We didn't know we were making memories, we were just having fun...

I’m walking down the memory lane which made me realize now, that I have made loads of good memories in the past one and a half years of my time in university than I’ve thought before. The experiences I’ve gained is incredible. I received all of this because I am part of Rotaract Mora. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

Being a Rotaractor was not something I had in mind. After I found out that I was selected to University of Moratuwa, I started searching what I could do other than academics in the university. Then one of my friends suggested Rotaract Mora. He then sent me a flyer of an event of a project called ‘Hand in Hand’ and told me to come and find out whether I want to be a part of Rotaract Mora. Unfortunately, I missed my chance to volunteer, but I was intrigued because what attracted me to Rotaract Mora was community services it did.

Months passed, university started, and I was curious to find out what’s more to Rotaract Mora. Then at the university, there was an introductory session about Rotaract Mora which made me wanted to join even more. Then came the day of the Orientation. For everyone of our batch that was not a very good evening. All of us were tired from the long day we’ve had. But when we entered the premises, everything changed. The whole environment was different. We had so much fun, those feelings we had at the beginning faded away. I realized that from being a Rotaractor, it will bring a lot of joy.

Afterwards, the pandemic started spreading and all the physical events were postponed. But Rotaract Mora adapted to the new normal quickly. Organizing ‘Online Awrudu’, which brought together everyone at their homes was truly amazing. I got to know a lot of people from other faculties. Next project I was a part of was ‘Revelation 19.0’. Dinindu and Thenuka, two of my batchmates asked me to join their team. Team ‘No Name’ was formed. All of us learned a great deal about Rotaract Mora. It was a great experience with many hours of long calls. That is when I started getting interested in the environmental services avenue.

After some time, I received a call from Reshaka, KM aiya and Pasindu. They offered me the chance to chair one of my favorite projects ‘Manusath Handa’. That was one of happiest moments of my life. I got to work with Sithira. It was quite the challenge to chair a project than I thought it would be. But with the help of Sithira and others, we managed the work. Both of us gained a lot of experience and developed a lot, thanks to Manusath Handa. I am not going to brag about Manusath Handa. We achieved a lot through the project and my best memory this year so far is winning the RI award. So, I am grateful to everyone who helped us and was a part of our project, cause without them we could not have achieved such a feat. I was able to be a part of another great initiative, ‘Andurata Athwelak’. The voice donation camp was a huge success and even more enjoyable. Many happy memories were made, lot was learned a lot from all the aiyas and akkas. They really helped every one of us to grow.

I was asked to be a part of ‘Resume Centre’, ‘Heads- up’ and panel coordination of project ‘RUR’. I was lucky to be a part of this amazing project. This is where I got to work with Nikith, Asel and Bimbi. Even though we there were a ton of sleepless nights, hours long Zoom meetings, WhatsApp calls we weren’t tired or stressed, we enjoyed and bonded. Getting scolded from my mother for missing lectures AND sleep was worth it, because we were able to help a lot of undergraduates. The best (publishable) memory from panel coordination days was when the four of us had to pull and all-nighter and we are working with on Zoom all night with music on, and our friend Asel went full on silent mode. Turned out, that he felt asleep while being on the meeting even with the music blasting! So, we basically continued working (don’t tell him but of course while making fun of him ;p) and he just left it like that until the laptop shutdown. Those days are the definition of we didn't know we were making memories, we were just having fun… Simply, "ඒ දවස් ටික නං හොඳටම කළා".

There are many beautiful memories I share with this amazing movement. I was able to grow a lot, thanks to all these amazing projects and our wonderful membership...

Rotaract Mora is not an ordinary club with members who are working with random projects. It is a family where everyone supports everyone to grow. I am forever grateful to be part of Rotaract Mora.