Initiated by the Rotaract Club Of the University of Moratuwa - the Handz community project set out to help others in a more sustainable and effective manner.
The main aim of the project was to harvest the knowledge and skills within young students in rural areas who are in need and the Rotaractors involved in the project were mainly interested in being a bridge for rural children.
Handz was implemented in 2008. The first and the second phases of the project took place in Ussanna, a village at the border line of the districts of Anuradhapura and Matale. Undergraduates held seminars for O/L students in subjects such as Mathematics and Science.
Stationery items and sports equipment which were bought by the club funds were also donated to the small children of the primary school who were simply overjoyed with their presents. Counseling sessions and health camps were organised for the villagers. A huge crowd participated in these events including people from the neighbouring villagers as well.
Handz won the award for the best community project last year at the Rotaract District Assembly. This year the seminars held at Polonnaruwa offered a life changing experience for every member of the team as they were able to guide many students towards success.
This time the club chose Polonnaruwa. Their main target was to share knowledge with school children. The project involved the organising of mathematics seminars for children who were attempting exams for the second time. During the seminar model papers prepared by fellow Rotaractors were distributed and discussed at length and problems the students faced were solved as well.
In addition, at the Siri Parakumba Piriven ,the club held an IT workshop for monks at the pirivena who were very keen on learning how to handle new technology. The following day the rotaract crew divided into two teams and interacted with students at Vijitha Maha Vidyalaya and at Hingurakdamana Maha Vidyalaya, in Polonnaruwa. Students in the whole area gathered at these two schools. There were about 700 students from grade 9,10 and 11.
The students were from 14 different schools from around the area. There was a personality development programme and a leadership programme for students of grade 9 and 10.They participated in it with much enthusiasm as it was conducted with various activities.
The Grade 11 students were given the mathematics model paper and it was discussed with the students. Furthermore an IT workshop was conducted for students who chose IT as an O/L subject. Since the students lacked teachers for IT, as well as internet facilities it was a useful seminar. And at the end a series of certificates were distributed among the children who participated.
“I was never aware of anything other than what we saw in our surroundings. But thanks to these aiyala and akkala from UoM we received a lot of knowledge on things we have never seen or heard,” said Pamitha, a student who participated in the seminars. The dedication of the team together with the support of the Zonal Educational Department contributed towards the success of the Handz project.
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