Jalan Rotaract RTR. Gimhan Pera

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Joining Rotaract is not an unexpected incident. But so far it is completely unexpected. Since school, I always want to join the club, but somehow I have never had a chance. A friend of mine is an active Rotaractor in Rotaract Club of CINC. He used to post about various club initiatives, and that inspired me to try Rotaract.

Unfortunately, I missed my intake during my first year at university. However, in my second year (2023), I finally joined the club. Initially, I thought Rotaract was just a club that carried out a CSR project. But after attending the orientation, I realized that Rotaract was far more than that.

Over the past two years, I have contributed to many projects and gathered thousands of memories. I switched from being a general member to IT Avenue Co-Director. But to be honest, the position is not a problem as much as I experienced and the memories that I made.

In my first year with Rotaract, my main road is Community Service Avenue (COM). I also joined Avenues IT and RE. My first project was Swabasamudra 1.0. I remember during the interview, they asked if I could make leaflets and videos. Actually I can, but I don’t like that position, because creating a beautiful leaflet requires a lot of effort and time. So, I faced interviews in a way that explained that I was not interested in that role. As expected, I ended up as a general member of the Organizing Committee.

Strangely, a few months later I was appointed as the PR coordinator for the project. Finally contributed to that role to all projects in the three ways that I followed.

Swabasamudra is a project for a year. At the same time, com Avenue begins Jingle BellsThe Christmas party held at the houses of children in Gampaha. This is shorter, but it’s unique and touching. I handled the entire public’s side of the project itself. I also contribute to Ignite Sri Lanka Project. But I didn’t do many of them.

Inside the Realue, I support all their projects, including the project Warnyalam And You have.

It Avenue is very important to me because it is in harmony with my academic interest and career. Although inactive compared to other paths, it is interesting. The Avenue was assigned a game competition called Ludiconheld in collaboration with Legion Club of the University. I joined the Organizing Committee for this too.

Around this time, the team leader application was opened. I applied only for IT Avenue, faced interviews with confidence, and was chosen as Team Leader (TL) from IT Avenue. I provide full support to the Director of Avenue, help maintain the website, and contribute Ludicon.

When it’s time to start Rotathomorrow (RT)I have been very involved in several other projects and have no time to join as TL to ignore the RT event or committee. However, I wanted to be part of the project, I joined the project Arogya(One of the RT projects) as the ER coordinator. To be honest, I did not do that role as good as I expected, but I attended all ER hunts and gave my full support. Finally, I was invited to join the RT event committee and contribute as much as I can. That’s where I met many board members today.

When the Rotaract year ended, I applied to be the Director of IT Avenue and I was elected. My co-toctor is RTR. Vandana, and Exco members who watched us were RTR. Sachinthani. Traditionally, it Avenue is not known for a large project. However, Vandana and I have a different vision.

The official website and our Rotaract Club blog site are managed by IT Avenue. Technically, by me. This website was only created in the year of Rotaract 2023-24 by former IT director, Sampath Aiya and Yasiru Aiya, who did fantastic work. I especially must continue to update.

But the blog site is a different story. It is out of date and requires total improvement. Vandana and I started planning and designing a new version. Within a few weeks, and after consulting with Avenue editorial, we made a plan and redesigned all blogs. We celebrate the launch of the Racuok blog, along with a milestone publishing 1000 articles, in September 2024, in collaboration with Editorial Avenue.

However, the main event IT Avenue is Deckthree -phase projects carried out for eight months. My favorite phase is the teaching phase of Rathmalana deaf school. That includes 24 teaching sessions, and I attend everyone that I might be able to. I really like teaching there. The other two phases are the A/L ICT seminar series and Techxpo. Techxpo is the largest and most tense project phase.

I have to mention the Organizing Committee Deck. For eight months, they remained committed and gave their best. I am in many OCs, but this one stands out. Not only because it was under my way, but because of the bonds we shared. Not just OC; It is a family. Some of our telephone conversations lasted for hours, not about the project; But only full of laughter and small stories. The big awards are given to our chairman: Akalanka, Ayesh, Nilachi, and TLS Avenue: Akalanka, Harini, and Thamara. With them, managing OC is much easier and I really don’t do much.

Apart from the three main phases, there is also a “fourth phase” secret, the code name that we use internally, which somehow concluded that was not successful. Only a little on the path knows about this beautiful mystery, and maybe no one else will do it.

Finally, I have to thank two people I can’t forget. My Co-Director is Vandana and our Exco member Sachinthani. Because of my internship, there were times when I could not fully contribute. During those times, the two always stepped. I really appreciate your dedication and support. Together, the three of us took our way to be one step ahead.

When I looked back at my Rotaract journey, my heart was filled with gratitude, pride, and a little sadness. I didn’t do all this to fill the lines on my CV. I did it because I really love all the time. From working on the project to creating a deep friendship, from laughing to late at night to learning lessons that can never be taught by books. Rotaract gave me a second home.

I met people from all faculties, shared stories, dancing without reason, and traveled on an unforgettable journey. I make a bond that will last a lifetime. Through Rotaract, I found not only my strength but also the excitement of giving, the value of team work, and the beauty of dreams together. I met the people who inspired me, challenged me, standing beside me. We build dreams together, fail together, grow together. The bonds we made were not just for the event. They are for life.

There is a quote that I carry:
“If goodbye hurts, that means you spend your time well.” And yes, goodbye is very painful. Thank you, Rotaract for everyone.