Month In Review: August

Since the inception of its new administrative board in July, the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts, has sped ahead with a selection of carefully tailored projects. However, with the faculty mid semester examinations that began in August, the implementation of projects with the same pace as before proved to be quite difficult and thereby, the formerly designated projects for the month of August had to be postponed in an attempt to create a stress-free environment for the club members, devoid of any Club related commitments. Despite the lack of new projects, the Rotaract month of August was still very eventful to say the least, with the continuation of two significant projects that were implemented in July – ‘Mithudam 2.0’ and ‘The Bare Niceties’, initiated by the Community Service and the Professional Development Avenues respectively. And as August, along with our examinations, are slowly coming to an end, the Club will be stepping into exciting territory in September, with major events and projects to look forward to. With that being said, let’s dive right into this months’ details!

Mithudam 2.0

‘Mithudam 2.0’ is an ongoing project initiated back in July by the Community Service Avenue of Rotaract Arts along with the Leo Club Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo, that envisions in bridging the prevailing digital gap faced by students in the country. The project commenced in July and aims to provide mobile phones to students in schools facing difficulties in accessing to online education. Despite many challenges, the execution of the project has been successful so far. The project has exceeded its goals in terms of collecting funds from those within and outside of university. Additionally, HYPE Sri Lanka, the project’s outreach partner, has helped in increasing awareness about the project via social media posts.

The next step for the project now is the handing over of the mobile phones purchased with the funds to students of rural areas. However, the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country coupled with the lockdown and other complications has proved to be a challenge in carrying this project forward with a steady pace. Owing to these reasons, the project has since been extended to September for completion despite its conclusion being initially planned for mid-August. Apart from this, we remain much indebted to those who generously donated to the project’s cause and thereby helped us reach one step closer in achieving its goals.

The Bare Niceties

‘The Bare Niceties’ which is another ongoing project of the club conducted by the Professional Development Avenue continued successfully in the month of August as well. Following the aim of the project, which was to educate the community and university undergraduates in particular about good manners, habits, and etiquette. Throughout the month, creative short videos were shared amongst our social media platforms focusing on the do’s and don’ts on common yet important occasions we encounter in our lives such as dinner parties and interviews.

Rotaractors Piyumini Buddhika and Udani Jayalath, the chair people of the project for the month of August, along with their team collaborated and performed the tasks of creating these short yet informative videos, writing post descriptions and captions, finding out information and picking out the best ones to include in these flyers. These short videos and flyers were created in all three languages being that of English, Tamil, and Sinhala. All these informative videos managed to capture the attention of many. It was a different and unique way to raise awareness among the public and we’re thrilled to have played a part in that. The project will be continuing into the month of September where it’s planned to conclude itself.

Club Updates

We have a small update to share from the Club Service Avenue too! ‘Designercovery’, Rotaract Arts’ annual T-shirt designing competition, which was held last month, finally landed on the design that will be used for the Rotaract Year 2021-22. Hats off to the Public Relations team on having their submitted design be selected as the winner! In case you missed it (which you really shouldn’t have!), here it is in all its glory.

Upcoming Events

As we mentioned earlier, you might’ve noticed that this Rotaract month by went relatively slow, with only the continuation of our previous endeavors initiated by the Club in July. The tightly packed mid semester examination schedule played a major part in the Club’s decision to halt the projects for the month of August, however, as these exams are slowly nearing its end, we can all expect a busy month ahead, with the Club projects rising back to their usual momentum. In the meantime, it’s no wonder that through all this monotony and seemingly infinite exam season, we’ve all come to appreciate a good distraction. And boy o’ boy, a good dose of distraction is well on its way, for the annual Club Picnic organized by the Club Service Avenue will be happening in September! Everyone who joined last year’s (virtual!) club picnic can attest to the fact that there’s truly no other experience that can amount to the fun and excitement the Club Picnic manages to deliver. For the first years who will be experiencing the picnic for the very first time, prepare yourselves for a good time filled with games, quizzes and above all, an escape into an alternate reality far away from all the hassle of the pandemic and academic stress.

Despite the months’ busy academic schedule however, which resulted in the rush of July to slow down this August, Rotaract Arts hasn’t gone into total hibernation. ‘Mithudam 2.0’ is nearing a very successful close while ‘The Bare Niceties’ is still going strong well into its third month; and while some of us aren’t quite done with exams just yet, September holds the promise of many new and exciting projects. Buckle up Rotaractors, for we’re in for quite an exciting month ahead!

– The Editorial