Together Sri Lanka is an amazing project undertook with the collaboration of twelve Rotaract clubs of Rotaract club of APIIT, Rotaract club of Informatics Institute of Technology, Rotaract club of JaEla-Kandana, Rotaract club of Kadawatha, Rotaract club of Kelaniya, Rotaract club of Negombo, Rotaract club of Pamunuga, Rotaract club of PanColombo, Rotaract club of University Alumni, Rotaract club of University of Kelaniya, Rotaract club of Wattala and Rotaract club of Wayamba University with the intention of enhancing the relationships between inter clubs. The project is based on the achievement of the sustainable development goals of SDG 06: Clean water and sanitation and SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production.
Furthermore, the project was conducted under three phases of Identification of cleaning sides, Educating locals and to raise awareness in the community; and Implementation of a proper waste management system. Accordingly the project was conducted focusing on the Negombo Lagoon area, which benefited the local community around the Negombo lagoon and the whole ecosystem of the area including the plants and animals. The reason behind selecting the Negombo Lagoon area was that the mangroves had been cleared to develop a vehicle park, which has harmed the natural lagoon filtration, which again has affected the natural ecosystem. The Sri Lanka Air Forces, Ekala industrial zone, Hospital disposals of Negombo, Municipal Council and Airport CMB were identified as the major polluters of the area and the absence of a proper waste management system was a major cause of the consequences which have been raised.
As the initial step of the project, a strong PR campaign was established where the Rotaract Club of the University of Kelaniya provided its immense contribution in preparing captions and dealing with trilingual tasks. Apart from that, the project focused on raising partners.
The most fascinating part of the project was the establishment of an efficient and effective waste management system around the lagoon area. It was done by fitting two garbage bins for every ten places, where these bins were used separately for degradable and non-degradable waste. Apart from that, in order to provide valuable insights regarding environmental protection, billboards were fitted. Moreover, productive awareness sessions were conducted to educate the people on environmental protection.
Ultimately, Together SL was able to be named as an impactful project which provided its immense contribution to the achievement of the long term goals of achieving sustainability and ensuring environmental protection in the country.
