Our Projects

Embracing the true spirit of the holiday season, the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business  School planned “A Christmas to Remember” project to celebrate Christmas in 2022. This project  was organized by community services avenue. 

Marking the true significance of Christmas by giving more than receiving, the purpose of the  project was to help the less fortunate during Christmas. In phase one of “A Christmas to  Remember”, we raised funds to provide essential groceries to people in need. Phase 1 of the  project kicked off on December 16 and was completed on December 28, 2022. We successfully collected monetary donations in Phase 1 of the project.  

Uncle Christo, who works at the Achievers Lanka Business School has been struggling financially  due to the economic impacts of Sri Lanka. He has been a great help to the Rotaract Club as well.  We, therefore, decided to show our gratitude by supporting him financially in his most difficult  moments. Therefore, dry rations, stationary donations worth LKR 13,000, and an LKR 2000  voucher to purchase fresh produce were gifted to Uncle Christo, from the collected monetary  funds.

In Phase 2 of “A Christmas to Remember”, the members of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka  Business School along with the Rotaract members from RACNSBM, RAC Alumni of the University  of Moratuwa and RAC Colombo Mid City got together to spend an evening purposefully with  elders at Methodist Elders’ Home-Kirulapone. We celebrated the wonderful Christmas by Singing  Carols and creating memories with the elders. In addition to Phase 2 of the project, “A Christmas  to Remember”, the “Food Voyager – Phase 2” project took place at the elders’ home. Together  with all the participants and the elders, we made Christmas cookies and decorated them. Phase  2 of the two projects took place on December 28th from 2:30 P.M. onwards. Since sharing is  caring, the baked cookies were then shared among participants and elders, making the month of  December memorable.

This concludes the lineup of the project “A Christmas to Remember” for the 2nd Quarter by the  Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School. Carrying the festive spirit, love, and goodwill  in our hearts, we celebrated Christmas in 2022 by giving back to the community.

Written by: Rtr. Imesha Ilangasinghe

Jumpstart was launched as a signature project of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School under the Professional Development avenue, for students to get corporate exposure and jumpstart their professional careers. Over time, it modified into a platform that gives aspiring entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka the opportunity to kickstart their entrepreneurial journeys. Since its inception in 2017, Jumpstart has undergone multiple exhilarating changes that have opened up countless opportunities for its participants and substantially enhanced their professional lives.

If you are someone that wishes to become a successful entrepreneur with a business idea that could change the course of history but feels you don’t have the necessary skills or understanding of startups, then Jumpstart is the ideal place for you!

Read on to find out everything you need to know about Jumpstart 2022!

This year’s theme for Jumpstart is ‘Empower, Embolden, Emblaze’, which perfectly sums up our aim to empower aspiring entrepreneurs to step up to the challenge, embolden them with all the tools and skills necessary to take their first steps, and help emblaze their entrepreneurial journey.

Jumpstart 2022 will happen under three categories:

1. Boardroom Challenge 
2. Pitch It! Win It!
3. Shark Tank

Introduction session

An introduction session will be held at the start of the event to make potential participants aware of why they should participate in Jumpstart this year.

Boardroom Challenge

This challenge is aimed at students of Achievers Lanka Business School, where they can prop their ideas and learn through trial by analysing companies. The students will be divided into teams and instructed to run a case study on the standards provided. Ultimately, they will dispense the information gathered by presentations to a panel of judges on preset criteria.

Pitch It! Win It!

A platform where entrepreneurs and idea wizards may present their business ideas to a panel of judges and compete for huge prizes to jumpstart their venture. All Pitch It! Win It! contestants are required to attend a number of workshops tailored to improve their performance in the preliminary round.

Workshop Series

A series of workshops will be organised, which aims to inform participants about several important aspects that should be taken into account when developing their business ideas and ultimately experiencing success. These seminars will be crucial in helping the participants get ready and equipped since they will provide them with a general understanding of entrepreneurship, starting with the fundamentals, and help them prepare the best possible pitch for Pitch It! Win It!

The series will be comprised of the following workshops:

1. Problem Identification: 25th November
2. Business Canvas Model: 1st December
3. Finance and Bookkeeping: 6th December 
4. Intellectual Property Rights & Data Protection for Startups: 8th December
5. Digital Marketing
6. Preparing a Proper Business Plan
7. Pitch Perfect

Prior to the Preliminary Round, the contestants will get a fantastic opportunity to advance their skills through the workshop series, and all the Pitch it! Win it! contestants are encouraged to participate in them.

Preliminary Round

The participants will pitch their business ideas at the Pitch It! Win It! – Preliminary Round after the workshop series. The choice of using Sinhala, Tamil, or English for their presentations is up to the participants. Translators can be arranged for participants that require them with prior notice to the organisers. The presentations will be followed by a Q&A session with the judges. The participants will be quizzed on topics including the application, viability, return on investment, etc. of their business ideas. The teams with the most creative business ideas will move on to the Finale.

If chosen for the finals, each finalist will also be assigned a mentor who will aid them in getting ready for the Finale.

Grand Finale

The Pitch It! Win It! – Grand Finale will feature the Preliminary Round finalists. Each team will be given assignments to evaluate their capabilities in various areas, including strategic thinking and decision-making. After the Preliminary Round, details on the Finale’s specific format will be released.

The top three Pitch It! Win It! teams will each receive prizes that will help them grow their companies. Prizes worth LKR 100,000 will be given to the winners in this category, including co-working spaces, IT solutions, HR solutions, portfolio solutions, web hosting, and mentoring.

Registrations for Pitch It! Win It! will be open real soon!

Shark Tank

This will be a networking event, done in the guise of a competition, where growth-stage startups will be able to meet with potential investors from a variety of industries who might be interested in providing them with capital in exchange for a return for equity in their companies. This category is for people or groups who run growing businesses.

After enrolling, contestants will be asked to present an overview of their startup based on the following criteria as part of the selection process for this category:

1. Existing revenue generation
2. Scalability
3. Profitability/impact
4. Business Model
5. Traction

After several rounds of discussions, the chosen individuals or teams will get the chance to pitch their business to potential investors. The participants will receive professional advice from potential investors, and a chosen number of businesses will get the opportunity to participate in advanced incubation or acceleration programs, which could eventually lead to potential investments. Additionally, they will gain from the opportunity to forge enduring relationships with customers.

Registrations for Shark Tank will be opening after the Workshop Series!

If you are an ideator or an entrepreneur, Jumpstart 2022 is not an opportunity you want to miss. Stay connected with the social media pages of Jumpstart by the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School for more information!

Written by: Rtr. Hiruni Hettiarachchi & Rtr. Himaki Mendis

Edited by: Rtr. Vinuri Ramanayake

Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning – is more than absorbing facts it is acquiring understanding.

William Arthur ward

Education is the most important gift a child could be presented with, and we must help underprivileged kids so that they can also acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, and intelligence and grow to become triumphant human beings.

The Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School initiated a project targeting young children of the slum area of Koombi Kale in Kirulapone. It mainly focuses on educating the underprivileged students in this area, and this project commenced in October 2019.

After I was appointed as the Community Service Director of the club, Sneha was my first project, handed over by our President Rtr. Bipash Suriyage (Rtr. Year-21/22). This project has been considered one of the signature projects of our club. I was so excited to involve myself in this project. I felt that this was a great opportunity for me to acquire and learn more skills and knowledge from these young souls and also be made aware of the area that these children were brought up in and the activities that were conducted by Reverend Ashen to support the families who lived there. Along with the support and guidance from Reverend Ashen, this project was conducted for the 4th consecutive year. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we couldn’t conduct physical classes, but still, we had plans to conduct virtual classes for these kids every day. Most of our club members volunteered as mentors and teachers, and they were involved happily and helped these children in their studies. Therefore, every day each volunteer conducted classes for each student via Zoom with different time slots to provide them with the most competent teaching they can contribute. The majority of the children actively joined all the classes, and all students became favorites for our volunteers in the club.

All these students were very smart, eager to study, and punctual for all the classes. My team and I were very glad about the response and improvement reflected by our students and that motivated us to do more classes for them and help them in a small way for them to shine like stars in the future. Mathematics, Science, English, Business Studies and Accounting, Sinhala, and IT are the subjects we taught for grades 6 to 11 in all three mediums (English, Sinhala, and Tamil).

These young little hearts are also a part of a group called “Empowered Rangers”, where many exhilarating and thriving group activities take place. This was fully organized by Pastor Ashen and he commits full time to improving skills such as communication and leadership in the children and also does sessions related to mental health, etc.

It also includes activities like campaigning, dancing, and singing, and some of these talents are showcased in a concert at the end of the year.

17th Nov 2022 was the day of my first visit to Koombi Kale in Kirulapone. On that day, a session on Mental Health was conducted by the LEADS Organization at the Koombi Kale Buddhist Temple auditorium from 5.30 pm onwards. This hall was far away from the main road, and when I entered with our teammates, the place was very dark and scary. My heart beat fast at that moment, and I realized the type of reality these children were living in. 80 parents and 20 kids participated in our 1st Mental Health session, and we ended it with fellowship and served refreshments. During that session, I met two cute little girls who helped me arrange the place, and soon, they became my friends. After a few hours, these two girls came to me and gave a flower with a card and thanked me for the help and support given to them by organizing classes. At that moment, I felt like I have achieved the greatest height in my life.

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In order to expand our volunteer service to this project, we partnered up with the Foundation of Goodness for the further expansion of virtual classes. We received 25 new applications from students in grades 6 to 12 to conduct Spoken English classes via zoom. Then we faced a lack of volunteers to support new kids from the Dematagoda and Borella areas. After a few meetings, the PR directors of our club created a poster mentioning that we needed volunteers to conduct Spoken English classes via zoom. After two days, I was surprised to see the results. We got nearly 30 registrants external to our club who were willing to conduct free Spoken English classes.

Thereafter, we had a meeting with the new volunteers and started the classes according to their availability. We kept track of each and every student’s attendance by the updates mentioned in record books at the end of each class.

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We were able to expand the IT Lab in Kirulapone by donating 6 computers and 10 computer desks with the help of the Foundation of Goodness in order to further conduct IT classes for students in the slum area.

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It was my pleasure to have been able to chair this unique project ‘SNEHA’ which helped me in different ways to improve myself. I also learned to thank God for the blessings he has showered upon us and to share those blessings with others who are underprivileged. That action is the greatest thing we could do. We might not value the opportunities we receive regarding education enough, but kids like these are eagerly waiting for those opportunities to use them and become better versions of themselves.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world!”

Therefore, let us step forward, reach out to more young little hearts who might be in need, and rise by lifting others. Together we can proceed to serve by Embracing the Change!

Written by: Rtr. Lydia George

Edited by: Rtr. Hiruni Hettiarachchi

Do you have a business concept that has the potential to alter the world? Do you aspire to be a successful entrepreneur? If you are worried that you can’t get into action because of a lack of essentials on the knowledge and tactics to startup, then, Jumpstart is the right place to be!

JUMPSTART, the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School’s hallmark Professional Development project, was established with the goal of providing chances for budding entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to Jumpstart their business journey. Jumpstart has taken several exciting turns since its debut in 2017, bringing up countless chances for its members and resulting in significant improvements in their professional lives.

Everything you need to know about Jumpstart 2021 is right here!

Embracing the theme ‘UNFOLD.IMPLEMENT. REVOLUTIONIZE’, Jumpstart 2021 would be staged under the following two categories.

• Pitch it, Win it
• Shark Tank

*Due to the prevailing situation in the country, Jumpstart 2021 will be conducted completely online via the platform ‘Zoom’, up until the finales of each category. In the case of team participation, participants may join from one location or separate locations.

GAME PLAN

Jumpstart 2021 will be held in two categories. The Pitch it! Win it! category will include a workshop series and Pitch it! Win it! round. The finalists chosen will be mentored further and compete in the Grand Finale. Furthermore, we will conduct Shark Tank exclusively for growth-stage startups to present before a panel of investors, seeking to obtain investments.

Introduction session

An introduction session will be held before the commencement of Jumpstart, as an awareness session to potential ideators, educating them on the importance of Entrepreneurship and how it will support the economy of the country. This will be held on the 13^th of December 2021

Workshop Series

The goal of the series of workshops is to educate participants on certain crucial issues that should be considered in order to increase the candidates’ knowledge and abilities in developing their company ideas and eventually reaching success. These seminars will be crucial in preparing and equipping the participants as

1. This will provide an overall knowledge on aspects of Entrepreneurship, starting from the basics.
2. This will be of aid to the participants who will be registering for Pitch it! Win it! to present themselves and their business in the best way possible.

The series will be held from the 14th of December till the 28^th of December 2021.

They will be based on,

• Problem identification –  14th Dec.
• Business canvas model – 16th Dec.
• Finance and bookkeeping, fundraising – 17th Dec.
• Legal aspects and business registrations – 20th Dec.
• Digital marketing – 21st Dec.
• Preparing a proper business plan – 27th Dec.
• Pitch perfect – 28th Dec.

Participants will have a tremendous opportunity to improve their knowledge and abilities prior to the preliminary round, and all participants of Pitch it! Win it! are encouraged to attend the workshop series.

Registration Link to enroll yourself for the workshop series: https://tinyurl.com/RACALBS-Jumpstart

Pitch it, win it!

A forum for early-stage businesses and idea wizards to pitch their company ideas to a panel of judges and win cash prizes to help jumpstart their venture. Individuals or teams with an early-stage business venture, or even a business idea, may fall into this category. All ‘Pitch it! win it!’ contestants are expected to attend a series of workshops designed to help them do well in the preliminary round.

Following that, the participants will pitch their businesses at the ‘Pitch it, win it – Preliminary round’ on the 8^th January 2022. Participants are welcome to use Sinhala, Tamil or English according to their preference. A presentation would be followed by a Q&A session with the judges. Participants will be questioned about aspects such as their company idea’s applicability, viability, and return on investment. The teams with the most innovative business concepts will advance to the finals.

In addition, if selected for the finals, each finalist will be allocated a mentor who will help them prepare for the Finale.

The finalists will participate in the ‘Pitch it, win it! – Grand Finale,’ which will take place on the 30^th of January, 2022. Each team will be given tasks to test their skills in strategic thinking, decision making, and many more. The exact procedure of the Finale will be notified after the Preliminary Round.

The winners of ‘Pitch it, win it’, will be decided based on a final score comprised of 50% brought forward from the preliminary round, and the other 50% from the points gained through the grand finale.

The first three places of the ‘Pitch it, win it!’ round, will receive valuable prices to escalate their Business. The winners of this category will be awarded prices worth LKR 100,000, which will include all or some of the following.

• Cash Prices
• Co-working space
• IT solutions
• HR solutions
• Portfolio solutions
• Web hosting
• Mentorship

Registrations for ‘Pitch it, win it’ will be open from the 12^th of December till the 6^th of January 2021.

Registration Link to enroll yourself for the Pitch it! Win it! Round: https://tinyurl.com/RACALBS-Jumpstart

Jumpstart 2021 has joined hands with ICTA – 10,000 Ideas where tech startups will be presented to a special program conducted by the ICTA Sri Lanka where they will get many more valuable opportunities. The tech startups among the finalists of Pitch it! Win it! will be advanced to this program.

Shark Tank

This will be a straight Finale, done in the guise of a networking event, where development stage firms will be able to interact with possible investors from a variety of areas who may be interested in granting them financing in exchange for a return of equity in their businesses. Individuals or teams who own a growing business may be included in this category.

There will be a selection process to participate in this category, and competitors will be requested to present an overview of their start-up on the following criteria after registering.

• Existing revenue generation
• Scalability
• Profitability/impact
• Business Model
• Traction

The certified might pitch their commercial enterprise to the investors, following a few rounds of discussions. The groups may be evaluated grounds including feasibility, boom and return on investment, and the participants stand a risk to receive investments for his or her groups. The members might also benefit from expert recommendations for their commercial enterprise and create long-lasting contacts with buyers. The Shark Tank round will be held on the 23^rd of January 2022.
Registrations for ‘Shark tank’ will be open from the 10^th of January until the 21^st of January 2022.

Jumpstart 2017

Jumpstart 2017 was staged under two categories; the Cooperate Awards and Enterprise Awards. The Corporate Awards category took a similar approach as the ‘Pitch it, win it’ category in 2020, rewarding many valuable prizes for the top three talented entrepreneurs. The first place walked home with,

• Prize of LKR 100,000/=
• Working space at Business Hubs Sri Lanka.
• ICT solution (app or website), entrepreneurship mentoring and a collection of tech tools from Revolution Portfolio.
• Y club membership and networking opportunities from Youth Business Sri Lanka.

The Enterprise Awards category focused on the CIMA foundation level students of Achievers Lanka Business School and took a similar approach as the Board Room Challenge in 2020. Mainly serving as an eye-opener for the students who were just stepping into the business world, the competition awarded certificates for participation as well as the first 3 places.

Jumpstart 2018

Jumpstart was back in 2018, to seek the next best start-up in town! It followed a similar approach as the ‘Pitch it, win it’ round this year. This year, Jumpstart brought in many more exciting prices to the table, for the winners to escalate their Business Journey. The first place was awarded,

• Cash prize of LKR 100000/=
• 1-month free Coworking at any co-working space through Million spaces
• 6 months free Coworking at Business hubs
• ICT solution (app or website), entrepreneurship mentoring and a collection of tech tools from Revolution Portfolio.
• Membership to the Y- club – Premier entrepreneur gathering & mentoring network for the finalists.
• Providing a linkage to Social Media platforms and Marketing opportunities for the winners of JumpStart. (Based on the product feasibility and scale-up opportunity)

Networking opportunities with investors for the winners of Jumpstart

Jumpstart 2019

Jumpstart expanded its limits in the year 2019, catering to Business ideators, early-stage start-ups as well as Businesses in the growth stage. The business ideators and early-stage startups competed in the ‘Pitch it, win it!’. The first four places received many valuable prices with the winners being awarded,

• A professional website developed worth over LKR 100 000 from Dawn Developments, which includes 8 Dynamic Pages, .com Domain, 5 Email accounts along with 5 hosting space, Server Security, Website Backup and maintenance for 2 years and Technical Support of any sort (IT related).
• Discounts up to 75% on Dynamic Website for any number of pages, Static website over 10 pages, Any Domain, Additional Emails (after 5 free emails), Mobile Application, POS System, ERP Systems, Chatbot, Dashboard with data analytics, HR System, Help Desk System and Consultation startup support for the website from Dawn Developments.
• Co-working space of 6 months from Collaborate Co-working
• 30 hours of Mentorship from StartupX Foundry
• An article in the ‘Chokolaate’ Magazine

The Shark Tank round focused on Business in the growth stage, and took the same approach as it will this year. It opened the floor for the competitors to connect with reputed investors in the country in various fields.

Jumpstart 2020

Jumpstart 2020 banged stronger than ever with a different platform of conducting all the rounds and the finals.

Finalists from the Pitch it! Win it! round was offered prizes worth LKR 50,000 consisting of 20 hours of mentoring from Startup X Foundry and Discounts up to 30% on IT solutions from Shopbox.

The 1^st runner-up was awarded 40 hours of mentoring from Startup X Foundry, 75 hours of Coworking space from Hub9 Coworking, Legal Consultation worth of LKR 25,000 from E-Law Chambers and Discounts up to 30% on IT solutions from Shopbox.

The winner was awarded 50 hours of mentoring from Startup X Foundry, 150 hours of coworking space from Hub9 Coworking, Legal consultation worth LKR 25,000 from E-Law Chambers and a professional website worth LKR 60,000 with IT support from Shopbox.

The SHARK TANK round comprised of, the growth stage startups which got the opportunity to connect with potential investors. The investors evaluated their business ideas upon presentation, based on areas such as feasibility, growth and return on investment. Investments were offered based on the above criteria along with expert advice.

After the completion of four successful editions, JumpStart has proven time and time again that it is the ideal platform to Jumpstart your business journey. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity and the rewards the team has in-store, to make your business dream a success.

Unfold your business plan, Implement strategies and Revolutionize the corporate world, with Jumpstart 2021!

It was a lovely and glamorous Saturday morning on 13^th of February 2021. All the 19 participants of “Deja Vu”, an outbound training program organized by the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School at Che Adventure park-Hanwella were super excited to get the day started.

Around 12.00noon Rtr. Theekshana picked me and Rtr. Sandithi, who was the chair of the project to pick up necessities for the games that were organized and also some snacks and drinks for the participants. We then picked up Rtr. Akila and Rtr. Lakshan on the way and finally headed to Che Adventure Park. We were the first to reach there so that Rtr. Sandithi could sort out some last-minute accommodation concerns that had risen. The rest of the club members, Rtr. Hasitha, Rtr. Mark, Rtr. Niflaz, Rtr. Rishad, Rtr. Kalani, Rtr. Ruwin, Rtr, Zara and Rtr, Raeesa were picked up by Rtr. Nadun and Rtr. Daksith and they reached Che adventure park around 3.30pm. After being greeted by a very refreshing welcome drink, we were settled in our tents by the officials at Che. We received two tents, each having 8 rather comfortable double beds, two washrooms and two shower cubicles.

After Rtr. Thisura, Rtr. Suwithi, Rtr. Hiru and Rtr. Asel arrived at around 4.30pm, the project officially kicked off. We divided ourselves into two teams and played cricket on the playground at Che until dusk came and we couldn’t even see the ball anymore. We decided to return to our tents to freshen up before dinner. But when we arrived at our tents, we were disappointed to find out that the electricity was cut off. Until that was restored, we played some songs in a JBL and all of us had a dance off.

When the electricity finally got restored everyone freshened up and gathered in front of our tents for the bonfire. After around half an hour of struggle to set it up, we had a gorgeous blazing fire, and everyone was mingling around it. Until the dinner was ready, we sang songs while sitting around the fire.

We then had a delicious dinner of egg fried rice, BBQ chicken, BBQ sausage, garlic bread, fried fish and a dessert of fresh fruits. We spent some more time talking and singing songs around the bonfire and then while some of the team went to bed early the rest of us stayed up playing Uno up until around 12am. I wish I could be all like “what happens in Hanwella, stays in Hanwella”, but I guess everyone has to know about how Hiru broke a bed at Che after coming and flopping onto it, sitting around and listening to Zara’s horror encounter and how Hasitha slept with a night mask of toothpaste. We then spent hours sharing stories with each other. We all know that 2am talks are what hits the deepest, so it was certainly a wonderful opportunity to get to know everyone better. Some of us who had severe insomnia and had nothing much to do then went for a drive at around 4.30 in the morning while the rest who were drowsy and tired went to sleep.

Everybody was up and about by 7 am, freshening up and having their morning tea that the Che team brought up to our tent. We then sat in front of the tent and spent some time talking to each other while the organizing committee sorted out the day’s activities. We went to breakfast at around 8 am. After heartily devouring the delicious spread of local breakfast varieties that the team at Che served us, we spent some time taking pictures while the organizers set everything up for the day’s activities.

The first was archery. A team member from Che instructed the participants on how to take an aim and also how to position the bow and arrow. Once everyone got the chance to shoot three arrows each the instructor moved onto speak about the riffle and how to maneuver it. Everyone got the chance of loading the gun thrice and shooting. After that everyone proceeded onto some games that the organizing committee had arranged.

The first was Hospital tag which focused on getting everyone to move. The second was human tangle where everybody had someone’s handheld and everyone had to untangle themselves without releasing their hand. The last game was one where 50 balls were collected in a pile in the middle of the ground and everyone was divided into two teams and they could only take one ball at a time and the team with the most number of balls won. Then a massive water balloon fight took place which was actually very refreshing since it was quite a hot day. All the games were very entertaining and made everybody bond better.

Since the checkout time was fast approaching, we didn’t get a chance to dip into the beautiful river. Therefore, all of us made plans to check out from Che Adventure park and head over to Rtr. Akila’s place. After a little airborne stunt that Theekshana pulled off which Sandithi claims to be a NDE, we arrived at Akila’s around 1pm.

All of us spent about an hour tucking into the mouth-watering takeout from a Chinese restaurant we grabbed on the way. Then we went and dove into the pool and spent about three hours of quality time there, playing games like piggy in the middle and just simply relaxing in the pool. The most exciting project yet in my Rotaract life thus ended with us heading home at around 6pm.

Written by: Rtr. Anjula Perera

Edited by: Rtr. Lakshan Banneheke

I joined Achievers Lanka Business School as soon as I was done with my A/Ls to pursue ACCA and after a month I was introduced to our exuberant club. When I initially joined Achievers to study ACCA, as everything was virtual, I didn’t know anyone at all and I didn’t have any friends to even ask for notes which I missed. Going from always being in school with friends around and doing adventures all around the school to having virtual classes from morning to evening and not knowing anyone and only having my screen as my friend was a disaster. I hope everyone could relate to this to some extent.

I would say joining Rotaract Achievers was one of the best decisions I made as that added spice to my disastrous online classes and made me more productive, energetic, enthusiastic and it kept me excited.

The first project that we were able to take part in was food voyeur which was similar to a culinary competition which was done virtually, which gave all of us an interest in culinary arts. From the time we joined the club, our club always gave as an opportunity to be the better version of ourselves while spreading positivity.

There on we were introduced to the rotation program where all the newbies of the club were rotated to all the avenues of the club, which gave us insights of all the avenues. I was first rotated to the Club Service avenue initially and I was amused with the fun filled activities of the club. This actually kick started my journey as a newbie since starting from an avenue like club service made me more enthusiastic and more excited. The first project I chaired was How dare you, which was a truth or dare game that we played among our fellow Rotaractors within the club to get to know each other, which led to everyone making new friends. My co-chair of this project was the first friend whom I got to know from our club (trust me unexpected friendships are the best!!!).

Thereafter I was rotated to the International Service Avenue where I chaired the project “Infusion” where we exchanged traditional food recipes with the Rotaract club De Beyrouth in Lebanon and attempted to prepare it. This time we had an opportunity to do this project physically where we all got together and made Falafel (recipe sent from the Rotaract club De Beyrouth). This project made us all learn a new recipe while having fun. Following the project Infusion, we had Karaoke night which was also a newbie project and which was the first project that featured all the club members to meet each other.

The final avenue that I was rotated to was Professional Development where I chaired the project “Hope” which was a workshop conducted to create awareness on depression and how to deal with the people with depression. This was a very impactful project that I believe will have a lasting impact on those who attended.

We were only able to rotate thrice due to the time constraint, yet it gave all of us a vast knowledge and an idea on what Rotaract is and more insights into our club. As we were able to chair projects, we were able to learn and write reports as well and got an exposure on how to handle projects within the club. The newbie rotation program gave me an opportunity to write reports for all 3 avenues which I was rotated to and it was then, that I learnt about writing reports for projects.

I was never a fan of editing and content writing. But this rotation program helped me develop my editing and content writing skills too.

The newbie rotation program benefited all of us in several ways. Especially this program was very helpful to improve my people skills. I have mentioned the benefits I gained from it throughout my blog.

Initially when I joined the club I had no idea on how exuberant it would be as all of us knew that we might not be able to do physical projects and everything is going to be virtual which will not be much interactive. But at the end I was ecstatic to see how most of our projects were carried successfully on virtual platforms, while we were also able to enjoy, have fun, learn and gain insights from them.

This rotation program played a vital role when applying for the Board of Directors as I had a firsthand experience and being in some of the avenues helped me to decide what fits me the best (I felt like Club Service/International Service suits me more) and I was able to gain knowledge on how each avenue works. I applied for Club Service and International Service as my primary and secondary avenues respectively and I got the opportunity to be the Club Service Directress of the Rotaract club of Achievers Lanka Business School for the year 2021/2022 and I am so excited to organize and chair more fun filled projects.

I would like to conclude by thanking the board 2020/2021 for coming up with this wonderful approach which involved all of us in our club projects which motivated us to be an active member and also for encouraging, motivating all of us to always be a part of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School.

Written by: Rtr.Sashmittha Manickam Kumar

Edited by: Rtr. Lakshan Banneheke

Being a spur for budding Sri Lankan Entrepreneurs to Initiate their Ideas, Elevate their Journey and Triumph in the field of Business, the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School presents, Jumpstart 2020. 

With the threat posed to the Sri Lankan economy by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sri Lankan business owners and startup founders have been in need of an extra push to continue their day-to-day operations. From the valuable guidance and mentorship it offers, to being a platform that can validate their business ideas and find investments for their businesses, Jumpstart 2020 has been a tremendous boost for all participating startups. 

JUMPSTART is the signature Professional Development initiative of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School, which took place for the 4^th consecutive year in 2020. It was staged under two categories, namely the Pitch it! Win it! category and the Shark Tank category. Pitch it! Win it! was a platform for early stage business startups, or business ideators to pitch their business idea before a panel of judges, and stand a chance to win valuable prizes worth LKR 200,000. On the other hand, the Shark Tank round opened an incredible opportunity for businesses in the growth stage, where they were brought to the same table with renowned investors in the country in numerous fields. They were given the opportunity to present their businesses to the investors and stand a chance to win investments for a return of equity in their businesses. Jumpstart also comprised of a valuable Series of Workshops, conducted with the aim of improving the entrepreneurial skills of not only its participants but also the general public. 

Despite having to conduct the whole competition on a virtual platform due to the prevailing health care regulations in the country, we humbly believe Jumpstart 2020 equally served its purpose in the quality of competition it offered to its participants, as well as the experience and exposure it gave to all upcoming entrepreneurs. 

Jumpstart 2020 kicked start on the 7th of November 2020 with the first workshop of its workshop series, Pitch Perfect. Conducted by Mr. Biman Liyanage, CEO & Founder of CirQ Technologies, the workshop addressed on how to effectively pitch one’s business idea. He introduced many important techniques such as the elevator pitch, and the 3-to-5-minute pitch, and also guided the audience on how to prepare a sound business plan.

Following this, the preliminary round of Pitch It! Win It! took place on the 21st of November 2020, with 28 teams pitching their unique business ideas. The Esteemed Panel of Judges consisted of Mr. Aloka Gunasekara, Mr. Milinda Thilakaratne and Mr. Zowfir Zaheed. Having had the opportunity to witness all the pitches, it was a pleasure to watch the participants engage in not only a heated competition but also genuine teamwork, where each participant spoke about their idea with extreme passion.

Five talented finalists with the most outstanding pitches were chosen to compete for the ultimate award at the Grand Finale!

Jumpstart 2020 would not have been possible if not for our wonderful partners. We are extremely grateful for our partners, namely, 

• CIMA Sri Lanka- Bronze Partner
• Venture Frontier- Knowledge Partner
• Shirtworks- Gift Partner
• PwC- Advisory Partner
• E-Law Chambers – Legal Consultation Partner
• Hub9 coworking- Co-working space partner
• StartupX Foundry – Mentoring Partner
• Myshopbox – IT solutions partner
• Chokolate – Media Partner
• Thuru – Reforestation Partner

The five finalists of the Pitch It! Win It! category were assisted and overlooked for two weeks leading up to the finals by industry experts from our advisory partner PwC, to help them perform effectively at the finals. 

The remaining workshops took place during the last two weeks of November. Mr. Kavinda Dasanayaka conducted the workshop on Finance and Bookkeeping while the workshop on Marketing and Sales was conducted by Mr. Ahmed Irfan. Next was the Fundraising workshop conducted by Mr. Kishan Nadarajah followed by the final workshop of the series on Legal Aspect of startups conducted by Mr. Revan Weerasinghe. 

The Grand Finale of Jumpstart 2020 consisted of the Pitch It! Win It! Finale and the Shark Tank round. The 6th of December was a day much eagerly anticipated not only by the participants of the Pitch It! Win It! and Shark Tank but also by the organizing committee. The Pitch it! Win it! finalists pitched their business ideas once again before the esteemed panel of judges which comprised of Mrs. Nevindaree Premaratne, Mr. Enosh Praveen and Mr. Zowfir Zaheed. Following this, the finalists were given a realistic business scenario customized to their business and industry to be solved within an hour, where they had to present the built strategies and solutions to the judges and audience. 

While the heated Finals of Pitch it! Win it! was brewing, Shark Tank was simultaneously taking place with 13 well established Growth Stage startups. They presented their businesses to the sharks, who were prepared to offer investments for the startups they deemed worthy. 

The closing ceremony of Jumpstart 2020 started off with the address of the chief guest, Mr. Dulith Herath who himself had been very impressed after listening to some of the pitches that had taken place. He inspired the audience as he spoke about how he too had started from rock bottom and built Kapruka and Java Lounge into what it is today. 

Team ‘Plutous’ topped the list in this year’s event and went on to be crowned champions of jumpstart 2020, securing prizes worth more than LKR 200,000 inclusive of coworking from Hub9 Coworking, mentoring from StartupX Foundry, legal consultation from E-Law chambers and IT solutions from Shopbox LK. Team Flash came on to take the spot of runners up and received prizes worth LKR 100,000. The remaining finalists also won valuable prizes worth LKR 50,000.

The Award Ceremony of Jumpstart 2020 was held on the 2nd of January 2021 at Hub9 CoWorking Spaces, Colombo 8, where all Finalists were invited and handed over their awards and certificates. After knowing each other from a months long virtual project, it felt wonderful to finally meet our contestants face to face and have a chat. It was agreed by everyone that having to conduct Jumpstart 2020 virtually was truely an experience to remember for both participants and organizers alike. 

The project’s success owed to not one or a few, but to our entire club. Each and every member did their utmost to make sure this project lived up to its potential. A very big thank you to our wonderful club, our generous sponsors and to our eager participants.

Thank you for making Jumpstart 2020 tougher, bigger and better!

Written by: Rtr. Sandithi Jagoda

Edited by: Rtr. Kalani Siriwardena

About an hour after dawn on the 7^th of September 2020, a group of young, energetic Rotaractors boarded a bus to reach Ingiriya, which was the planned location for the second phase of the Project Cut the Greed, Not the Green. Having reached our destination by 8.00 am, we at once realized the change in surrounding both physically and mentally. We were surrounded with so much greenery which was not a part of our everyday lives, since we all lived in highly urbanized areas. The rain had given the flora and fauna that occupied the area a proper awakening. It was such a mesmerizing view with the sun peeking through the leaves of the nearby trees, and the noises made by birds and other animals, resulting in a perfect morning. 

In addition to our group of Rotaractors we were accompanied by a team from the organization Reforest Sri Lanka, a group of students from St. John’s School Panadura, the working staff of a nearby Water Board, the senior officer of a nearby Police station and a few more enthusiastic individuals. 

The samplings were to be planted at the bank of the Kalu Ganga, in Ingiriya. As we stepped into the wooded pathway that led there, we immediately realized that the leeches had already emerged due to the rain, and this was naturally something none of us liked. A slight drizzle continued, but it was no turn around for us as we were nothing but focused on reaching the goal of planting the 400 samplings that we had planned for the day. 

Once all the samplings were unloaded from a lorry, we split into 2 groups which consisted of a good mix of Rotaractos from our club and other volunteers. One group headed to the nearby river bank with mammoties and trowels, while the other got onto a fully loaded boat that took them to a more densely forested areas of the river bank one could not reach by foot. 

The group that went by foot immediately began to plant the samplings near the river bank. The place was smaller than we expected, so after completing planting on the bank, we looked for another spot where we could plant the rest. The kind villager helped us with finding the perfect place for the job; a grove a little away from the river. She took us through a paddy field where we had to walk over a long canal boundary to avoid the mud water on both sides and we crossed several small water streams to reach the destination. Thereafter, we successfully planted all the saplings we had.

The group which took the boar ride had quite an experience as the surrounding scenery looked exceptionally calm and beautiful, and we felt the cold wind and water droplets hitting us as we proceeded towards our location on the boat. The time on the boat enabled the team to interact with each other, which added to the good time we were already having. Our voices and laughter were second only to the sound of the boat engine. 

Apart from experiencing leech bites, slips, mud patches and scratches, we also stumbled across some illegally brewed liquor and were able to witness its disposal in the hands of the local police officers having had the chance to know how the brewing is actually done. 

A few hours passed and with almost all the samplings bedded on the side of the river bank and we decided to call it a day and head back to reunite with the others. We had quite a rough time trying to load the boat back onto a lorry on a muddy and slippery surface and it required a lot of manpower and teamwork.

By the time the boat was loaded we were even more exhausted and that was when the rains started pouring again and everyone scurried for cover depriving us of our long awaited lunch. Reforest Sri Lanka provided us and the other volunteers with lunch packets and the kind lady who helped us to find the grove earlier prepared tea for the entire crew. It was amazing to to enjoy the delicious meal while laughing about the epic moments happened throughout the day, and watching the rain outside.

They say all good things must come to an end, and likewise we had to wrap up an adventurous, productive and fun-filled day. The team of Rotaractors gathered to say goodbye and thank everyone who were a part of the project. 

While walking down the road to catch a bus home we laughed and talked about the experiences we had that day,  and within a time span of two hours we were able to carry our tired selves back home with a lot of satisfaction and memories to cherish, looking forward to the next phase of Cut the Greed, not the Green.

Written by: Rtr. Priyan Jerome

Edited by: Rtr. Kalani Siriwardena

Have you ever had a business idea that could change the world? Ever had a dream plan which you couldn’t yet execute due to shortage of capital, lack of expertise, or fear of being under the spotlight? Have you been looking for an opportunity to gear your journey? Then, Jumpstart is the platform for you!

JUMPSTART, the signature Professional Development project of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School, was initiated with the aim of creating opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to Jumpstart their business journey, as well as students of Achievers Lanka Business School to have their first taste of the business world. Since its inception in the year 2017, Jumpstart has come about in many exiting twists, opening numerous opportunities for its participants, leading to impactful changes in their professional lives.

Here’s all you need to know about Jumpstart 2020!

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Taking the theme ‘INITIATE. ELEVATE. TRIUMPH’, Jumpstart 2020 would be staged under the following three categories.

• Pitch it, Win it
• Shark Tank
• Board Room Challenge

*Due to the prevailing situation in the country, Jumpstart 2020 will be conducted completely online via the platform ‘Zoom’, up until the finales of each category. In the case of team participation, participants may join from one location or separate locations.

The decision of holding the finales physically would be made closer to the date, based on the health care regulations of the country. If the situations do not permit, the finales would be conducted virtually, similar to the previous rounds.

GAME PLAN

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Pitch it, win it!

A platform for idea wizards and early stage startups to pitch their business idea before a panel of judges, and win valuable prices to Jumpstart their business journey. Participants of this category may be individuals or teams having an early stage business startup, or merely a business idea in mind.

As the first step of this category, a workshop‘Pitch perfect’ open to the public would be conducted on the 7^th of November 2020. It will focus on how to pitch a business idea soundly, and prepare a business plan. All participants of ‘Pitch it, win it’ are expected to participate for this workshop, which would guide them towards performing effectively in the preliminary round.

Following this, the participants will pitch their business at the ‘Pitch it, win it – Preliminary round’ which will be held on the 22^nd of November 2020. This would comprise of a presentation followed by a Q&A session with the judges. Participants will be questioned on the application, feasibility, and the return on investment of their business idea. The teams with the four most outstanding business ideas, will be qualified for the finals.

As part of the ‘Pitch it, win it!’ category, a series of workshops open to the public will be conducted from the 23^rd to the 29^th of November 2020. They would be conducted by the judges and industry experts, and will mainly address the topics, 

• Finance and book keeping
• Marketing and sales
• Fundraising
• Legal Aspects and Business registration

This will be a valuable opportunity for the finalists to enhance their knowledge and skills prior to facing the finals, and all finalists are recommended to participate for the workshop series.

In addition, upon getting select for the finals, all finalists would be assigned a mentor who would guide them towards preparing for the finals. .

The selected finalists will compete in the ‘Pitch it, win it! – Finale’, which will be held on the 6^th of December 2020. They would be given an unseen business scenario prepared by the judges, customized to their business and industry. Each team would be given one hour to build strategies and present a solution which would reflect their skills in quick thinking and decision making.

The winners of ‘Pitch it, win it’, will be decided based on a final score comprised with 50% brought forward from the preliminary round, and the other 50% from the points gained through the grand finale.

The first three places of the ‘Pitch it, win it!’ round, will receive valuable prices to escalate their Business. The winners of this category will be awarded prices worth LKR 100,000, which will include all or some of the following.

• Cash Prices
• Co-working space
• IT solutions
• HR solutions
• Portfolio solutions
• Web hosting
• Mentor-ship

The participants of the ‘Pitch it, win it’ category have the opportunity to compete for an additional prize by submitting a thorough Business Plan about their start up. The required structure of the business plan will be sent to all participants of ‘Pitch it, win it’, upon registration, and submissions will be taken in until the 21st of November 2020. Competing for this award will be optional, and the points earned from it will not affect the ‘Pitch it, win it’ scores of the participants.

Registrations for ‘Pitch it,win it’ will be open until the 20th of November 2020.

Shark Tank

This will be a straight Finale, conducted in the form of a networking event, where the stage is open for growth stage startups to connect with potential investors from numerous fields of Business, who may be interested in offering them investments for a return of equity in their Businesses.. Participants of the category maybe individuals or teams, owning a business in the growth stage.

There will be a selection in order to take part for this category, and upon registration the participants will be asked to submit and overview of their start-up on the following points,

• Existing revenue generation
• Scalability
• Profitability/impact
• Business Model
• Traction

The qualified would pitch their business to the investors, following some rounds of discussions. The businesses will be evaluated on grounds such as feasibility, growth and return on investment, and the participants stand a chance to receive investments for their Businesses. The participants may also gain expert advice for their business, and create long lasting contacts with investors. The Shark Tank round will be held on the 6^th of December 2020.

Registrations for ‘Shark tank’ will be open until the 2nd of December 2020.

Board Room Challenge

An opportunity exclusively for the CIMA and ACCA students of Achievers Lanka Business School, to explore the Business world as well as gain experience to face their case study examinations at the higher stages of their courses.

The students would be divided into groups, and each group would be given a company to review. The students are expected to do a research on important aspects of the company, such as operations and finance, and present it before a panel of judges, along with a detailed report. The winners of this category will be presented with Certificates. The Board Room Challenge will be held on the 22^nd of November 2020.

OUR SUCCESS STORIES

Jumpstart 2017

Jumpstart 2017 was staged under two categories; the Cooperate Awards and Enterprise Awards. The Corporate Awards category took a similar approach as the ‘Pitch it, win it’ category in 2020, rewarding many valuable prices for the top three talented entrepreneurs. The first place walked home with,

• Prize of LKR 100,000/=
• Working space at Business Hubs Sri Lanka.
• ICT solution (app or website), entrepreneurship mentoring and a collection of tech-tools from Revolution Portfolio.
• Y club membership and networking opportunities from Youth Business Sri Lanka.

The Enterprise Awards category focused on the CIMA foundation level students of Achievers Lanka Business School, and took a similar approach as the Board Room Challenge in 2020. Mainly serving as an eye opener for the students who were just stepping into the Business world, the competition awarded certificates for participation as well as the first 3 places.

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Jumpstart 2018

Jumpstart was back in 2018, to seek the next best start-up in town! It followed a similar approach as the ‘Pitch it, win it’ round this year. This year, Jumpstart brought in many  more exciting prices to the table, for the winners to escalate their Business Journey. The first place was awarded,

• Rs.100,000/- Cash prize
• 1-month free Co working at any co working space through Million spaces
• 6 months free Co working at Business hubs
• ICT solution (app or website), entrepreneurship mentoring and a collection of tech-tools from Revolution Portfolio.
• Membership to the Y- club – Premier entrepreneur gathering & mentoring network for the finalists.
• Providing a linkage to Social Media platforms and Marketing opportunities for the winners of JumpStart. (Based on the product feasibility and scale up opportunity)
• Networking opportunities with investors for the winners of Jumpstart

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Jumpstart 2019

Jumpstart expanded its limits in the year 2019, catering for Business ideators, early stage start-ups as well as Businesses in the growth stage. The business ideators and early stage startups competed in the ‘Pitch it, win it!’, similar to that of 2020. The first four places received many valuable prices with the winners being awarded,

• A professional website developed worth over LKR 100 000 from Dawn Developments, which includes 8 Dynamic Pages, .com Domain, 5 Email accounts along with 5 hosting space, Server Security, Website Backup and maintenance for 2 years and Technical Support of any sort (IT related).
• Discounts up to 75% on Dynamic Website for any number of pages, Static website over 10 pages, Any Domain, Additional Emails (after 5 free emails), Mobile Application, POS System, ERP Systems, Chat Bot, Dashboard with data analytics, HR System, Help Desk System and Consultation start up support for the website from Dawn Developments.
• Co-working space of 6 months from Collaborate Co-working
• 30 hours of Mentorship from StartupX Foundry
• An article in the ‘Chokolaate’ Magazine

The Shark Tank round focused on Business in the growth stage, and took the same approach as it will this year. It opened the floor for the competitors to connect with reputed investors in the country in various fields.

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After the completion of three successful editions, JumpStart has proven time and time again that it is the ideal platform to Jumpstart your business journey. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity and the rewards in store, to make your business dream a success.

Initiate your idea, Elevate your journey and Triumph in the field of Business, with Jumpstart 2020!

Rtr. Kalani Siriwardena

An eye-opening tour, an inspiring workshop and to top it all, a fun evening on the beach to cap the day. The 19th of September is definitely a day the Rotaractors of Achievers Lanka Business School, look back to in nostalgia. “Skill Up” was a venture consisting of a tour into the well renowned charity organization “Foundation of Goodness” in Seenigama along with a workshop “Art of the Deal”, discussing project Management and the art of effectively approaching sponsors, conducted by Mr. Kushil Gunasekara, founder of “Foundation of Goodness”.  

“Foundation of Goodness”, is a voluntary Social Service Organization, focused on building a holistic rural community development model, focusing on 10 empowerment divisions including Rural Welfare, Children and Youth Empowerment, Women Empowerment and Business and Enterprise, in a wide range of areas. They hold the mission, “To empower the less privileged rural communities whilst inculcating the spirit of goodness, so that they may have equal opportunities to excel in life.”

The journey started off with a one hour’s journey to Seenigama, a small coastal town bordering Hikkaduwa. We reached the “Foundation of Goodness” premises by 8.45 a.m and were greeted graciously by none other than Mr. Kushil Gunasekara, himself. To briefly introduce who Mr. Kushil, he is a former manager for the legendary cricketer, Muttiah Muralitharan, businessman and a proud Rotary Past President. His great dedication to charity and volunteering is well renowned across the globe and has lauded him the support of global icons such as Sir Ian Botham and Bryan Adams to name a few. 

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At our arrival, Mr. Kushil provided a lengthy but inspiring introduction of the organization, all the way from its humble beginnings, the story of how it was brought to the ground by the mighty strength of the 2004 tsunami, and how despite all the odds, the organization rose back up stronger than ever. He explained his initial motive to embark on this mission, where he saw the large gap between the Colombo educated, privileged individuals like himself while the people of his village Seenigama, though very talented, smart and committed, unable to enjoy the same privileges due to the lack of opportunity and underdevelopment in the area. This bore his conscious heavy and prompted him to begin this campaign to better the lives of the people of his hometown.

The entrance was glamorized with different pictures, banners and different snippets depicting donations and achievements each telling a unique story of its own and each backing up that introduction provided. The profound impact that FOG has provided not only to the people of Seenigama but also to citizens all across different corners of this island was made aware through each of these different displays.

Following this introduction, we were provided a tour of the premises where we were shown the preschool, play area, computer rooms and the technical training rooms.

The organization has offered a multitude of courses in order to enhance the skills of the people ranging from Programming, GIT, Technical training (NVQ), Cookery and Bakery, hairdressing and many more. These courses had proven a lot of success over the years with multiple success stories of students gaining meaningful employment across different fields in various multinational organizations. Many of these individuals have had sorrowful back stories as they’ve been rendered orphaned and homeless due to the 2004 tsunami, but despite these odds, they’ve strived hard and achieved successful careers. We watched as the classes were conducted in meticulous manner with students young as their 20s up to students in their 50’s, mainly those whom were housewives who wish to learn a trade to create new forms of income for their households.

We then wandered across the other sections of the foundation such as the crafts store which displayed a variety of creative, environmental handcrafts which were up for sale for those interested. This was right next to the FOG library which had a variety of donated books from donors across the world. This was also adjoining a “Good Thoughts Room” which was pioneered by Mr. Kushil in order to instill peace upon a troubled mind and to invoke motivational thoughts for the students of FOG.

The room that had got everyone’s attention was the cricket room which consisted of signed cricket memorabilia from multiple global cricketing stars including signed jerseys, game bowls and bats, signed pictures from global cricketing icons; Sir Ian Botham, Nasser Hussain, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and many more. This felt like a holy place of worship for our cricket crazed Rotaractors who enjoyed the opportunity immensely!

Up next we had the “Art of the Deal” workshop conducted by Mr. Kushil Gunasekara himself. During this workshop, Mr. Kushil spoke about his extensive experience in Rotary, both as a club treasurer and as a president. Understanding that his core principles were not aligned with those of the Rotary movement in Sri Lanka back in the day, he became disillusioned with the concept and went on to embark on this journey of his own. Here he explained how he built donor trust in his foundation and how he made this foundation started by himself, into one of the most successful charity foundations in the country to date. This he achieved through making the best use of every donation he received, making sure that its impact was truly felt not only by its recipients but also his donors. The many life lessons and tips he explained based on his years as a Rotarian and in his NGO career were of immense value for our Rotaractors and truly inspired us too, to reach beyond.

The skills development program carried out by the foundation has not only been limited to the fields of academic, soft skills and vocational training, but has also taken great strides in the field of sports. As an avid sportsman himself, Mr. Kushil identified the importance of sports and the great potential of the children in Seenigama. We got the chance to see the great strides the foundation has made in this field where they’ve built two well maintained cricketing grounds along with a 20 feet swimming pool complex. The immense effort taken to maintain the cricketing turf took all of us by surprise as we’ve never seen a ground so well maintained in our lives and this was clearly well reflective of the quality standards the Foundation of Goodness has maintained.

The Swimming Pool complex namely the “Bryan Adams Swimming Pool Complex” was one donated by the iconic Canadian guitarist and singer Bryan Adams who was so impressed by the foundation’s work, that he not only provided a grant to build the complex, but also funded its maintenance for an entire year. The results of all these collective efforts of the foundation and its donors has borne fruit with the multitudes of national level sportsmen/sportswomen this initiative has trained and created for the country. 

We capped off this very eventful day with a relaxing and fun evening in the Hikkaduwa beach where everyone got a chance to unwind before heading back home.

Reflecting back on this memorable day, it truly gave inspiration to what great acts of kindness we as human beings are capable of achieving if we put our heart and soul to it and its profound impacts to those who receive it. To quote Mr. Kushil Gunasekara himself “It’s not about doing great things, but doing little things with great love”, and I truly believe that even the small bit of kindness can make all the difference in the world.

Written by: Rtr. Asel Gunaratne

Edited by: Rtr. Kalani Siriwardena