201/20 ODYSSEY January - March LINE UP President’s 01 Message Pg 02 Editorial Pg Community 03 Service Pg 0 Environmental Pg Service Professional 07 Development Pg 08 Club Pg Service International 10 Service Pg Fellowship 12 through Pg Rotaract The Mirror 18 Wall Pg 20 Crossword Pg Puzzle Rotaract Mora 22 Blog Pg Presidents Message ’ Rtr. Dhanuka Perera Completing the third quarter of the Rotaract year 2019/20, Rotaract Club of Uni- versity of Moratuwa strode forward in its journey to “Explore, Develop & Serve”. As we step into the final quarter of another year, I am indeed proud to mention that Rotaract Mora has been able to continue its service in all its avenues to deliver our best service as a part of the global fraternity of Rotaract throughout the past three months. The third quarter of the Rotaract Mora calendar was exciting with several mo- mentous initiatives and collaborative efforts inclusive of Data Storm 1.0, the first-ever Data Analytics Case Study competition, Wanakkam, an effort to expand our service to another culture, the Theme Reveal, the first step of CAST4 and many more. The club’s signature projects including Grama Prabodhaya 2019/20, Hand in Hand 2019/20 and Manusath Handa continued with the relent- less efforts of our member base in pursuit of success in each and every endeav- our. Moreover, the club membership was officially expanded to the new batch of the university marking another milestone of the Rotaract year 2019/2020. The countless hours of dedication and commitment of our members undoubt- edly stood tall as ever throughout this journey, and the assistance of the fellow Rotaract Clubs, Interact Clubs, Rotary Clubs and various governmental and non-governmental organisations were of immense strength in every effort pur- sued by the club. While thanking all the supporters who guided and assisted us in these endeavours, I invite you to witness the story of this journey with the third issue of “Odyssey 2019/2020”. Rtr. Dhanuka Perera President 2019/20 Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa 01 It only seems impossible until it’s done. ~ Nelson Mandela Editorial Rtr. Yoshani Ranaweera Embarking upon the third quarter of the amazing Rotaract year of 2019/20, Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa carried on its exceptional service forward with the straight vision of providing an opportunity for its extensive member-base to “Explore, Develop, Serve”. Never letting the strong seas to cease its sails, the club voyaged across a vast number of projects organized under its major avenues, bringing out its excellency on a higher scale each time. Over the trinity of months of this quarter, fresh as well as prevailing initiatives were shouldered with the utmost passion and dedication, forcing them to reach the impossible. Hurdling over any and every obstacle in the most remarkable tone, Rotaract Mora has and will forever continue to illu- minate the path of many. The tertiary issue of “Odyssey”, the official newsletter of Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa for the year 2019/20 bestows upon its readers a roll- er-coaster ride through the awe-inspiring expedition journeyed by Rotaract Mora towards the accomplishment of its third quarter. It captures the warmest of moments explored and the strongest of bonds developed by our very own Rotaractors in a fruitful gesture to serve another. Happy reading! Rtr. Yoshani Ranaweera Co Editor 2019/20 Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa 02 We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. ~Dr. Loretta Scott Community Service 01. GRAMA PRABODHAYA Under this year’s instalment of Rotaract Mora’s signature project, ‘Grama Prabodhaya’, the village of Dun- upothagama, Anuradhapura has been made recipient to donations of the club in providing improved living necessities to the village residents and elevating the living conditions of the village. Thus, several sub projects are being conducted under the project in support of this cause. SIP SEWANA | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. Udara Vimukthi | Rtr. Gayan Jayakody ‘Sip Sewana’ is a noble venture undertaken by Rota- ract Mora to provide students of Dunupothagama Vidyalaya, Nochchiyagama with a proper learning environment to carry out their studies by building two new classrooms, with the assistance of parents of the students and other villagers. HEALING HANDS | 20th - 21st February Chaired by: Rtr. Reshaka Weerasinghe | Rtr. Manul Thenuka ‘Healing Hands’ was a medical camp organized for the benet of the residents of the village of Dunupothag- ama who have little concern for good health and well- being given their poverty stricken lives and low living standards. The camp was conducted at Dunupothag- ama Vidyalaya with the participation of twelve medical ocers from the Jayewardenepura Teaching Ho- spital and the Medical Health Oce, Nochchi- yagama. 03 Whenever one turns he can find someone who needs him. ~Albert Schweltzer Community Service A pharmacy unit was established to provide the attending patients with prescribed medicine for free, courtesy of the Regional Director of Health Services Oce, Anuradhapura. Additionally, the patients were provided with refreshments at the end of their check- up sessions with the sponsorship of Ceylon Biscuits Limited. STAR SEEKERS | 14th March Chaired by: Rtr. Udara Vimukthi | Rtr. Gayan Jayakody ‘Star Seekers’ was a night sky observation camp conducted in collaboration with the Astronomical Society of Nalanda College, Colombo to provide its participants with a novel experience and view- point of the night sky. The camp was carried out at Dunupothagama Vidyalaya with the participa- tion of over 400 students. DIGITALIZE | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. Danoj Hallawaarachchi | Rtr. Lakshan Fernando ‘Digitalize’ was established to renovate and upgrade the IT lab of Dunupothagama Vidyalaya which prior- ly consisted of just 4 computers. So far under the project, 10 computers have been donated to the school along with computer tables. Renovation of the lab itself will be done in the immediate future. 02. WANAKKAM | 7th - 9th March Chaired by: Rtr. Kesavan Kovarthan | Rtr. Uthayamalini Arudselvam ‘Wanakkam’ was the outcome of a joint eort undertaken by Rotaract Mora as a sub project of ‘Connecting the dots’ and the Rotaract Club of Nallur Heritage to promote the beauty of ethnic diversity in the community and pave the way for new friendships between the North and South. 04 If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one. ~ Mother Teresa Community Service The project included sessions for repainting of school build- ings, donation of books, stationery, shoes and sports equip- ment to students of several schools in Jana, as well as a sight- seeing session to build peace and understanding among the two cultures. The event came to a close with a Joint General Meeting between the two clubs on the nal day of the project. 03. MANUSATH HANDA | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. K.M.Gunasekara | Rtr. Meelan Bandara ‘Manusath Handa’ is a novel initiative undertaken by Rotaract Mora in providing visually impaired stude- nts with necessary educational resources catered to their special needs. Thus, as part of this noble caus- e, G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination papers and an- swers are currently being recorded into audiobooks for the use of these students, under the guidance and support of the Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka. 04. NENA ARUNA | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. Ravindu Hiroshan | Rtr. Chathura Parakrama ‘Nena Aruna’ is a series of seminars and educational programmes on Mathematics and IT conducted for students facing the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examinations in several schools in the districts of Colombo, Kaluthara, Matale, Kurunegala, Galle and Kandy. The donation of computer tables to Somadevi Balika Vidy- alaya, Kudabathgamuwa, Kotikawaththa was also carried out as a part of the project. 05. HAND IN HAND | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. Danuka Sandaruwan | Rtr. Pasindu Madhuwantha ‘Hand in Hand’ is a signature project of Rotaract Mora aimed towards changing the lives of unfortunate souls victimized by cancer by raising funds for their treatment and organizing va- rious programmes and events to bring joy and hope to in-pat- ients receiving treatment. 05 The time is always right to do what’s right. ~Martin Luther King Jr. Environmental- Service 01. RHIZOPHORA | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. Nipun Deelaka | Rtr. Ransara Wijitharathna ‘Rhizophora’ is a mangrove plantation project which is conducted in collaboration with the Small Fishers Federation of Sri Lanka - SUDEESA, in the Kalpitiya area. The organization will be providing the necessary plants and guidance. 02. ZOOXANTHELLAE | Ongoing Chaired by: Rtr. Raveen De Silva | Rtr. Tharindu Theekshana | Rtr. Kavishka Gunaratne ‘Zooxanthellae’ was initiated by Rotaract Mora with the main goal of conserving the coral reefs in the ocean. It comprises several phases and currently the phase of coral plantation has been completed. As the succeeding phase, a visit is to be arranged to the Jungle Beach, Rumassala where the corals were planted, in order to check on the progress of them. 0 Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. ~Elizabeth Andrew Professional Development 01. DATA STORM 1.0 | 1st - 29th February Chaired by: Rtr. W.D. Nadun Samuditha Wijekoon | Rtr. Hasitha Kaushan | Rtr. Tharindu Wickremasinghe ‘Data Storm 1.0’ was the rst ever Data Analytics Case Study competition organized by Rotaract Mora in collaboration with the Rotaract Club of Faculty of Science, University of Colombo and powered by OCTAVE. The following sessions preceded the nal round of the competition; •Preliminary Round Online Competition conducted on Kaggle platform (14th - 17th February) •Special Preparatory Session for nalists (22nd February) •Webinar for nalists (23rd February) The nal round of Data Storm 1.0 was held on the 29th of February at the John Keells Auditorium, Colombo 02, with the participation of 21 nalist teams. The top three teams were awarded valuable cash prizes and received the opportunity to be fast-tracked within the recruiting process of OCTAVE of the John Keells Holdings Group.