RI Year 1999/2000

The DIR`s Theme - "Core Of Our Life : Our Heritage." 

The following were the objectives set by the District committee 1999/2000.

• Felicitating the Interact movement in Sri Lanka.

• Promoting the DIR’s theme in conjunction with Interact goals.

• Upraise the standard of Interact in Sri Lanka. 

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• 10 District Meetings were held during the year at the following schools :

Wesley College

St. Peter’s College

Visakha Vidyalaya

St. Thomas’s College

St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy

St. Sebestian’s College

Isipathana College

Colombo International School

St. Joseph’s College

Zahira College & Royal College

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• 9th Interact District Assembly : "Assembly For A New Beginning"

This was organized by the Interact Clubs of Ananda College-Colombo, Mahamaya College & Trinity College, Kandy which was held on the 26th of June 1999 at the St. Joseph’s College Auditorium. This was the 1st time in the history of Interact that 3 schools jointly   hosted a District Assembly. The Chief Guest for the opening ceremony was the District Governor 1999/2000 Rtn. Tissa Bandaranayake & the District Interact Chairman 98/99 Rtn. PP. Phf. Haroon Bin Ahmad as the Guest of Honour. The Chief Guest for the closing ceremony was Rtn. Krish Rajendran & the Guest of Honour was Rtn. Haroon Bin Ahmad.

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• Workshop for incoming Presidents & Secretaries

Objective – To train the incoming officers on the new administration & Interact Club house keeping before they officially take office. This was to minimize the transgression so that the incoming officers will feel complete at ease when assuming duties. The inception to educate the incoming officers beforehand made it possible for them as well as for us to start off work from right from the beginning. The workshops were entirely organized by the District Interact Chairman Rtn. Ajit Jayamanne.

Workshop I - Colombo

Date - 3rd April 1999.

Venue - Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo7. 

Conducted by - Rtn. Haroon Bin Ahmad, Rtn. Thariq Thulba, Rtn. Ajit Jayamanne, DIS. Int. PP. Layangi Perera, DIR Elect Saif Ramzi.

Attendance - 27 Interact Clubs. (60%)

 

Workshop II - Kandy/Matale

Date - 24th April 1999.

Venue - Dharmaraja College, Kandy.

Conducted by - Rtn. Ajit Jayamanne, DIR Elect Saif Ramzi.

Attendance - 13 Interact Clubs. (98%)

 

Workshop III - Galle

Date - 12th June 1999.

Venue - Sacred Heart Convent, Galle.

Conducted by - Rtn. Ajit Jayamanne, DIR Elect Saif Ramzi.

Attendance - 6 Interact Clubs. (70%)

 

• Sun FM Birthday Bash: Dance Competition

Project Chairperson - Int. PP. Hisham Jiffry

Objective - To promote fellowship & expose the talents of our Interactors.

The project was organized upon invitation by the ABC net in Sri Lanka. The project was held at the Sun FM Birthday Bash, which was held on the 3rd of July 1999 at the CH & FC Grounds, Colombo 7.

Each dance troupe was to have a minimum of 4 members & there was no limitation to the number of entries per school. Only Hip-Hop or Techno Music was allowed & each troupe was requested to provide their own music.

 

• Interaction ’99

Project Chairperson - Int. PP. Reeza Shajehan

In commemoration of the Rotary New Generations month, emphasis was placed on highlighting Interact activities in the minds of youth & in particular, the Interactors. The prime objective of Interaction ’99 was to bring together Interactors from al over the island in a spirit of unity & sportsmanship, where the differences of culture, creed & race did not matter.

Interaction ’99 was held on the 6th & 7th of November 1999 at Police Park Grounds from 8.00 Am- 6.00 Pm. Tickets were priced at a nominal fee of Rs.50.00. a notable feature of "Interaction ‘99" was the participation of over 200 Interactors from Trincomalee & Batticaloa. They were provided with accommodation & meals from the 5th night up to the 8th morning.

The following sports & recreational activities were held with regard to Interaction ’99.

Six A Side Cricket.          

Drama.

Foot Ball.      

Debating.

Basket Ball.   

Quiz.

Net Ball.                       

Song

Volley Ball

Give Us A Clue

Tennis        

Water Polo

Athletics   

Swimming

Rugby.

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Each zone held a separate sports festival to decide the champions of the zone who will qualify as the quarter finalists for the all island championship. The quarter & semi finals were held on the 6th & 7th of November. Swimming, water polo & athletics were worked off prior to the main event.

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Rotary District Governor Rtn. Phf. Tissa Bandaranayake graced the opening ceremony whilst the District Governor Nominee Krish Rajendran was the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony.       

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A new feature which was included among the many activities was he "Save The Children Walk" which was held on the 2nd day of the event.

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The Co-sponsors for the event were ‘Dialog-GSM’ & ‘Pure Beverages Ltd.’ and the media sponsors were ‘TV Times’ & ‘Sun FM’. Over 3000 Interactors from all over the island participated in this gigantic event, which saw all its objectives achieved. 

 

• Community Service (Phase I): Save The Children’s Walk

Project Chairperson - Int. Pubudu Jayawardana.

Objective - Denounce Child abuse.

On the 7th November 1999 over 3000 Interactors from all around the island joined hands to denounce child abuse in Sri Lanka. Since Interact is one of the strongest movements in Sri Lanka we thought that through a walk such as this an awareness could be created in the youth of Sri Lanka.

Carrying banners & other placards depicting strong anti-child exploitation messages the Interactors marched on from Police Park to Bambalaptiya junction through Dickmans Road & returned to Police Park. All participants were treated to a drink of Milo at the end of the walk. District Governor, Rtn. PHF. Tissa Bandaranayaka & Past District Governor, Rtn. PHF. Mangala Gunawardena flagged off the walk.

The Interact club of Royal College carried out a sticker campaign throughout the walk & St. Bridget’s Convent distributed T-shirts encouraging child protection, which were donated by UNICEF. The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) & helped us tremendously to carry out this awareness campaign successfully. 

 

• Community Service (Phase II): Painting Project

Project Chairperson - Int. Nalaka Gooneratne.

Objective - To show our brave military personnel that we care & to better their recovery environment.

Project Authorities - Sri Lanka Military Hospital, Macksons Paint Industries and Delmage Forsyth & Co.(Paints) Ltd. (Paint Sponsors)

On the 30th October 1999, 28 Interactors from various schools turned up at the army Hospital for this worthy project. We were able to clean & paint ward no.11 entirely. We were entreated to an officers lunch by the staff of the hospital. Tea was also provided to the Interactors. The cleaning & painting process too up the whole day, which was fun filled & entertaining. All the Interactors were requested to bring paint brushes & buckets to carry paint around. Turpentine & paint thinner was provided as well as all necessary paints. The Interactors were also given a chance to meet up with the recovering members of the military, which in turn helped us to realize how much they sacrifice for their motherland & people. This indeed was a unique experience & privilege. 

 

• Community Service (Phase II) : Christmas & New Year cars sale

Project Chairperson - Int. Nalaka Gooneratne

Objective - To accumulate funds for the ‘House of Compassion’ Elders home, which is, situated at no.201/2,Mawatte Rd, Madampitiya, Colombo 14.

Theme of cards - Care for Your Elders

This project which spanned from the 9th - 24th of December & took place at the lobby of Majestic City. 4 cards were designed & printed, based upon pictures received from Interactors. Each card was priced at a nominal sum of Rs.10.00. The sale at Majestic City was a huge success. Interactors from various Interact Clubs were also given a specific number of cards, which was to be sold separately. A total of rs.12,000 card were printed & a total surplus of Rs.67,871.00 was collected from the sale of cards. 

 

• Interact Leadership Training Programme

Project Chairperson - Int. Harshini Ranasinghe

We received a total number of 227 applications from which 55 candidates were chosen to undergo the I.L.T programme. All candidates were required to be between the ages 14 & 17 as at 31st December 1999, and should have been an active member of the club for a minimum of 2 years. Selection was through an interview conducted by the District Committee. The 55 eligible candidates represented a total of 30 schools.

The opening ceremony was conducted on the 29th January 2000, at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, from 4.00 pm onwards. Rtn. Wikram Amalean was the Chief Guest for the evening. The topics covered were administration, community service, motivation & teamwork, public relations, effective reporting & presentations, communication skills & public speaking and financial management & accountability. These sessions were conducted by Rotarians, past Interactors & present District Committee members with a general attendance averaging 40 Interactors.

All sessions for once was conducted at St. Peter’s College. 53 candidates attended the final examination which was conducted on the 29th April 2000, at St. Peter’s College. In addition to the regular question paper, the candidates were required to hand in an assignment the following week. All who have passed this examination received their certificates at the District Assembly. 

 

• Youth Camp 2000

This was organized on the 17th, 18th and 19th of April 2000, at Lake View International Camp Site, Dharmaraja College, Kandy. The opening ceremony was held upon arrival at the camp on the 9th morning. The following days were filled with session where many programme were set to make the participants enjoy and educate themselves. This includes session of survival skills, first aid training, hikes, backwoodsmen’s cooking, rope climbing and other fun filled games.

The main objective of this project was to provide Interactors of our District with training on leading and motivating groups, which in turn will inculcate team spirit and environmental awareness.

53 campers, 11 District Committee members and 15 organizing committee members participated in this camp. Out of the seven listed patrols the ‘Green Hornets’ emerged as the most outstanding patrol.

Fourteen campers and 6 organizing committee members were presented with ‘Awards of Excellence’. All participants were given T-shirts, notes and tokens. 

 

• Interflash 2000

Project chairperson - Int. PP. Hisham Jiffry

Objective - Generate funds for the District and to provide entertainment to Interactors. This project was cancelled by the unanimous decision of the executive committee taking into account the security situation of the country. 

 

• Assembly 2000

The Interact Clubs of Visakha Vidyalaya, S. Thomas’ Prep. School and Dharmaraja College, Kandy hosted the Assembly 2000, on the 24th June 2000, at St. Joseph’s College Auditorium. The 10th Assembly was en titled ‘Celebrating life’ in order to break barriers and to bring opposite together.                  

                                                                                                                                                  

• Publication

The Interact Year 1999/2000 saw the District Interact Editor, publish newsletters, 2 bulletins and a 230 page "Interact Guide". The newsletter and bulletins contained present Interact information and happenings, while the Interact Guide and included all the contact numbers of listed Presidents and Secretaries and other higher authorities as well as the Interact Constitution and Handbook. Each club was given a copy of the "Interact Guide" free of charge. 

 

• Conference 2000: "Conference of Challenge"

This was hosted by the Interact Clubs of Methodist College, St. Peter’s College & Girls High School, Kandy, on the 18th & 19th of February 2000, at the Bandaranayake Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

The opening ceremony was held on the 18th of February 2000. The Chief Guest for the occasion was the District Governor, Rtn. Phf. Tissa Bandaranayake & the Principal of the hosting schools were the Guest of Honour. The Chairman of the Board of Investments, Mr. Thilan Wijesinghe, delivered the Keynote address. The Chief Executive Officer of Shell Live Wire, Mr. Idris Jala also addressed the gathering.

The morning session of the 2nd day saw a very interesting panel discussion unfold. The speakers were ;

Prof. Harendra De Silva - Rights of Children.

Prof. Lionel Jayathilake - Education Reforms.
Mr. Priyantha Serasinghe - What it takes to be a Leader
Dr. Manik - Gender Discrimination

This was followed by lunch & the entertainment session, which featured various song & dance items performed by our very own Interactors. A special feature was the performance of Bathiya & Santhush, which got the 1500 Interactors on to their feet.

PDG. Rtn. Phf. Mangala Gunawardane graced the closing ceremony & the Guest of Honour was the Incoming District Interact Chairman, Rtn. Bobby Seneweera.

On the 26th of February 2000, the organizers of the Conference accompanied by the District Committee & many other Interactors joined in at the excursion at a holiday resort in Wadduwa. The excursion was organized after a lapse of a few years & was enjoyed by all who participated.