Several months ago, a group of young people looked at the concept of Quintessence.
Quintessence- the most perfect of its type. What these people- the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School (ALBS)- wanted was to make life for a certain group of people the most perfect of its type. And from this point, Quintessence appeared to be the perfect name for their project.
The impact of Quintessence- a concert which brings together Battery, Doctor, Nemesis, The Castaways, When in June and SAM- will be to make a change in the lives of the students of the School for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana.
The concert will take place on February 24 at the Bishops College Auditorium from 7 30 m onwards. The proceeds from Quintessence will be channeled towards the purpose of donating new tables and chairs to be used by the students of the school.
In its brief history of two years, the Rotaract Club of ALBS has completed several such projects under its belt. Quintessence holds a special place among these because of what it hopes to achieve. The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana is one of two such institutions in the country, and we understood that there is a need for basic amenities such as tables and chairs in the classrooms.
Struck by the fact that while they would attend lectures in the comfort of well equipped lecture halls, a large group of children faced the problem of not having sufficient tables and chairs to work at, the Club sprang to action.
“Not everyone has the luxury of learning the way we do,” comments Chanuka Piyasiri, the Director of Club Service for the ALBS Rotaract Club. It is for this reason that we decided that we had to at least make a start in changing their lives. We wouldn’t be able to make a drastic change simply with this one project but taking the first step is what is important.”
This is what the Rotaract movement is all about for the members of ALBS’ Rotaract Club: the change that is achievable when a group of people pools its talents and decides the best possible way to use them. The belief that despite the challenges which would arise, there is always something that one group of individuals can doto help another.
The young performers who have pledged their support for this project are equally keyed up by the prospect of singing for a cause. “There’s no better way to perform,” declares Reihan Stephen of Castaways. “We get to do what we love the most, as well as make others smile,” continues, adding that the group is excited to be performing an interesting line up of songs (which he mysteriously refuses to divulge), and one of Sri Lanka’s few female bass guitar players.
The audience of Colombo will no doubt be familiar with a group whose entrances are made with the sounds of ambulances and the sight of figures clad in white doctors’ coats. For the group Doctor, singing for a cause is nothing new. “It is still very special to all of us ,” comments Lanthra Perera, adding that “somehow performing takes on a whole new meaning when it is done for a worthy cause.”
Tickets for Quintessence priced at Rs. 700 will be available at the Achievers Campus, Bambalapitiya and the Achievers Lanka Business school in Kohuwela. |
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