When I came to the university as an undergraduate, I wanted to join a club apart from academic and department works.
Somehow missed the 1st intake and joined the club from the 2nd intake (24-25). When it came to avenue selection time, I waited and finally selected a super random choice; yes, it was the International Service Avenue. Unfortunately, already two projects were gone. After two months I joined the We Care 2.0 project as an ER coordinator. I met such a cool OC here this project is filled with the coolest memories. Actually, Rotaract pressure was not there.
Once again I was appointed as an ER coordinator for a project called Arunaloka. In this project I had an opportunity to master being an ER coordinator with such a few members of OC. Somehow we successfully completed that project, and we were awarded the most sustainable project winner. I also was honored to be awarded MOST OUTSTANDING ER COORDINATOR 2nd RUNNER-UP for the term ’24–25.
A big thanks to Lihini Akka, Ruvinath Ayya, Harini Akka, and Savindi Akka for guiding me into this way. Yeah Kareema, Nadun, Shazni, Ashmi, Jithmini Akka & Rashmie who were always there.
I never wanted to move in the term 25-26, but someone by force filled out the board applications for me (IYKYK). I loved Rotaract but never wanted to. After many dramatic scenes I was appointed as the co-director of the International Service Avenue. Also didn’t expect IS that time I asked Deepna akka, “Ai IS avenue ekama?” Can say that IS was my nightmare in Rotaract when I was a member.
But my whole perspective was completely changed after starting on IS duties with my overlooking exco, Ms. Hungampola, and my amazing co-director, Baghya. Our first project was Merge 3.0, a hybrid Rotaract conference we were able to gather the entire local Rotaract community and some global Rotaract clubs as well. We did an amazing job and BMICH was filled with Rotaractors.
I want to talk about Merge event week. Merge event week was also my 2nd semester last week, had an IMO collaboration project, multiple presentations & a report to submit. It was not a sleepless day; this week was a sleepless week. The day before merge event, the night was completely sleepless, and early in the morning on the event date I barely took the bus and went to the location. Finally, together we made a successful flagship project from the International Service Avenue.
When talking about my Rotaract journey I don’t want to miss Rota Romp’26. A day filled with enjoyment, fun and laughter. Our team Mantis from the International Service Avenue did a great job and got 1st place taking a cup home. We also staged a drama which became an unforgettable one for us. And they made me sing at last.
Then after the projects like Diversea 2.0 where we had a cultural exchange pairing together 4 clubs across the globe and Finally, we are able to create a close relationship between Pakistan & Uganda. The OC behind the scenes did an amazing job.
And the We Care 3.0 was successfully concluded through the distribution of donations to Kirikitta Secondary School, Weliweriya. Got to see the smiles of the little children, it was heartwarming. And the OC was making TikTok, dancing videos and enjoying themselves at the children’s park going back to childhood was a complete day. Can’t go without mentioning the We Care 3.0 team.
Almost all the projects within International Service such as A Symphony of cultures, Joint bulletin being published and letterhead exchanges being made paved the path to a more developed personality through skills, knowledge and experiences being developed.
Finally, project Hope Blooms which focuses on Down Syndrome was organized as a global Rotaract collaboration. During the Hope Blooms journey, as usual IS had an amazing team.
In the initial stage we had a mission rather than doing a project only for people with down syndrome in our own country, we wanted to expand it to other countries as well. As the last project organized by the International Service avenue, we were able to create another successful global impact through Hope Blooms. It was not just a project. We truly created an impact for people with down syndrome around the world. Countries like Turkey & India carried out our project in their own countries. Finally together we created the Hope Blooms documentary & IS finals event, one last time the IS fam gathered together for the term 25-26.
Now about my co-director and VP, Baghya (Batch top), she was born to talk. What is the reason I said that during the project Merge periods, we had a phone calls lasting 1-2 hours, yeah, almost every day. She is also the official moderator of IS Avenue. Such a supportive & work-oriented girl, no doubt. Sometimes she regrets that she is an inconsistent person. Unfortunately, she was appointed as one of the mentors of RT after that scenario, she disappeared from IS. I want to know all the mentors are like this??
Our coolest overlooking VP, Ms. Hungampola, such a calm, genuine & friendly personality she has. She never put any pressure on us, just let us be. Anyone looking for such an innocent personality? For sure, I’ll introduce her.
In the past someone said, “Ladies first.” In my POV, that statement is totally wrong; IS was filled with girls. Our set of IS captains are also girls. Out of 7 IS team members, 6 are girls. Shelomi, Rashmi, Kithari, and Narmada are always contributing their best for IS. Sometimes they seem to forget the weight of being TLs. I find myself reminding them. They all are multitalented personalities with the volunteering mindset.
For one last time I would like to tell a very special thing as an avenue we crowned for the most outstanding main avenue of the year. This is not just an achievement. As a team we all are consistently worked, we sacrificed, we enjoyed ourselves and the most important thing is together we all create a strong bond among us.
My Rotaract journey is filled with dedication, commitment, sacrifices, arguments, and laughter. These are unforgettable memories that will stay with me for life. I can also say that Rotaract has taught me not to give up, no matter the reasons against it. I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me, even with a single word. My university Rotaract life may come to an end, but the memories will last for decades.
