Written by : Rtr. Manushi Rathnayake

“Fire is a strange power. Men who have never seen it, who have only heard of it, can be consumed by it. Let’s harness our collective fire to light up the world!” 

The Monthly Gathering of the Rotaract Club of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, for the month of July was held on the 25^th of July 2024, from 5.00 pm onwards, at the university premises. The theme for the gathering was based on “House of the Dragon” which is a prequel to “Game of Thrones” that explores the history of House Targaryen, focusing on the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. It highlights the devastating consequences of power struggles and familial conflicts. The series underscores the importance of unity, communication, and strategic alliances, showing how internal divisions can lead to downfall and how effective leadership requires balancing ambition with the well-being of the group, which we as a club hope to follow through with throughout the year. The monthly gathering for the month of July was organized by the Community Service Avenue, led by the co-directors of the avenue, Rtr. Manushi Rathnayake, Rtr. Nithila Kaveesha and Rtr. Burny Zaneeta. 

The Monthly Gathering was officially called to order by the Vice President of the club, Rtr. Pethmi Ranawaka. Followed by the Rotaract formalities which were presented by Rtr. Manushi Rathnayake.  

Thereafter, the President of club, Rtr. Akila Weerasuriya addressed the gathering. He spoke of the importance of having genuine passion towards the work done through the club and went on to acknowledge the depth & importance of member engagement in club activities and meetings, and encouraged members to keep up their enthusiastic participation.  Followed by which, the Secretary of the club, Rtr. Nithara Dias presented the meeting minutes of the Transition meeting of the club which was held on 13^th of July, 2024. During the avenue announcements, a director from each Avenue/Committee gave updates on the projects lined up for the Rotary International year, along with their progress. 

The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the Rotaractor of the Month & Directors of the Month for the month of July, which were bestowed upon Rtr. Mihitha Hapuarachchi from the Club Service Avenue and to the Joint Directors of the Membership Development Committee Rtr. Prabhani Rashmika and Rtr. Jayasi Jayodya (respectively). All those present at the gathering appreciated their commitment towards the club. 

Next, a small game session was carried out, where all those present at the gathering got together to play quite a competitive game of “Head, Knees, Shoulders and Cup”. The participants were lined up in two rows with a cup placed between each pair. The moderator of the game session, Rtr. Nithila Kaveesha explained to the participants how the game was to be played, which was that the winner of each round would be the first of the pair to get ahold of the cup placed between them, when the word “cup” was announced by the moderator, along with the words “head”, “knees” and “shoulders”, for which the participants had to grab their heads, knees and shoulders respectively as the words were said out. The game was carried out for 4 rounds, from which Rtr. Renish Perera, was crowned the winner. All participants thoroughly enjoyed themselves during the game. 

The day came to a close with the birthday celebrations of Rtr. Nelani Gunawardana, Rtr. Nimesh Fernando, Rtr. Hafsa Omar, Rtr. Prabhani Rashmika and Rtr. Jayasi Jayodya, all of whom celebrate their birthday in the month of July. 

As organizers of the Monthly Gathering for the month of July, our aim was to bring together as many members as possible for the physical gathering and ensure that we as a club would be able to achieve our goals in the upcoming year, by fostering new connections, building teamwork and developing passion towards a common goal, as this was the first monthly gathering to be held under the new Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the RI year 2024-25, as well as the first to be held following the university non-academic staff strike, due to which the university was closed for a period of about two months. 

The Monthly gathering for the month of July was successfully concluded by taking a group photograph, and the crowd dispersed among promises of meeting again, very soon! 

Graphic Design by: Rtr. Manushi Rathnayake