Annual General Meeting (87)

87TH AGM WAS HELD TODAY 27TH DECEMBER, 2016

PRESIDENT ELECT RTN. SOMESWARAN.

PRESIDENT NOMINEE FOR 2019

Rtn. Sarav Sounderarjan

Rtn Subashini Rotary Club of Marina City - Singapore on 3rd November 2016.

Promoting the Rotary Club of Colombo

Receiving the banner from President Ser Sim

L-R Rotaract Members  of Marina City, Rtn. Azeza from Bangladesh, President Ser Sim and Subashini

Rotary Sponsored Entrepreneur Center in Vavuniya Develops Organic Farming Knowledge and Skills

Farmers in the Echanculam area near Vavuniya were provided with a technical training on organic farming methods. The Via Village Entrepreneur Center in Echankulam, Vavuniya is a long term project of the Rotary Club of Colombo which seeks to develop the farmers and small businesses, mostly resettled IDP's in the region.

Farmers Receive Training -
Hand Outs and Booklets Provided to Farmers - Oct 2016 

Farmers at Via Village receive Organic Training using Multimedia Projector - Oct 2016 

Farmers at Via Village receive Organic Training - Oct 2016

Hands on Demonstrations Oct 2016

Farmer Group for Organic Farming - Oct 2016

Rtns Rohan Dissanayake, T.Someswaran and President Mohammed Abidally with Consultant and Rtn Theva at the Via Village Center during the field visit in August

District Governor Senaka Amerasinghe at the Center in May 2016 

Rtn Group with DG Senaka and Rtn Ann Ruki,  President Rohan Karunaratne, PP Nimal Samarakkody, Rtn Kumar Nadesan, Hon Member Rtn Chutta Rathnathicam, on center visit with farmer group in May 2016

Seminar on Polio Free Sri Lanka held at HNB Towers on the 15th oct 2016

Rotary Donates Mammography Machine For Breast Cancer Screening in Kurunegala

The Rotary Club of Colombo handed over a Mammography Machine to to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Valued at approx Rs 14.5 million.

The handing over of the Mammography Machine and Digital Processor to the main hospital in Kurunegala, the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, marked the first step in the launch of the first regional facility, in the Club's Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Project, which this year enters its 12th year in fighting cancer. This historic milestone was achieved through a Global Grant of The Rotary Foundation, partnered by The Rotary Club of Colombo together with RC Birmingham (Alabama, USA), RC Nurnberg Sigena (Germany), and RC Zurich Shital (Switzerland), who came together to make available this very valuable equipment.

This will be the very first regional center in Sri Lanka dedicated for screening and early detection of breast cancer. The project already operates the National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Centre launched 12 years ago in partnership with the National Cancer Control Programme of the Ministry of Health , Sri Lanka. It is particularly meaningful to make available this screening equipment for early detection of breast cancer, during October, which marks breast cancer awareness month. Locating this screening facility in Kurunegala Hospital which services over one third of the country's population will benefit a significant number, enabling them to access this facility for early detection of breast cancer which has the highest incidence amongst all cancers in Sri Lanka.

The President of the Rotary Club of Colombo Rtn Mohammed Abidally, together with project Chairperson PP Rtn Nirmali Samaratunga and other project committee members PP Rtn Tony Alles and PDG Rtn Tissa Bandaranaike, handed over the equipment to the hospital Acting Director Dr Chandana Kandangamuwa, Chief Radiologist Dr Samantha Perera and other Doctors from the Oncology unit and Radiology Unit. This donation is expected to make a significant contribution towards bringing down the incidence of breast cancer in the region, thus saving several hundred lives.

Rtn Mohammed Abidally, together with project Chairperson PP Rtn Nirmali Samaratunga and other project committee members PP Rtn Tony Alles and PDG Rtn Tissa Bandaranayake, with Acting Director Dr Chandana Kandangamuwa, Chief Radiologist Dr Samantha Perera and other Doctors from the Oncology unit and Radiology Unit.

Hologic State of the Art Mammography Machine 

Project Chairperson PP Rtn Nirmali Samaratunga 

Digital Processor 

Digital Film Processor 

Rotary Donates Slit Lamp to Eye Hospital at Homagama

The Rotary Club of Colombo donated a badly needed Slit lamp for eye examinations at the Eye Hospital in Homagama. The Lamp was sent as a donation by the Rotary Club of Sapporo in Japan and facilitated by Rtn PDG Kobayashi from Sapporo and Rtn Daya Warnakulasooriya in Colombo. The Midaya Group of Companies will continue to support the project with the cost of local maintenance and servicing.

The doctors at the hospital expressed a need for lenses for cataract surgeries, any kind donor who could help is requested to contact us on rotarycolombo1929@gmail.com

Patient undergoes an eye examination

Rotarians ceremonially hand over the Slit lamp.

Rotarians Sponsor English Newspaper Reading Programme at Nochiyagama School

At the request of the English Teacher at the Ralapanawa Janapada Vidyalaya, Nochiyagama school, the vocational services committee arranged to provide them with English language newspapers for the children to read and the Sunday Observer newspaper has been despatched for 2 weeks now. It's wonderful to see the children reading the papers from the photos attached below.

"They told me that they don't find the English Newspapers in their area and getting it delivered to their School was a problem." - Rtn Laurel Mathew - Chairman of Vocational Services

Rtn Shanaz has already offered to Sponsor the Weekly delivery of the Newspaper from Anuradhapura.

Medical Test at Delgoda

On the 8th of October, 2016 had a medical camp at Delogoda Dhanawardana Temple.

More than 300 participants were in attendance

Fasting Blood Sugar test and High blood pressure was checked over 200 persons.,.

These tests we organized by the Rotary Club of Colombo

Dental Health Check and General Medical check ups were also organized by the Narangwala Elders Association

Rotary Foundation Global Grant Provides Clean Drinking Water to Five Villages in Anuradhapura

The Rotary Club of Colombo, D3220 Sri Lanka declared open five reverse osmosis filtration plants to provide safe drinking water to five village communities including two schools, in Medawachchiya, Parasangaswewa, Nochiyagama, and Maha Wilachiya in the Anuradhapura District, North Central Province of Sri Lanka where the prevalence Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDu) has shown an alarming increase in recent years. Approximately ten thousand men women and children living in these areas will benefit from these plants. The village communities were also provided with an education on water, sanitation and its relationship to better health and related safety issues to bring about positive behavioural changes.  

The total cost of the plants approx. Rs 8.7 million, (US$ 60,000) was funded by a Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation and supported by the Rotary Clubs of Katsuura, Japan, Nuremberg, Germany and Rotary International Districts 2790, Japan and 1880, Germany.

Children enjoy safe drinking water

Plant Room at Sri Siddhartha Maha Vidyalaya, Maha Wilachiya

Rtns President Mohammed Abidally and IPP Setsuko Urushibara ceremonially decalre open water project at Kirrigallewa, Medawachiya

Rtn's from the Rotary Clubs of Colombo, Anuradhapura, and Katsuura (Japan)

Plant Room at Amabagaswewa, Parasangaswewa

Ralapanawa Janapada Vidyalaya, Nochiyagama

St. Paul's Milagiriya Interact Presidents installation 2016

Thanks to the dedication of Ann Shanthi for repairing the toilets at the Day Care Centre at Rasenthirakulam, Vavuniya, the children now have a clean toilet.

This day care centre is situate in a remote village called Rasenthirakulam about 15 km from the Vavuniya town.  There are 28 to 30 children attending this day care centre on an average every year.  They come from very poor families, from the ages of 3 to 6, a mix of boys and girls.  The mothers leave them here at 7 am, and collect them around 1 pm, while they do some  farm work close by.  There are two teachers  in charge of these kids, and they are taught, English, tamil, arts and crafts, and a bit of dancing too.  These children are a mix of Muslims,   Christians and Hindus.  They are given a mid day snack comprising of cow pea,  mung beans, manioc etc.  Funding is provided on a monthly basis by a few of us, and the rest is supported by the church. With a few friends, Rtn Upali and Ann Shanthi De Silva has been visiting this place regularly over the past several years.

Due to lack of funding, basics such as decent toilet facilities are not available. What exists are a few broken down, dirty toilets which do not even have doors.  Since Water and Sanitation are one of the priorities for the Rotary Club of Colombo, Shanthi wanted to carry out this project as her contribution to the Club this year and she did a fund raiser on her own to collect some funds to do up the toilets.  She had  an afternoon of activities in our apartment party room  and  was able to collect 225,000/-.  With these funds she went ahead with the toilet work.  The toilets were colour washed and tiled,  squatting pans were replaced with new ones and 2 new doors fixed. The building where the children study and play was also in a very bad shape.  So with the balance money it is now being colour washed.  Below pictures from Rtn Upali and Shanthi's inspection visit in 17th August.

Toilet before repair

Toilet after repair

Outside area after repair

The next project at this centre will be to get a tube well done, as the present well goes dry during certain months, and to provide pipe borne water which is currently not available.