Rotaract Gives Hope…

If someone asked me to define Rotaract in one word, one could say many things. Like service, volunteering, fun, humanity, experience, journey, fellowship, compassion interaction, transformation.. the list could go on. But I prefer to define Rotaract as “Hope”. Even though my Rotaract journey has been a short one of two years, when I put the memories I have collected together, I realize that every experience I got through Rotaract gave me a new hope in my life.

If I look back through my Rotaract journey, although I had heard about Rotaract occasionally and was curious to see what was happening there, I never had the right opportunity to join the movement. Anyway, through Rtr. Prasadie Kaurnarathne, who was the immediate past president of our club and one of my best friends, I joined Colombo Central as a general member in 2022. Rtr. Prasadie was an inspirational character who found herself through Rotaract and added a positive impact to the community and those around her with the light she found through Rotaract.

The things I have received from Rotaract since then until now are endless.

My first installation experience was in our own club in the 22-23 installation. Since I was new to the club and to the movement, I really felt very isolated among the many people I didn’t know. So, I observed everything from the side. After a while, the club became my second family.

In the year 22-23, as a general member, I had the opportunity to participate in the club projects of යුතුකම, Green Member, Illuminate, Central Gazette, Namma Diwali, Career Mentoring, and දැක්ම, and the learning and experiences I gained from those projects helped me a lot in my life.

Among the memorable milestones of my Rotaract journey, the first one is the RLTS; Rotaract Leadership Training Seminar, organized by the district PD team with a few other host clubs. It was a program that mainly focused on general members to give a wide knowledge and picture regarding Rotaract and other professional development. I gained a wealth of knowledge that I can’t easily get anywhere else in my life from the experts in each field.

With the experience and knowledge gained from RLTS, I also got an opportunity to co-chair the Rotaract Forum project organized by our club, mainly done for newbies. Actually, the Rotaract Forum was my 1st project in Rotaract, so it was a great learning experience for me. From designing a project, it helped me a lot to develop and sharpen many qualities and skills, including coordination, effective communication, etc. We were able to make a 2nd phase of the same project as Rotaract Forum Phase 2; Conference Call online with the participation of many Rotaractors from around the world.

The second memorable moment of my Rotaract journey is representing the club in the 2023 RYLA; Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. Even today, when I recall the RYLA memories of the 2-day program at the MAS Fabric Park, Thulhiriya, it reminds me of how beautiful Rotaract memories are. Being able to engage with a group of over 100 Rotaractors from all over the island was a great opportunity I got in life. RYLA helped me a lot to gain more knowledge about the relationship between Rotaract and Rotary, and especially engage with the district and see what is happening in the district.

The last unforgettable Rotaract memory related to 2023 is the RDC; Rotaract District Conference, which was held at Opulent River Face Hotel, Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte.

It was truly an inspirational program full of hope.

If I recall again about the elements of Rotaract, if we list them as fun, friendship, fellowship, service, development, experience, etc., I wanted to say that there are various kinds of avenues and aspects in Rotaract, and anyone can focus on whatever they like or want to gain in Rotaract. For example, I am a little inclined towards making a positive impact on the community through personal development, so I mostly focus on opportunities that give me a chance to understand myself. As it is said, “the seeker will find,” and I found so many valuable opportunities, chances to try new things, and opportunities to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and correct them. Also, I met some good friends in life because of this movement.

The RI year 22-23 has passed so beautifully and brightly with lots of beautiful memories, and turning a new page in my Rotaract journey, I consider it an honor that the club has given me the opportunity to enter the BOD as a co-director of the Community Service avenue for the year 23-24, and the responsibilities related to that position. Therefore, these days, I am focusing on how we can make a positive impact on society and the community through this avenue.

So in the end, I have to say that Rotaract is like a tree full of fruits called opportunities. I strongly emphasize that if you have the desire and passion, every experience in Rotaract is an opportunity to bring hope to your life and the world.

Finally, I have to say that Rotaract is something that constantly fills my life with fresh new hope and this year’s RI theme is also “Create Hope in the World”. Living in a country like Sri Lanka full of tragedies, hope has become an essential thing these days. Also, the most important thing that I constantly realize from Rotaract is that we are all human and none of us is perfect, so mistakes can happen when we try things and we should not be discouraged by them and add them to life as learning points. As the Rotaract song says, as Rotaractors, we always try.

Viva La Rotaract!

Penned By – Rtr. Abdur Zulfikar