Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa

Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa (also known as Rotaract Mora) is the first university based Rotaract Club of Sri Lanka, based at the University of Moratuwa. Initiated with 16 members, the club has now grown to a membership of over 150 members from all the faculties of the University. The club has won the award, “Rotaract Outstanding Project - South Asia Region” twice for the projects “You Are Not Alone” and “HandZ” in 2000 and 2011 respectively, from the Rotary International.
The club is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Colombo West.
Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa, is more than just a community service club. Over the years, the club has widened its scope into other areas like Professional Development and International Understanding apart from Community Service having won a number of Rotaract accolades both locally and internationally.
History
Milestones
1995-1996
* Inception of the club - The Rotaract club of University of Moratuwa was formed with 16 members and under the guidance of Past President Rtr. Thushan Wijesinghe of Rotaract Club of Colombo West who was also an undergraduate of University of Moratuwa. This was the first university based Rotaract club in Sri Lanka.
* Presentations - This was the first project carried out by the club. This project was about acclimatizing the undergraduates to shoulder the responsibilities in the corporate world.
* 'Polio Plus' - An awareness campaign at rendezvous places and schools for interactors to promote awareness of the polio campaign.
* Charter Presentation ceremony - Charter of the club was handed by the District Governor Rtn. Ranjith Samarasinghe to charter President Rtr. Nishan Weerasooriya, with the presence of Vice Chancellor Prof G.T.F. De Silva and President of Rotary Club of Colombo West Rtn. Asoka Jayasinghe.

1996-1997
* Commencement of the Rotaract Bookshop - Opening up of the bookshop managed by the Expographic Bookshop that lent a hand to the students to buy books at an affordable price at the University of Moratuwa.

1997-1999
* 'Are You Ready?' - The official career guidance program of the university was initiated in this year with the hopes of providing the undergraduates a helping hand to realize the scope and challenges of the corporate world.
* Workshop on stock exchange - This was basically organized intending to help the students of the university to get an idea about the economy of Sri Lanka.
* 'Polio Plus' - The Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa helped the Ministry of Health, Moratuwa to organize 72 centers in the Moratuwa area.
* Club won its first District Awards - Best Professional Development Project for "Are You ready?" and Best President

1999-2000
* ‘You are not Alone’- This project included visits to areas displaced by war, distribution of clothing, books and other goods to refugees and organizing a Peace Exhibition.
* 'Glimpse of Heaven' - This project was organized with the objective of crusading for the betterment of children who live in Homes for Children. Five selected homes for children were given the opportunity to take part in this event and embellish the talent show with their innate talents. Money collected by selling tickets was donated to the homes.
* Award for the Best Rotaract Community Service Project- South Asia Region - The award for the Best South Asian community service project was won by the project "You are not Alone".
* District Awards - The club won 5 awards including the Best Club in the District, Best Community Service and Best Professional development projects, Best President and the Best Reporting Club.

2000-2001
* 'Future Engineer' - This Professional Development project was implemented with seminars on “The Practicing Engineer, Communicating Effectively, Continuing Professional development and Choosing a career” to the final year students of the University of Moratuwa.

2001-2002
* Visit to the Maharagama cancer hospital - 16 Rotaractors from the club visited the National Cancer Institute at Maharagama and donated 600 Mammography X-ray films which were urgently required and 471 Emeset Intravenous Injections which were in short supply.

2004-2006
* Initiation of Gavel Club of University of Moratuwa -The club became the catalyst in initializing the Gavel club in the university affiliated to the Toast Master International.
* 'Raise of Hope' - This was the event organized by the club to lend a hand to those who suffered from Tsunami, the unexpected calamity that ever occurred in the Sri Lankan history.

2006-2007
* 'Beyond Boundaries' - This two day outbound residential leadership training camp was carried out at the Kuda Oya Military Base with the participation of 35 Rotaractors.
* 'Are You Ready?' - This year it was expanded into a careers week with 3 sessions including Pre-session and “Into the Future”.

2007-2008
* 'Be a Leader' -This seminar was formulated with the idea of enhancing the ability of undergraduates to take over responsibilities and also to persevere along the path of success through obstacles.
* 'Awakening Sooriyapokuna' - This project was allied with many kaleidoscopic projects. “Going Bananas” was one of them to introduce new agricultural techniques to bring stability over their economy. Apart from these, IT workshops were also held in order to polish the facets of their knowledge in mingling with the new technology.
* Expansion of ‘Are You Ready?’- The Careers Week was expanded into a careers fair with an exhibition and for the very first time a “Dining Etiquette & Grooming workshop” was held at Hilton, Colombo.

2008-2009
* 'HandZ' - This was implemented with the intention of widening the scope of serving the community in Sri Lanka. More than providing the obsolete with the material donations they have resolved to harvest the knowledge and skills within them to uplift the prevailing status of the country.
* 'Higher Education Studies at US' - This workshop was conducted for over 300 students on the opportunities for higher education in United States with the support of SL2College and Fulbright Commission.

2009-2010
* 'Ideas' - This project helped the undergraduates to reinforce their commitment to thrive in their future accomplishments and also to instill a touch of an entrepreneurial attitude in them.It also aided them to speculate the strengths and weaknesses of their lives which would take them to higher targets in future. It won the District Professional Development Citation for the first time.
* 'HandZ'- HandZ was bought into a new level with a number of education and other seminar series being carried out in Anuradhapura which won the citation for Best Community Service Project at the Rotaract District Assembly.

2010-2011
* Outstanding Rotaract Project South Asia Winner - The club managed to win the “Outstanding Rotaract Project - South Asia” for the second time for the project “HandZ” from the Rotary international.
* 'Ideas Forum'- A forum on Entrepreneurship was conducted at the university with Prof A.K.W Jayawardena, NDB endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship and CEO’s from industry participating.
* 'Gift a Smile'-This project was initiated in July 2010. The idea was to help a selected group of underprivileged children, every month with the contribution of the Rotaractors who are the birthday holders of that month. Eight successful phases have been carried out so far. Through the projects the Rotaractors have been able to bring a smile to several groups of needy children in the society.
* Building Communities & Bridging Cultures - For the first time in its history the club hosted 16 Rotaractors from Rotaract Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, Hong Kong for seven days implementing joint community service projects in Polonnaruwa and sightseeing around the country.
* 'Hand In Hand' - Hand in Hand project was initiated to find funds for medications for Cancer Hospital, Maharagama. A total of Rs. 300,000 was raised for the hospital through selling of Christmas cards with the artwork being done by the cancer stricken children themselves. This won the Best Community Service Project at the district Assembly.
* 'Are You Ready? 2011 '- This year the careers fair of the university consisted of five days one of which was dedicated to conduct interviews for the final year students with the participation of 65 interview panels from 51 companies.
* 'Shelter Box' -Project Shelter Box was done in collaboration with the Shelter box Response Team to provide shelter boxes to the flood affected areas in Ampara and Batticaloa districts.

2011-2012
* 'Beyond Horizons' -Beyond Horizon was the International Service trip of 2011 organized by Rotaract Mora, where they hosted 26 members from the Rotaract Club of Chung Chi College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong for eight days. While their stay they joined hands with the Rotaract club of University of Moratuwa when they spent a day with the children at National Cancer Hospital,visited Sigiriya and Kandy, helped to colour-wash the Kalugala Vidyalaya, Dambulla and conducted English workshops in the same school.
Past Presidents
* 1995-1996 Rtr. Nishan Weerasooriya
* 1996-1997 Rtr. Kalinga Jagoda
* 1997-1998 Rtr. Prasanna Karunarathna
* 1998-1999 Rtr. Binupa Liyanage
* 1999-2000 Rtr. Dinesha Weerathunga
* 2000-2001 Rtr. Lumindra Perera
* 2001-2002 Rtr. Nilantha Britto
* 2002-2003 Rtr. Ranishka Wimalasena
* 2003-2004 Rtr. Rajanandhini Balachandran
* 2004-2005 Rtr. Lalinda Karunarathne
* 2005-2006 Rtr. Thilina Gunarathne
* 2006-2007 Rtr. Charaka Senanayake
* 2007-2008 Rtr. Amila Perera
* 2008-2009 Rtr. Sandapa Handakumbura
* 2009-2010 Rtr. Sajith Vimukthi Weerakoon
* 2010-2011 Rtr. Dilina Fernando
* 2011-2012 Rtr. Benura Vithana
* 2012-2013 Rtr. Chinthaka Dharmasiri (Current President)
Projects
HandZ
HandZ was formed with the primary aim of harvesting the knowledge and skills within Rotaract Mora to serve the community by providing sustainable and feasible solutions for a burning problem in the country. HandZ chose to address the quality of life issues of beyond the suburbs, by uplifting the education levels of the community through focusing on the next generation, children of schooling age.
The project was conducted in 5 phases at schools in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Rotaract Mora offered them a hand in education through seminars, skill development workshops and counseling sessions. The focus of these workshops was not just the main subjects, but also the soft skills. As it was observed, the knowledge of these students in areas such as IT and English was very poor but even with the huge number of students who participated in these workshops, HandZ workforce was able to reach out to each and every individual. The conclusion of each seminar series made way to evenings of fellowship where the Rotaractors engaged in a friendly cricket matches and volleyball matches with the villagers. Health camps were also conducted with the purpose of improving the living standards of the students and their families.
HandZ was recognized as the "Most Outstanding Rotaract Projects: South Asia Districts Winner” by the Rotary International and was also selected as the best overall project in the Rotaract District 3220.
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Hand in Hand
Hand In Hand, was a foundation established aiming to benefit of cancer patients in the national Cancer Hospital Maharagama, founded in the middle of 2010. In recognition of its virtues ‘Hand In Hand’ was admired as the “Best Community Service Project” of the Rotaract District 3220 in 2011.
As the very first project, Hand In Hand donated medical and surgical instruments to the Children’s Unit of the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama. To raise the funds the foundation printed greetings cards to be sold in the festive season. The art designs on the cover of these cards were the handiwork of the children at the Cancer Hospital.
In 2010, two designs of greeting cards were created, printed and sent to the leading bookstalls and some supermarkets. After raising about 0.4 million and collecting a profit of around 0.3 million (Sri Lankan rupees) the team approached the Director of the National Cancer Institute. With his advice and guidance, much needed medical items such as Inj. Cisplatin, Inj. Carboplatin, Inj.VCR, Inj. Pactilaxel, Butterfly Cannula were donated using money that was raised.
The project was continued in 2011 where a set of medical and surgical instruments were donated to the Children’s Unit of the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama raising funds the same way as the previous year. In years to come Hand In Hand would progress with a wider scope, helping the people fighting against cancer and bringing a smile to their faces.
Gift a Smile
Gift A Smile, is the way the Rotaractors at Rotaract Mora spend their birthdays.The project was put into action monthly since July 2010, with the contribution of the Rotaractors who are the birthday holders of that particular month. Eight phases have been conducted so far. Throughout the project the Rotaractors have been able to aid different groups of children with physical and financial difficulties gifting them a smile.
The initial step was conducted at a children’s home at Kidelpitiya, Bandaragama for 28 child occupants. The second phase was helping the children at Sneha children’s home Bambalapitiya, to which 16 Rotaractors from Rotaract Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, Hong Kong contributed as well. Then the birthday holders got together to help out children who had lost their fathers at the battle field. 14 such students who had passed the grade five scholarship examination were chosen and were presented with stationery items.
Another phase of the project was carried out at the Sangamiththa Balika Development Centre, Pamankada, where they shared an evening with 30 girls. The phase carried out on behalf of the children at the Cancer Hospital, whose drawings later became cover designs of the greeting cards printed by the Hand In Hand foundation was another memorable event. Pathum Uyana, a school for Down Syndrome children in Aluthgama was colour washed as the next phase, one with the highest ever fund raised, Rs.18 000. An evening with about 25 girls at Morawinna girls’ home, Panadura marked the 8th phase of the project.
Rotaract Mora intends to carry on with this project in the future as well hoping to bring a smile to the needy children in the society.
Soyuru Lanka
The project Soyuru Lanka was founded with the objective of supporting the children and the youth especially in the North and East of the country, who have been deprived of quality education and career opportunities over the last three decades due to war. This project has helped them to regain control of their lives by being competent professionally, self-motivated and understanding the need to help their fellowmen. Soyuru Lanka was carried out by the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Colombo West and was deployed in the Trincomalee district.
Providing moral guidance was the objective behind the ‘Soyuru Lanka Leadership Program’. This consisted of mentoring sessions and workshops conducted by resource personnel to improve their confidence and to motivate them. Some students were selected and enrolled for the training and internship programs that suit their skill, talents and interest which enhanced their professionalism.
As an initial step an educational awareness seminar was conducted in Trincomalee on 07th and 08th of April, 2012, for students who have completed their secondary education. 'Inspiring Youth Community', IYC was a sub concept of ‘Soyuru Lanka’. The intention was to create a youth community that will be the guiding force behind the youth of the District in matters on education and employment. The IYC was formed by the youth who followed the programs in Soyuru Lanka. The IYC of Trincomalee was formed through the initial phase of the project carried out there. It was expected that such formations all over the country would lay a firm foundation for the betterment of the youth. The ‘Inspiring Youth Communities’ are aided by Rotarians and Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa.
Professional Development
The professional development projects by the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa, prepare the undergraduates to face the world of work. Are You Ready? and Ideas are such projects much awaited each year. The Intellectual Task Force was launched recently with the aim of sharing the knowledge and skills of the Rotaractors with others. It is a huge opportunity for the club members, having technical knowledge in different disciplines, to serve the society and to gain valuable work experience.
Are You Ready ?
Are You Ready? annually organized by the Rotaract club of University of Moratuwa in collaboration with the Career Guidance Unit of the university is a much awaited event in the university calendar. The origin of ‘Are You Ready?’ of Rotaract Mora runs a way back, to 1998 and since then it has been the official careers fair of University of Moratuwa. Up to now for thirteen consecutive years, ‘Are You Ready?’ has paved way for thousands of undergraduates, on the verge of stepping out of the university to the corporate world out there. Through the years it has gained the appreciation of the university, the industry and the Rotaract body as a standardized Professional Development program. In the Rotaract year 1997-1998 "Are You Ready?" won the award for the "Best Professional Development Project" in the Rotaract District 3220 for the first time and for consecutive 10 years it was recognized as Best Professional Development Project continuously in District 3220.
Ideas
The project ‘Ideas’, launched by Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa, aims in creating a platform on which the undergraduates and the Rotaractors can interact with the industry on the basis of problem solving. As undergraduates of a technological institute, they have realized that industrial experience is of paramount importance to their future careers. In most cases, the true potential of the undergraduate is not realized due to the absence of a platform to directly interact with the industry. Some of these issues are related to various fields taught at the University. Those issues will be directed to the undergraduates and Rotaractors who can solve them assuring a high level of quality and with creative and innovative ideas. At the same time, they will gain valuable experience in tackling industrial problems.
Through this project, small, medium and large companies are approached to discuss and identify problems that require engineering solutions which are later evaluated and uploaded into Ideas web portal. Thus the undergraduates as well as the Rotaract community can address these problems by submitting a response application, outlining possible solutions. The best one is selected and is awarded with a certificate at the closure of a project.This novel concept was awarded as the "Best Professional Development Project" of Rotaract year 2010/2011 at 20th Rotaract District Assembly.
Intellectual Task Force
The basic idea behind the project Intellectual Task Force (ITF) is to promote the concept of skilled based volunteerism. The goal of the project is to create a volunteer hub through which the community can reach out to the Rotaractors to get their support for various causes. The Rotaractors become skill based volunteers to support any cause which has an end outcome of enhancing the living standards of the society. They also promote freelancing through this project which enables the undergraduates of the university to engage with industrial projects and contribute to the economy while gaining experience as well as a substantial income. Three such projects have been successfully put into action so far while some more under the same ITF theme are on the cards
Project 001:
As a concept of the Ministry of Education, Distance Learning Labs were introduced to two selected schools in the country and the Rotaractors joined hands as the first ever project of ITF. Their task was to look for suitable software for the distance learning task, installing and testing, networking the labs, preparing computer based lessons and training the school teachers and the students on the new implemented system.
Project 002:
Through the project 002, an ongoing project, the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa engaged with Hydro Power International (HPI) Pvt. Ltd to help them in developing a couple of products to attract more investors to their company. The Rotaractors also carried out feasibility studies on the construction of another power station in Hanguranketha area.
Project 003:
The Rotaract club joined with Ministry of Education once again for the third project. The Indian government in collaboration with the Ministry of Education has planned to establish language laboratories in each province of the island with the objective of enhancing the quality of English education and with the help of the Mora Rotaractors the proposed design of the laboratories were checked for its suitability and sustainability to Sri Lanka finally selecting the most appropriate and economical design model.
International Understanding
The Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa has joined hands with several Rotaract Clubs overseas in their projects, with the purpose of promoting the Sri Lankan culture and carrying out projects in a larger scale. Up to now they have collaborated with The Rotaract Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, Hong Kong (2010), the Shelter box Response Team (2010) and Rotaract Club of Chung Chi College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong(2011).
Rotaract Club of Kowloon Golden Mile completed International service Trip to Sri Lanka from December 27, 2010 to January 3, 2011. With the sponsorship from Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, two Community Service projects have been successfully implemented in the Polonnaruwa Kurruppu Handiya village. In deploying these projects the Kowloon Golden Mile teamed up with the ‘HandZ’.
Shelter Box is an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by a disaster worldwide. On 19 January 2011, two representatives from Shelter Box arrived Sri Lanka to check whether it is necessary to provide shelter boxes to communities affected due to the terrible flooding during that season.
The international service trip of the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa, Beyond Horizons, hosted 26 members belonging to the Rotaract Club of Chung Chi College from December 29, 2011 to January 5, 2012. The Rotarctors of Chung Chi College got the opportunity to visit many places in Sri Lanka including Dambulla, Sigiriya, Hunnasgiriya, Kandy and The Cancer Hospital, Maharagama. Several community service projects also were carried out during their stay.
Acheivements and Awards
Award for the Best Professional Development Project- RI District 3220 - 1998
"Are You Ready?" won the award for Best Professional Development project.
Award for the Best Rotaract Community Service Project- South Asia Region -1999
The award for the Best South Asian community service project was won by the project “You are not alone”.
Outstanding Rotaract Project South Asia Winner -2011
The club won the “Outstanding Rotaract Project - South Asia” for the second time for the project “HandZ” from the Rotary international.
Ever since year 1995, Rotaract Mora continues to win awards and citations in numbers at the Rotaract District Assembly an event held annually to recognize and accolade the clubs and Rotaractors who outshine in their work throughout each year. The most recent achievements of Rotaract Mora are listed below.
20th Rotary District Assembly :District 3220 (2010)
* Most Outstanding Rotaract Club of the year (shared with Rotaract Club of Jaffna Midtown)
20th Rotaract District Assembly :District 3220 (2010)
* Most Outstanding Rotaract Club
* Rotaract District Citation
* RI Presidential Citation
* Most Outstanding President 2009/2010 - Rtr.Sajith Vimukthi Weerakoon
* Best Professional Development Project: District Citation - “Ideas”
* Best Community Service Project: District Citation- “Handz”
21st Rotaract District Assembly :District 3220 (2011)
* Best University Based Rotaract Club
* Rotaract District Citation
* RI Presidential Citation
* Overall Best Rotaract Project "Handz"
* Best Community Service Project: District Citation "Hand in Hand"
* Best Reporting Club
* Best Bulletin
* Recognition of 'Building Communities - Bridging Cultures'
* Recognition of 'Are You Ready?
22nd Rotaract District Assembly :District 3220 (2012)
* Best Reporting Club
* Merit Award - Soyuru Lanka

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