“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.” –Denis Waitley

The project “Health A Plenty 2.0,” which was commenced on August 15, 2022, for the second consecutive year, is a signature initiative by the International Service Avenue of the Rotaract Club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Our goal was to give people the chance to learn about and improve their health status and raise awareness about the importance of living a healthy life.

The project was carried out in three phases with the collaboration of International Rotaract clubs on a virtual platform. In the first phase of the project, we mainly focused on health awareness. We were able to successfully conduct a PR campaign under the topic “Eating Disorders,” which is a mental disorder that has serious implications for health among youth at present, and publish blog articles for World Patient Safety Day, World Polio Day, and World Diabetes Day to further raise awareness on diseases among our readers. As further taking steps to raise awareness, we conducted a virtual Panel Discussion on the topic “Eating Disorders” by inviting two educated personalities in the medical field of Sri Lanka, namely; Dr. Chathuni Jayathilake (Senior Lecturer, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura) and Ms. Chalani Gunawardhana (MSc Counselling Psychology, (Girne American University), Certified Life Coach, (Monash University), Certified Relationship Coach, Certified trainer in teaching training & assess learning, (UK), ACIM).

The second phase of the project was successfully wrapped up after hosting four productive events with the collaboration of the International Rotaract Clubs. We were able to conduct two physical events, which were a Blood Donation campaign and a First Aid session. The Blood Donation campaign was conducted with the collaboration of MJF Alumni at Nawaloka Community Hall, Peliyagoda. The First Aid session was conducted at Kolonnawa Balika Vidyalaya in collaboration with St. John Ambulance Service to improve school children’s basic knowledge of First Aid practices.

We also reached out to International Rotaract clubs and requested that they conduct health-related programs. Several clubs from various countries, such as India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, collaborated with us to carry out this project. We also managed to establish and maintain positive relationships with each of the participating clubs, who were eager to participate in our club’s future projects as well.

Under the third phase, we were able to provide a monetary donation for a medical campaign conducted by St. John Ambulance, at the Department of Anatomy, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. We aimed to support the students in successfully concluding their medical training by giving them the opportunity to take part in an anatomy session conducted by reputed medical officers in the field. Further, we would like to recognize St. John Ambulance, Sri Lanka as the Official Knowledge Partner, Green House Tea Exports Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd as the Official Silver Sponsor and Fonterra Brands Lanka (Pvt) Ltd as the Official Platinum Sponsor. Without your support and contribution, our project could not have achieved success.

We are pleased to say that we were able to successfully conclude this initiative on March 06, 2023, on a global scale, cooperating with International Rotaract clubs to create a healthier life than before.

Written by: Rtr. Sithmi Nimasha and Rtr. Anujini Perera

Graphic design by: Rtr. Nilakshi De Silva