Living up to the theme has always been our drive and this year being true to its words, the Club has proven more than ever that the unity within the Club has been visible in all projects it has so far undertaken. “Unite to Ignite” is our theme and we managed to show just that in the recent project we undertook, the making of our video for V-Connect, a project organized by the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo Faculty of Management and Finance (RCUOCFMF) with the objective of connecting and bringing together Rotaractors worldwide by way of recognizing the immense services provided by the Rotaract and Rotary to the world.
The project consisted of a video challenge in which competitors had to brief about the services provided by their club and Rotary International over the past 100 years. It was done by the International Services Avenue of RCUOCFMF and open invitations were sent to clubs in order to participate. Being the IT directors of Rotaract Achievers, Rtr. Anushan and I were instantly intrigued and excited about this as it appeared to be a fun and interesting project which would be enjoyable for all those taking part. Kudos should be given to RCUOCFMF for coming up with this very innovative and creative idea where we connected worldwide and got the opportunity to understand about Rotary, our own club and strengthened our bonds even more both within the club and outside.
Instructions and guidelines were very simple and we had to make a video consisting of the following four sections being – Introduction to the club, services the club has rendered to the society, services Rotary has rendered to the society and the motivation to join Rotary after serving as a Rotaractor. One team was to consist of four members and as the persons in charge of the task from our Club, we decided to include Rtr.Mar’yam and Rtr.Rimzan as the other two members of our team and we were set to take on the challenge!
For me and Rtr.Anushan this was a new experience and I think we both embraced the change very well as it contradicted our usual handling with physical resources to a more sensitized handling and coordinating with human resources. It was also a good opportunity for us to connect with our senior members who did not hesitate for a second in deciding to help us out. We had everything we needed; the material, the guidance and some of the best, most creative people who were quick to help. There was no chance to even consider the possibility of making a video that lacked in any area and knowing this, Rtr. Anushan and I set on to work with the sole aim of winning the competition.
As the team consisted of four members and the task consisted of four sections, it was convenient to divide the work between us.
My task was to give an introduction to our Club and after discussing with PP.Rtr. Sandaru, I decided to contact IPP.Rtr. Aaqeel to compile a script. I do not regret that decision after reading the script Rtr. Aaqeel (who has a very sound knowledge about the Club) provided me with, I was convinced there would have been no one else from the Club who could have done better. To my surprise, his introduction also consisted of the services our club rendered to the society so it was more convenient for our team. What remained was the task of getting members to speak for each of the topics and Rtr. Devindini, Rtr. Manu and I gave a description about our Club, the development we instill on ourselves and the projects we have undertaken.
For the services we have rendered as a Club, Rtr. Anushan spoke as he took the responsibility of compiling a series of small video clips which were fused with audio records, provided by Rtr. Devindini and Rtr. Shalutha. I should give special thanks to Rtr. Thushani (Past Secretary), for directing us to all the video/written content and records that were collected over the years, which made it a whole lot simpler for us.
For me the best part of making this video was the guidance I got from Rtr. Sandaru who gave me a very important lesson, and that’s that an IT director does not simply deal with machines and finish work but also has the very important job of coordinating. This is something I think we can all take note of not just as an avenue director but at our workplaces, homes and just about anywhere because we deal with people on a day to day basis. He also explained how the video should flow, pointed out our mistakes and helped us redirect ourselves on the right path and this is why I find it reasonable to name Rtr. Sandaru as the official chairperson for our adventure with V-Connect.
I am confident that the video turned out the way it did because of the foundation that was laid down by the seniors, by providing the instructions on how to do it, the confidence needed, the “on point” script and necessary material. Building and constructing a beautiful, meaningful video would have been done anyhow but I believe it would not have lasted without that foundation. I think it also gave the important message about how rather than doing things alone, it is much better if we ask for a bit of help from our seniors as they are always around to give just that.
Rtr. Mariam herself prepared a script for the services done by the Rotary International and Rotary District Sri Lanka, which was again very well prepared; it highlighted the effort Rotary had taken to eradicate Polio from the world, the project was undertaken to plant one million trees in Sri Lanka by Rotary District and the hearing aid project which cost approximately a hundred million rupees. Her script was then divided between Rtr. Sadushi, Rtr. Samina, Rtr. Insiya and Rtr. Laila who took it into their stride to be as active and creative as they can be.
Rtr. Rimzan who was in charge of the fourth topic being the motivation to join Rotary after serving as a Rotaractor, divided his task between Rtr.Rangesh and Rtr. Maneesha who went on to emphasize on the simple fact of how you simply cannot leave family behind and how that reason alone will motivate them to join Rotary.
Rtr. Anushan then compiled and edited the four-minute video and made it more informative and precise. All the special effects, sound effects, titles, captions, and subtitles are the works of his magic which surely made our video much more competitive among the others. Let’s not forget how he took the preliminary steps to make the team, register and of course encourage everyone to complete their due tasks before the deadline.
In my opinion by doing this project not only did I learn a valuable lesson but all those who participated, improved their team working skills, leadership qualities and inculcated in themselves a lot of professional skills. I hope all our budding speakers got the confidence they needed to speak in public anywhere without hesitating and learned how to present themselves and get their ideas across.
Even if we had not won, it was a project worth doing because of the very reasons but guess what? We ended up becoming the winners! And I am proudly and very humbly saying it would not have been possible if not for the energy and performance which all of us as a team put in.
As I quote our President Rtr.Maneesha, “Seeing the effort that was invested it was obvious we would secure a win. Together, we can do wonders.” it is evident how collectively we made our Club shine. There is surely no height we cannot reach. Here is hoping of chairing another project such as this so we once again say we won and make our Club and theme proud!
Enjoy watching the video!
– Rtr. Kamesha Samaranayake(Co-Chairperson of V-Connect/ Co- IT Director (2016-2017))
(Co-Chairperson of V-Connect/ Co- IT Director (2016-2017))
Editor
RACALBS