A moment of witnessing another milestone!!!
The Official Blog of RACUSJ proudly presents the 2nd session for THE LEGACY OF 10 YEARS IN RACUSJ!!!!
Two remarkable individuals; one astonishing lady -one exceptional gentleman.
PLEASE welcome the 4th President of the Rotaract club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Rtr.PP Ranisha Weerakoon and the 6th President Rtr.PP Osanda Wijesundara, to walk us through another two amazing years of hard work and winnings.
She seems lovely. I wondered; how big of a personality had there been to build up a whole Rotaract year behind that kind looking soul. Adding her name to the history, being the first ever female president in RACUSJ, she surely is going to be a role model to many of the fellow female Rotaractors.
Judging from his genial personality, it should not have been hard for him to lead even the hardest year of all. This is getting interesting; I was impatient to hear all the stories they had to share. Think it is surely going to be evocative and sentimental to them as well, to recall some beautiful memories which flourished their lives way back in time.
I assume you too are waiting eagerly to walk down the memory lane, so let us without further delay.
Turning to the 4th president, Rtr.PP Ranisha Weerakoon, she first told the reason for her to join Rotaract. You would not believe how genuine she was, it was hot guys! – I’m kidding.
No, I’m not. But that was not the only reason. She and her friends have tried almost everything at the University, but according to her, “Rotaract is what kept us”. Rotaract has something different, and that something can hold you once you step into this. A group of people completely unknown to each other become one family whom you can count on.
According to Rtr.PP Ranisha, it was not the first project she did, or the number of projects she did, but the warmth she had inside Rotaract and the crazy fun she had is what she remembers. In her Rotaract year, which is including her year, the best project she came across was ‘I Sea You’. This project has brought so many people together, not just from our University, but also from many other Universities as well.
No doubt, this project won the Bronze award for the Most Outstanding Club Service Initiative for that year. Even though all these Professional Development projects were really helpful to build up certain aspects of our life, when she turns back it’s ‘I Sea you’ and all the good times she had with the Rotaract family that flushes her mind.
“At the end of the day it’s that friendship which keeps you going” – these words of Rtr.PP Ranisha stroke my heart.
Our 6th past president, Rtr.PP Osanda Wijesundara also had some riveting stuff to talk about his year, His brother has been the inspiration for him to join the Rotaract club. According to Rtr.PP Osanda, his first ever Rotaract project was “Smile” which was done aiming the children with special requirements, and also it was one of the best projects for him.
“Rotaract was a hard experience, but it was very rewarding” he said. The learning experience he got being the president of the club was a learning experience which he could never have taken if not for Rotaract. He further said that he personally had a thing for community services. – Which most of us can relate right? When there are plenty of people out there who need our help, and once we are given a chance to make their lives easier, why not?
In terms of sustainable development goals, Rtr.PP Osanda’s year was a big year. The government needed to go hand in hand with the UN’s sustainable development goals, so lucky for them the government decided to launch the SDG drive from our University, It was a massive turn out for the Rotaractors that year.
Turning again to Rtr.PP Ranisha, here comes my personal preferred question. She was given a chance to express and elaborate on the experiences and especially the challenges she faced being the first ever female president of our club.
According to what she said, the first and foremost thing was making sure that others count on her believing the fact that she has that capability of handling the presidency. When it is a boy given the role of a leader, people naturally tend to accept that he has the potential needed.
But still, when it is a girl, we have to put some extra effort to make our followers see that being a woman is no less compatible enough to lead a community. Especially back then at her times, having a female leader was not a very popular thing. It surely had been not so easy to get things done at the beginning. She had to ‘prove’ herself apart from doing other stuff. I think she did pretty well, and that’s why her year was that successful.
With lots of respect and love, she mentioned the great support she had from her creative and strategic team members. And she further said that having such a diverse and supportive team made her life much easier to do her job as she was supposed to do.
“Me being a lady was not a problem within the Rotaract sphere” – Rotaract has done and still carry on some marvellous projects to support women, and you all can see that RACUSJ has proved what they believe with living examples.
Then, with Rtr.PP Osanda, we had a deeper sneak peek into the projects he led in his year of presidency. Just as Rtr.PP Ranisha said, he also emphasized the team work within Rotaract family, saying he always had people who went out of their ways to contribute best. He couldn’t help but mention the fact that even though people put their heart and soul into club work, at the end, all of them graduated with good grades.
His year was special in a way that, they were asked to make some significant improvements in the club with the involvement of University admins as well. From his words, “it was difficult when you have so many stakeholders pressuring you to make changes,’’ – for the betterment of the club of course, and he proudly mentioned the tremendous tasks his teammates did in order to get the job done so well.
It had been very difficult, but very rewarding.
They both recalled again about the project “Smile” and how it eventually became a key project in RACUSJ, and then Rtr.PP Ranisha brought up a real fun story to bring smiles to all our faces. It was about the 1st thing she and her team members did to collect the funds needed for the year!
Oh no, I’m not going to relate you each and every drop, why don’t you go check the video? (Thank me later)
Launching “The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Drive of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife” was one of the very significant events took place in Rtr.PP Osanda’s year.
Since he was asked to elaborate a bit more on that, he mentioned that this government funded project was mainly focusing on stakeholder management. Everyone had to pool in, and it was a massive undertaking since they had people from ministry visiting them often to overlook. To tell you about the dedication and commitment they had, since they were asked to take the contribution of certain lecturers, he mentioned how he waited for three hours in front of this lecturer’s cubicle for her to return. Can you imagine standing and waiting for long 3 hours!!
Here comes another beautiful story. He stated how they tried to make each and every project fun so that it would encourage people to get together and engage more. They once had arranged this photo booth showing these 15 goals in Professional Development and people were given a chance to take photos pointing to the goal that they were willing to achieve. Can you see the psychology hidden behind the fun? Such a tactful approach, Kudos!
It would be a miss if we did not mention our 4th president being elected as the District Secretary, again adding her name to the history being the first member from our club to hold that position. But she humbly mentioned the other people who worked so well in the district, saying they might not have been the Secretary, but they worked as hard as she did. She surely had embraced the District Secretary position so well, that when she talked about it, it was inspiring for anyone listening to go hunt the opportunities.
Reminding us on it is not always winnings, but we can learn a lot from mistakes too, Rtr.PP Ranisha recalled about the project “Rotasia” which was a huge international project they successfully completed amidst all the hardships and learnings.
Being a president cannot be an easy task, talking about the support system he had, Rtr.PP Osanda emphasized that communication is the key to getting anything done well. Being a very social guy, he has always had many friends who would come to help no matter what- which teaches us another good life lesson right?
In many instances both of them mentioned that the friendships they built inside Rotaract back then are still going strong, which I found very heart touching. “No one wants to listen to you on how you got a first class doing nothing except studying- trust me on that”. Pretty sure he is right. At the end of the day, that is what Rotaract teaches us- how to balance everything and get out with a proper class as well.
Has Rowena Ravenclaw been born again?! Sorry if I am exaggerating, but the last words before the Rapid-fire session from this beautiful lady spoke right into my mind.
What is the biggest learning from your year as the President?
“Everybody had their own way of working. It might not be the same way you work. If you allow people to do it in their way, then you will be able to get the best out of them.”
Her wisdom was indeed very appealing and her 2nd successor had a little thing to add to it. Leaving it for you to find out, with that let’s move onto the next super fun segment of this session.
Here comes THE RAPID-FIRE SESSION starting with Rtr.PP Ranisha Weerakoon.
What is the most unforgettable memory you have with Rotaract club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura?
“I Sea You” – direct as that.
Who is your Rotaract role model, and why?
“Oh dear…” She keeps thinking. “Abdul Baasit”
Wait!!! Also, her role model would be her brother, who turned out to be the first president of the Rotaract club of University of Kelaniya. “It’s his words that made me realize my potential”
“He said that I would do better than him- I probably didn’t do better than him, but hearing that from your bother who doesn’t talk a lot meant a lot to me”.
Each of us has role models, sometimes you might be a one for somebody as well. Who knows, that is why we should always try to do our best. We never know in which ways we are going to inspire some other, who are one day going to change the world.
Explain your Rotaract journey in one word.
Fun! – dear reader, if you are not yet a Rotaractor, please give yourself a chance to taste a bit of this fun ride.
Describe your board of directors in one word.
Enigmatic. – surely had been, because just as she mentioned earlier, she then again mentions that the BOD she had was very diverse.
Name three things you learn from Rotaract.
- Accountability
- Respect
- Empathy
From accountability to respect which are in two different ends, think how much more they should have learnt in between.
Name five friends you made from Rotaract.
Gosh!!!!! She had so many names to tell. Not just five, it was like the fifth multiple of five! (And I’m not surprised because that’s Rotaract)
Here comes a different and a personal question.
What is your biggest fear and addiction?
Guess what?? It’s Geckos and Netflix. I bet you can relate too.
What is one thing that annoys you the most?
“Irresponsibility.” That I can relate.
A piece of advice you would like to give to a fellow club member?
“If you are on it, you got to enjoy it, if not don’t do it.” So many wise words today. How aspiring!
What is the Rotaract club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura to you?
“MY HOME CLUB” These three simple words explain a lot, right?
That sums up Rtr.PP Ranisha’s journey with RACUSJ.
MEMORIES BRING BACK MEMORIES!!!
It’s the time for Rtr.PP Osanda Wijesundara to enter the Rapid-Fire session. Let’s see how well he takes this.
Explain your Rotaract journey in one word.
“Eventful” – you should hear the weight he added to that word.
What is your favorite club project?
He smiles….“Smile”
Name three things you learn from Rotaract.
- Accountability
- Transparency
- Dedication
Guys, if these words aren’t convincing enough for you to join this wonderful journey, I don’t know what would.
What is the latest time you stayed at the university premises for Rotaract work?
Oops! He says it was 12.30 midnight –it was on his installation day.
Have you ever been scolded by parents for going out of and coming late because of Rotaract work?
“Every single day” was his rapid answer. You should see his face when he answered.
Have you ever got caught cutting lectures for Rotaract?
He says, it was never. Fascinating right? He says, he got lucky that whenever they had Rotaract work somehow the time did not overlap with lectures.
Describe your BOD in one word.
“The best” –. I think that must be what every single president of RACUSJ feels at the end of the day. Everyone knows how much of hard work a BOD puts into club work and that is really appreciative.
Describe yourself in three words.
Let me take a guess first. Mm… outgoing, responsible and …ok, no enough data for me. Let’s see what he has to say. Seems like a tough question for him to find answers.
- Passionate
- Communicative
- Organized
Nice. Three of the most needed qualities a good leader should have.
A piece of advice you would give to a fellow club member.
While laughing, he advises us to never cut a lecture for Rotaract just like him.
And finally,
What is the Rotaract club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura to you?
He says, it was his greatest learning experience in University life.
With that we end off today’s session!!!
It was not about briefing the history of RACUSJ, but also about life, from these two incredible personalities. This is the beauty of life; it is about the dreams you have and the journey you create to achieve it. And then how you become a legacy to the generations to come.
At this proudest moment of celebrating 10 years, on behalf of the current members of the Rotaract club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, let me add a very heartfelt gratitude to these two beautiful personalities for joining with us to have a turn back and see how magnificent our journey was.
Stay tuned for the next episode of THE LEGACY OF 10 YEARS IN RACUSJ!!!
What you just had is luscious, but trust me, what is to come is even more.
Written by Rtr. Tinaya Wijethunge
Moderator – Rtr. Pomuditha Katugampala
Video Editing & Graphic Designing – Rtr. Dinuka Lakshan, Rtr. Manuja Kariyawasam & Rtr. Ushan Kavindu
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