Manudam Wiyamana

The UCSC Rotaract club arranged a charitable event in the form of a lunch packet gift on August 28, 2023, marking the beginning of the "Manudam Wiyamana" project. Event information was disseminated via social media platforms as well as interpersonal communication among members and interested individuals.

The deliberate choice of Monday as the donation day allowed for the active participation of many students who had returned home for the weekend, allowing them to give more lunch packets brimming with delightful and carefully prepared homemade meals filled with care. To authenticate the donations, we used a Google form, and to our surprise, the number of rice packets exceeded our initial estimate, resulting in an accumulation of roughly 113 rice packets.

Strict hygiene measures were followed during the packaging of all rice packets, which were then transported to three different sites utilising three different vehicles around lunchtime.

·      The location near Colombo General Hospital was chosen with care because it is a heavily populated neighbourhood visited by deserving folks facing problems, including those seeking handmade meals after seeing their loved ones in the hospital. The facility also serves industrious security personnel and hospital employees who must obtain their meals on their own during lunch hours. Gratitude is extended to the traffic police near the hospital for their cooperation in facilitating convenient parking and smoothly overseeing the project with a friendly demeanor.

·      Borella and Punchi Borella, both densely populated localities, were chosen as additional distribution places to serve grateful clients in need of wholesome cooked food.

·       We identified street cleaners and additional individuals who expressed gratitude for a complimentary dinner in the vicinity of Torrington Square

Thus, the initial phase was successfully executed with minimal expenditure, primarily attributed to the generosity of benevolent donors and the dedicated efforts of the industrious members of the Rotaract Club of UCSC.

The second phase of the project was similarly implemented adhering to the established safety protocols. We successfully garnered more than ninety lunch packets through the generosity of compassionate individuals. The distribution of these lunch packets took place in the vicinity of Dematoagoda and Borella Ridgeway hospitals, where we encountered appreciative and deserving individuals who received the meals with genuine enthusiasm.

In conclusion, the dual phases of our endeavor stand as a testament to the remarkable impact that collective compassion and concerted efforts can have on our community. The success of these initiatives reflects the unwavering commitment of both our benevolent donors and the industrious members of the Rotaract Club of UCSC, demonstrating the transformative power of kindness in creating positive change. As we reflect on the joyous moments shared with those we aimed to uplift, we look forward to future opportunities to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need.