In a matter of months, the world has been transformed. Thousands of people have already died, and hundreds of thousands more have been infected, from a virus that was previously unknown before appearing in the city of Wuhan in December 2019. COVID-19 has already affected the whole world by leading the countries into socioeconomic obstructions, worldwide fears of supply shortages, lockdowns and much more. As the government is taking all the necessary actions to prevent the spread of this virus, we believe that it is also our duty to cooperate with the government and the health officials.

Thus, under the guidance of Rotary Club of Badulla, the Rotaract Clubs of Badulla, College of Chemical Sciences, SLIIT, Faculty of Law, Colombo Mid City, Hatton Kotagala and University of Sri Jayewardenepura initiated the 3 phased project Combat against COVID-19. The 3 phases were as follows.

• Phase 01 – Awareness Campaign

• Phase 02 – Sanitation

• Phase 03 – Dry Rations Donation

Main objective of the first phase was to build awareness about the importance of “doing our part”, by practicing the preventive measures conveyed by the health officials, through an awareness campaign. 9 informative posts were shared on Facebook pages of all the joint clubs from 12th March to 26th March 2020. The PR campaign was focused on the following areas.

• What is coronavirus?

• Preventive measures against COVID-19

• Origin

• Myths and Misconceptions

• Symptoms

• Treatments

• Self-Quarantine guidelines

All the information included in the posts used in this campaign were taken from verified sources and were WHO recommended guidelines. The information was set up in a brief yet illustrative and eye-catching way to get the attention of the viewers and posts gave a sound knowledge about all the facts one should know to face the pandemic in a safe yet effective way.

The second phase of the project, “Sanitation” was initiated upon the request of Rotarian, Dr Shantha Ekanayake who is a medical professional in Badulla Provincial General Hospital. He had informed the Rotary Club of Badulla that there was a shortage of safety facemasks in Badulla Provincial General Hospital, and it was critical to fulfill this requirement as early as possible as Badulla Provincial General Hospital was among the list of Hospitals which were on standby to support and facilitate the treatment process of suspected cases of COVID-19 pandemic as ordered by the Ministry of Health – Sri Lanka.

Therefore, Rotaractors decided to donate Sanitary facemasks to the Provincial General Hospital Badulla, as the 2nd phase the project “Combat Against COVID-19”. On the 4th of April 2020 President of Rotary Club of Badulla Rtn. Pujitha Marasinghe along with a group of Rotarians and Rotaractors of the host clubs donated 400 Sanitary Reusable facemasks (Micron 1>) to the Administration of Badulla Provincial General Hospital.

The third phase of the project, “Dry Rations Donation” was held throughout the month of April. 400 dry rations packs (each worth Rs.1500/=) were distributed among underprivileged families in Badulla Divisional Secretariat. The list of beneficiaries was selected by recommendations of Samurdhi officer of Badulla Divisional Secretariat. Each pack contained dry rations including Raw rice, groceries, face masks and sanitary items. Dry rations were bought from Lanka Sathosa under the government-approved prices and when preparing these packs, the government approved health and safety regulations and rules during the curfew period were thoroughly followed. The dry rations were delivered at the beneficiaries’ doorstep on 7th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th of April 2020 by a group of Rotarians and Rotaractors of the host clubs.

The final 2 phases of the project Combat against COVID-19, hence concluded successfully helping more than 200 families in Badulla. However, the severity of this pandemic remains as it was before. It is our duty to support the frontline workers, the government and each other by practicing the preventive measures conveyed to us. Let us stand strong as a nation and overcome this situation. Stay safe, Stay indoors.

Rtr. Yasasi Samarakoon –