History – Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa

Milestones

1994-1995

Inception of the club – The Rotaract club of University of
Moratuwa was formed with 16 members and under the guidance of Past President
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
This project was about acclimatizing the undergraduates to shoulder the
responsibilities in the corporate world.

1995-1996

‘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 Toastmasters 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.

2016-2017

‘Grama Prabodhaya’ – This project was initiated to uplift the quality of lives of the small rural village of Ranugalla, Monaragala. The project was awarded the ‘Single Club International Winner in year 2016-17 Rotaract Outstanding Project Award’ by the Rotary International. This was the first time for a Sri Lankan Rotaract Club to win this prestigious award.
‘Zooxanthellae’ – Zooxanthellae was initiated in collaboration with Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd to reconstruct coral reefs present in the South coast of Sri Lanka with the intention of enhancing the artificial growth of coral reefs in most suitable locations.
‘LinkR’ – An initiative taken to build an extended social media platform which connects Rotaract District 3220 and the Rotaractors all around the globe.

2017-2018

Are You Ready? 2017 –This year Are You Ready? reached its highest peak with a recorded maximum number of interview panels throughout the history of Are You Ready. 700 final year undergraduates faced interviews in over 130 interview panels from over 60 esteemed organizations. Are You Ready? 2017 was awarded the People’s Choice
Award for Professional Development at Rotaract South Asia MDIO Outstanding Awards and Recognitions 2018.
Hand in Hand –‘Hand in Hand’ marked another historical milestone in 2017/18 by raising funds worth LKR 1,812,500 through the sales of Christmas & Vesak cards, stickers, t-shirts and donations.
Ceylon Safari –Project Ceylon Safari was a turning point in the avenue of International Service where 6 foreign Rotaractors were hosted by Rotaract Mora for a period of two weeks. They were given the opportunity to explore the natural beauty and historical value of Sri Lanka while we strengthened international relationships and cross-cultural understanding.
Leaf of Friendship –With the hope of strengthening the Regional Engagement, project Leaf of Friendship was jointly organized by Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa together with Rotaract Club of Nallur Heritage where members of Rotaract Mora visited Jaffna during the 1st phase and they were invited to Colombo in the 2nd phase.

2019-2020

The Rotaract year 2019/20 officially commenced on the 1st of July 2019, Rtr. Dhanuka Perera and his board of directors taking the office with the aspiration of continuing the legacy, under the theme ‘Explore, Develop, Serve’. The year kicked off intending to present possibilities to each and every member affiliated with the club to explore their capabilities while developing themselves and serving the society. With this intention in mind, the club instigated numerous sustainable projects which served the community, including the club members in various ways. Throughout the past year, Rotaract Mora as a responsible youth organization was able to successfully execute a series of projects, which included many novel initiatives, as well as enhanced versions of annual signature projects.
Grama Prabodhaya-One of the turning points of the Avenue of Community Service was shifting the award-winning project ‘Grama Prabodhaya’ from Hambegamuwa, Udawalawa to Dunupothagama Village in Nochchiyagama, Anuradhapura. Thus, following a survey that was carried out to comprehensively understand the status of the village, the objectives of the project were rewritten to align with the needs of this village and were achieved over an expanse of 6 subprojects focussing on various prevailing issues.
Hand in Hand-Project ‘Hand in Hand’ marked another historical milestone by expanding the usual scope where the raised funds are utilized for the benefit of child cancer patients residing at Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama, and Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya, by organizing the subproject ‘Hope’ to introduce selfemployment opportunities to adult cancer patients at Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama. Being the chief fundraiser of Rotaract Mora, the project proved that nothing’s improbable by raising LKR 17.1 million via the sale of stickers and Christmas cards only, as the Vesak phase was cancelled due to the unfortunate turnout of the events in the country.
Ceylon Safari-The International Service Avenue also reached a peak with the successful completion of the project ‘Ceylon Safari 2019’, where 10 foreign Rotaractors from 6 different countries covering almost all the continents participated, marking a significant milestone in the history of the avenue
CAST 4-‘CAST 4’, the acronym for “Collaborative Avenue Service Teams Four”, is one of the signature projects executed by Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa under the avenue of club service. ‘CAST 4’ is executed in a manner where the whole member base is divided into 4 teams, and giving them various tasks to accomplish, under a series of subprojects. These tasks are specially designed to highlight and enhance the capabilities and skills of each participant while strengthening the mutual understanding and bonds of each other.
Nena Aruna-Aligning with the same focus area, under the project ‘Nena Aruna’, 49 Ordinary Level Mathematics and Information Technology seminars were conducted in 11 different schools covering 6 districts around the island.
Ecospace-This was an innovative project which is based on the production of eco-bricks using disposable polythene and plastic bottles by aiming to promote recycling and reduce environmental pollution which was held by the Rotaract district. Through that, we did awareness sessions to the school students about our concept.
The official website -The newest addition to the online presence of Rotaract Mora was its official. It was totally revamped to a whole new concept enabling dark theme to align with the latest trends. Most importantly, the new website was built in a fully mobile responsive manner as it generates more visits through handheld devises. When it comes to the special features, the home page comes as a single page navigation facilitating the visitors to grasp the entire idea about what Rotaract Mora is, in their first sight. It includes avenues and their signature projects, recent projects, awards won by the club, testimonials followed by a direct contact section.
The official blog-The official blog of Rotaract Mora has always served the imperative purpose of taking the message of the extensive service rendered by the club, out into the world. Hence, it was our responsibility to facilitate our readers with the best content and with the ease of use. In order to satisfy those, the format of the blog was revamped to increase its readability and it was also converted to a dark theme. Moreover, the users can access the quarterly newsletters of the club as well.

2020-2021

The year commenced with the theme “25 Years of Service Worth Celebrating” in commemoration of the glorious 25-year journey and legacy of Rotaract Mora. With the official appointment of the Board of officials, the team played a pivotal role in adjusting to the new normal and kicking off the year on a high note.

During the Rotaract year 20/21, projects such as Manusath Handa, Are You Ready?, Grama Prabodhaya, Sri Lanka Rotaract Model United Nations, CAST4, and Rota Spark gained center stage courtesy of their great execution and recognized for generating high-quality impact for the projects’ beneficiaries. It was never easy to carry out projects virtually while maintaining the same level of impact as if they were carried out in person, but projects like Are You Ready?, which made history as Sri Lanka’s largest virtual career fair to date, were a shining example of how service can be distributed at high levels through the use of technology.

The efforts of the club have been continuously recognized by the Rotaract District 3220 and also the Rotary International. In the recently concluded Rotaract District Assembly, Rotaract Mora won the Most Outstanding Club award along with the Most Outstanding President, the Most Outstanding Secretary, and many other awards.

Manusath Handa-“Manusath Handa” – Voice of Humanity, which won the distinguished title of “International Single-club Awardee” in the 2020/21 Rotaract Outstanding Project Awards, is a remarkable initiative focused on improving the educational status of the visually impaired students across the island. Manusath Handa has created and maintains Sri Lanka’s first and largest educational Audiobook Library; ‘Manusath Handa e-library’ that showcases over 500 audiobooks recorded with the help of 160+ selfless volunteers from the Rotaract community and beyond. The voice recordings are also written onto DVDs and distributed across 9 of the Schools for the visually impaired that was reached by the club.

Grama Prabodhaya-Being a signature Community Service project and an international award-winner, Grama Prabodhaya stands to develop a village comprehensively in multiple aspects to uplift the quality of the villages and help the villagers to sustain a better quality of life. During the period 2019-2020, Grama Prabodhaya extended a helping hand to Dunupothagama, a village located in the outskirts of Nochchiyagama in the Anuradhapura district.

The satisfying smiles of the villagers at Dunupothagama, when they hold a glass of pure water was a memorable and a notable milestone with the initiation of Aqua Safe. Not laying behind the curtains, the project was also brought into the digital space with Edify where curious students were able to continue their studies with the help of dedicated undergraduates. A total of 28 sessions were completed successfully, utilizing the digital classroom built at Dunupothagama Vidyalaya.

Are You Ready?-The 25th “Are You Ready?” was recorded last year, cementing its position as the premier platform that connects the undergraduates of the university with the corporate elite. Since its inception in 1998, the project now stands strong as Sri Lanka’s first and largest Virtual Career Fair, accommodating HR personnel and recruiters from 70+ corporate giants that provide career opportunities to over 1000 final-year undergraduates.

MAESTRO-‘MAESTRO’ is an all-island business case-study challenge competition, which is dedicated to empowering today’s youth to become future entrepreneurs, analysts, and actuaries. The goal is to give Sri Lanka’s talented youth an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship talents by applying their actuarial knowledge to a real-world problem.

Data Storm-‘Data Storm’ was founded in the year 2020 with the purpose of empowering young analytical minds to demonstrate their skills in the field of data analytics, as well as allowing industry experts to observe and evaluate the participants’ potential.

Rotaract Mora Model United Nations (RMMUN)-RMMUN, which is one of the club’s innovative projects for the RI year 2020-21, is a simulation of the United Nations. The Annual RMMUN Conference is the climax of Project RMMUN, where members participate as delegates from their allocated countries to engage in timely discussions about pressing topics and fight for their country. The Conference has been successful in connecting over 15 foreign countries from 13 distinct Rotaract Districts, thus creating lifelong friendships beyond geographical borders.

LinkR-LinkR, the exclusive member tracking platform of Rotaract Mora, was developed in collaboration with the Digital Communication team. A digital membership management application, which is primarily used for tracking membership contributions, also aids avenue’s operations and strategic decision-making processes, including properly recognizing our members, carrying out avenue projects, and maintaining the active member base of the club by using up-to-date member information.

CAST 4-CAST4, Collaborative Avenue Service Team Four, organized in the final half of the year, is the premier dedicated chapter that brings together prospective and active members as well as the board of officials. Through CAST4, new members are able to adapt to the culture of Rotaract and Rotaract Mora and this level of club familiarization allow the newbies to be excited for the next Rotaract Year to come.

Zooxanthellae -Project Zooxanthellae has been initiated with the prime vision of healing the wounds of the marine environment, by conserving coral reefs on the coasts of Sri Lanka. The first deposition of steel structures that were manufactured in collaboration with Siam City Cement Public Company Limited and the Earth Resources Engineering Department of University of Moratuwa, was done in 2017. After passing many dawns and dusks over the past years, they have started to sprout into “unseen saviors of the globe from under the waves”, thus healthily rekindling the hopes of a once again colorful and vibrant Sri Lankan coastal belt.

Woof Roof -Woof Roof is a project dedicated to preventing street dogs from being neglected or abandoned. The project involves rescuing street dogs, giving them medical care and vaccinations, and then placing them for adoption. ‘Woofy’s Gallery’ is a sub-project aimed at forming a community of dog lovers. During the Rotaract year 2020-21, the project team planned to have adoption days. These preparations were put on hold because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ultimately, the year drew to a close with approximately 42 projects completed successfully, reflecting the true essence of the year’s motto and the unwavering commitment of the members behind the scenes. As a result, the year witnessed major advancements in membership development, professionalism, new learnings, and, most importantly, fellowship.