperson of the installation; Rtr. Thenuka Perera and co-chair Rtr. Mohammed Rehan had done a phenomenal job in organizing the event. That been said, the guests acclaimed the event for being one of the most organized installations they’ve been to this year.

The most anticipated moment of the morning was of course the installation of the incoming president of the Rotaract Club of Kandy; Rtr. Tilani Subasinghe.  After being installed, she was cheered by the lively audience. Her speech too was very moving in which she highlighted some special interact and rotaract moments of her life. The members of the committee were installed and applauded following the president’s speech. Given below is the list of names of the members in the committee and the positions they hold.

1.    President  - Rtr. Tilani Subasinghe
2.     Secretary  - Rtr. Samindhi Unamboowe
3.       Club Mentor  - Rtr. Sachinthani Meeriyagalle
4.       Treasurer - Rtr. Thenuka Perera
5.    Vice president - Rtr. Heshan Wickramathilake 
6.       Assistant Treasurer- Rtr. M. Rehan
7.      Assistant secretary - Rtr. Jalinie Nanayakkara
8.      Editor 1 - Rtr. Afkhan Ahamen
9.       Editor 2 - Rtr. Stephanie Sansoni
10.   Director of community service  1 - Rtr. M Rehan
11.   Director of community service  2 - Rtr. Harsha Jayasanka
12. Director of public relations - Rtr. Thenuka Perera 
13.   Director of international understanding- Rtr. Heshan Wickramathilake
14.   Director of professional development - Rtr. Haleem Akmal
15.   Director of Club service - Rtr. Pravini Fernando
16.   Director IT 1 - Rtr. Imasha Udawatte
17.   Director IT 2 - Rtr. Afkhan Ahamed
18.   Sergeant at arms - Rtr. Imalsha Udawatte


 The outgoing president Rtr. Pradeepa Anthony was commended by the members of the club throughout the event for his great year of service. He was an inspirational leader, a dear friend and a loving brother who guided the rest of the Kandy team. Sadly, he couldn’t be present at the installation since he has migrated overseas to complete his higher studies. But, the members of the RCK were genuinely thankful to Rtr. Pradeepa for everything he had done for the club.

      The main co-sponsor for the event was NDB Bank and they were thanked for the support they have been extending towards the club for many years.

An entertainment item was presented later at the event where three of the club members sang a collaboration of Sinhala and English songs. 

The Hospital Cleaning Project

The Peradeniya Teaching Hospital's surroundings were in no proper condition for its patients and visitors. Therefore, The Rotaract Club of Kandy together with our friends from the Rotaract Club of Peradeniya organized a shramadana campaign to clean the surroundings of the Hospital.

The Project was carried out on the 17th of October and it was an immense success. The participation of members from both clubs is praiseworthy. Everyone worked tirelessely to beautify the hospital's surroundings by clearing the wild grass and mosquito breeding places.

Apart from the surroundings, the windows and floors of the hospital wards also went through rigorous cleaning. The staff of the hospital were highly thrilled and thankful to us for conducting this project. All the partipants were able to enhance the spiritual development in a practical way.

Annual Blood Donation Camp

The Annual Blood Donation Camp was held on the 19^th of September from 9:00 am onwards at the Methodist Church Premises in Kandy.

The Club members began preparations for the Blood Donation weeks before the due date. We coordinated with the medical staff of the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital to organize this project. All the expenses were funded by donor Mr. Gregory Perera.

 Rotaractor Anuradha Abeysinghe and Rotaractor Prabath Wijerathne were the chairpersons of this project and they contributed greatly towards making this project a success.

All members of the club carried out a campaign to promote the project and get more people to donate blood. Posters and banners were hung around the Kandy town and a post was shared on Facebook. 35 people including club members, friends of Rotaract and random pedestrians walked in and donated blood.

The blood was then taken to the blood bank of the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital to give a help in hand to people who are desperately in need of it. 

Evening tea and snacks donation to Don Bosco boys home

After successfully completing the blood donation camp we were left with some refreshments of the project, therefore the project chair decided to donate the snacks and milk packets to the Don Bosco boys’ home.
After clearing the premises where the blood donation was held a few members went to the Don Bosco boys home for the donation and spent a few hours with them.
 

Hosting the DCM

We hosted the 3 rd DCM which was held at Royal Mall Kandy where most of the District officials attended to discuss the future plans of the Rotaract District Council and to look back in the projects and events completed.

The DRR spoke about the significant projects and events that will be taking place in the Rotaract Calender and the clubs were given the opportunity to make announcements regarding their respective projects and events.

Donation of funds to inmates at Don Bosco Technical School

Another Community Service Project was successfully completed in September. The Rotaract Club of Kandy identified 5 needy inmates at Don Bosco Technical School Kandy and provided them with funds to help them continue their studies.

We have decided to conduct this project on a monthly basis thanks to our generous donors. The Rector of the Institute Rev. Father Sunil Perera and two inmates were present when our club visited them for the donation. They highly appreciated the service of the club and congratulated us on upholding the true spirit of Rotaract.

Rs. 5000 was donated for the well being of each inmate. We hope to collect a total of Rs. 25 000 for them every month to make this project consistent.

Club T-shirt and Cap

A Tshirt and a Cap for the Rotaract Year 2015/2016 was designed and was launched at the TRRRajan Cricket Tournament.

The Club Assembly

The 26th of July 2015 was set aside to hold an important annual project. The Club assembly of the Rotaract Club of Kandy took place at Rotaractor Rehan's residence in Mulgampola following the general meeting with President Tilani Subasinghe and 19 other members. At the assembly, issues of the club which prevailed in the previous year were addressed and sorted out. The members also got the opportunity to voice their opinions on many things both positive and negative and come into a better understanding about Rotaract matters.

Suggestions for the improvement of the club, project ideas and goals for the future were also discussed at the assembly. All members spoke freely of matters concerning themselves and other individuals of the club. The assembly was carried out in a friendly yet official manner to bring out the best in each member of the club. Having resolved many problems that persisted in the past, we are now confident in moving forward with our projects through much perseverance and dedication.

GOALS

The Goals Project was conducted in order to present and discuss the plans of the Incoming President for the year ahead. Members were given one month to bring in their suggestions, which were considered when formulating the plan. At the final presentation and discussion, the President introduced the themes and projects for each avenue and discussed about them in detail with each Avenue Director. All members actively participated in the discussion and contributed their ideas.

The Club Ifthar

The 12th of July 2015 was set aside for our club's Ifthar. The members gathered at Rotaractor Rehan's residence for this fellowship. The Ifthar was held right after the first meeting of the club under our President Tilani Subasinghe. It was indeed an eventful evening with good food, happy people and interesting conversations.

The club Ifthar is an annual project the Rotaract Club of Kandy conducts. This time, the fellowship commenced at 6 pm and ended at 8 pm. All the Muslim members of the club contributed towards organizing the Ifthar. It provided the members of the club a great opportunity to blend with each other and build up good fellowship.

Everybody sat on the long laid mats facing the dishes. After prayers, we indulged in the delicious traditional Ifthar food. Samosas, Kandji rice and the date juice were prominent among the food and drinks we had. The meal came to an end with a round of enticing chocolate fudge cake. It was a memorable Ifthar for the club and we look forward to having more of these fellowship gatherings in the days to come.

Motivational and Psychotherapy Programme

This programme was conducted for 200 students who are facing the O/L examination this year of Saraswathi Maha Vidyalaya Pussellawa, to sort their day to day issues and help them build a bright future. This project was conducted jointly with our parent club, The Rotary Club of Kandy. Our Rotaract friends from the Rotaract Club of Peradeniya also joined us for this project.

The Rotaractors and Rotarians spoke to each student personally and listened to their grievances and difficulties. We mainly focused on getting to know the difficulties these students face in common, in day to day life. They were given an opportunity to reveal their woes and get council from us.

Rtn. Ajay Jeyaseelan carried out a medical session on psychotherapy. The students were comfortable conversing with us and were willing to share their stories. They were motivated and given advice to face the Ordinary level examination.

We have planned to carry out this project continuously in the years to come so that we can monitor the progress of the students of Saraswathi Maha Vidyalaya in Pussellawa. 

Team Kandy

The Rotaract Club of Kandy has emerged as one of the oldest and one of the most prestigious clubs in the R I District 3220. The club was chartered on the 20th of November 1986 and has a proud history of serving the community with the spirit of Rotaract held high. The club has also produced many dynamic young individuals who hold prominent positions in the country and elsewhere as leaders in various arenas. 

The Charter President of the Rotaract Club of Kandy was Amirali Abrahim. Rotarian Mark Stephen was appointed DRR in 1998 and Rotaractor Ravindra Tammita was selected as the ADRR for the years 2014-2016. The club so far has won the RI District 3220 Citation for 9 consecutive years starting from the year 2005/2006. In the year 2012/2013, the club was recognized as one of best Rotaract Club in the District by the Rotaract District 3220. The Club also won a Total of 29 Awards (21 Club Awards + 8 Individual Awards) at the District Assembly along with the most Outstanding Club Award & the club with the highest number of projects for the Rotaract Year 2012/2013.

The spotlight of the Rotaract Club of Kandy is mainly on trademark Community Service projects. Raising funds in aid of children with Thalassemia is one of the significant projects of the club. Additionally, the club organizes projects covering the avenues of Club Services, International Understanding & Professional Development in order to serve the community while building great leaders for the future.  The club thrives on the true sense of fellowship and making connections that last a life time which have played an imperative part in the club’s success along the years. The Members of the club maintain a close relationship with the Rotarians of the Rotary Club of Kandy and the Interactors while upholding a keen interest in participating in Inter Rotaract-Rotary Projects.