An Evening to Reminisce - Silver Jubilee Celebrations
Back in 1995, 16 people started writing a book 📝 without knowing that it will turn into a great endeavor in future. The journey was stormy yet managed to turn into a victorious path. And we still write that legendary book with great deeds on each page, spreading wings of kindness and joy around the country. Diving deep into the initial pages uncovers that we are the first-ever university-based Rotaract Club in Sri Lanka- Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa- where friendships blossom, raising hands for the community. It has been a glorious 25 years, and still, we stand together, thriving to serve the community.
We, the future leaders of Rotaract Mora, did not want to let the Silver Jubilee milestone pass with no memory, even amidst the pandemic rampant around the country. That is why, even in the middle of a lockdown, we set the stage up to throw a party to celebrate our 25 years of excellence 🎊.
The lifestyle of a Rotaractor always flows with projects. So we wanted to make the Rotaract Mora air a bit classy before throwing the party. To make it happen, the organizing committee first came up with an Instagram Challenge. It was truly engaging, and a part of it went viral, wherein our loving president Rtr. Samila ended up having t0 accept that he speaks a lot during meetings 😋. Meanwhile, our PR crew came up with an Instagram filter - A classic day of a Rotaractor, firing the IG craze 🙆🏼.
With sparkle in the air, then dawned the glamourous evening we all counted down to for a long time.
"Join Zoom Meeting." 😫
A term we all are tired of hearing. It had become a must in the daily routine of a Rotaractor by then. But who would skip a Zoom party! 🎉 Especially to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the family! So with no second thoughts, we all clicked on the link that appeared and joined the party while being in our comfort zones.
It was a different tone out there. We were given a warm welcome, and none could refrain from turning their cameras on 📷. To hype up the atmosphere, we were divided into breakout rooms and given a set of challenges. For a few minutes, all were busy solving the puzzles 🧩. After the breakout room session, it was a crystal clear fact that the members were eagerly waiting to join the next bit. Unlike in an ordinary Zoom call, we all had the energy to await the next part. To boom the fire, our organizing committee came up with a baby photo guessing challenge. It was quite a stormy session, where all unmuted themselves to mock each other 😁.
Then came a precious moment for all the new members of the Rotaract Mora family. The term 20/21 has been an extraordinary experience for all of us. As Rotaractors, we all have worked only in virtual environments. Thus we never got a chance to join any kind of a physical venture 😕. So Anju ayya (Rtr. Anju Chiran - President RAC of Alumni of University of Moratuwa) and Dhanuka ayya (IPP Rtr. Dhanuka Perera) took on the spotlight to share some memories they had with Rotaract Mora. They took us through the times where the so-called NEW NORMAL was not in the system. Our members were excited to hear the stories, and all got lost in the wonder of the Rotaract movement 💕. All their stories fueled the idea that Rotaract is not all about service.
No more storytelling. All stepped back on the dance floor 💃. Since it was around Christmas, our organizing committee didn't skip to air a Christmas song. It was a medley beautifully sung and filmed by our Rotaractors. This brought a lively Christmassy vibe to the house 🎄 and all were delighted with the sparkling atmosphere we created on our minds ✨.
Giving wings to the musical creatures of the family, next came the space for the open mic session of the evening🎙. Rtr Senith and Rtr. Heshani - two members loved by all, nailed the moment with their melodious voices. By the end, the open mic created the best atmosphere for a singalong. Opening doors for another jam, all unmuted themselves and kept singing. To be honest, it didn't sound sweet, but it was quite entertaining 😁. We all felt connected, though we were at our homes. We lived in a world we created and sang like we were the only ones in our homes. The air was filled with smiles, and no one was aware of the passing time ⌛. It was almost near midnight, but we kept singing. Everyone was in the mood for Encore! (one more). And then our IPP came up with a brilliant idea of a DJ party. He was the DJ artist for the day with his unusual music. Let's call it DJ special: only from our very own Dhanuka ayya 👏🏻. Who will ever skip throwing some shapes when the air is filled with funky tunes 💃? More than dancing, we laughed our pants off for the unusual audio mixing of our DJ master 🕺🏼.
After another half an hour of laughter and giggles, we dolefully agreed with Samila Ayya to wrap up the party, as we all had to attend lectures the next day! Reflecting all the moments we had so far with Rotaract Mora - given that COVID-19 locked us in our homes, Silver Jubilee Celebrations was the best and most fun we had so far. It definitely belongs to one of the million fantastic memories we are going to make at Rotaract Mora 💜.