Interact impressions

Angu Rajendran

Listening to nineteen year old Dinuka Sumitraarachchi presenting the hopes and aspirations of young Interactors(the youth arm of Rotary) at the Rotary conference that was held recently, is indeed re-assuring. There is so much hope for our country and for Rotary. Sumitraarachchi, with his calm, endearing voice and sincerity and organization of thought and ideas in his absolutely dazzling presentation was easily one of the best speakers in a conference that had many outstanding presentations by the likes of Merrill J Fernando with his Dilmah story and Harsha De Silva with his economic perspective of Sri Lanka’s future and so many other eminent personalities.

Head of the youngest group

Sumitraarachchi is Sri Lanka’s Rotary District’s youngest leader. He is the District Interact Representative, meaning that he heads the youngest group of Rotary – the school children. He was introduced to Interact simply by following in his older brother’s footsteps at Ananda College.

‘Interact is something big for us at Ananda’ says Sumitraarachchi. The club with its myriad community service projects, helps its members as young as 14 or 15 years old, in grade eight, feel useful and needed in society. Helps them to help others and become less selfish and more responsible.

Organized community service for youth, is indeed the answer to the many uprisings that have become fairly common globally. Youth with their abundant energy, and plentiful time, get guidance and support, for their ideas of service to the community from the Rotary Clubs or District Rotarians in charge of them. With constant attention from responsible adults, young Interactors, take up responsibility and learn organizational skills and most of all get a fantastic exposure to life itself while gaining hundreds of friends from all over the world who are involved in similar activities.

‘The best part of school life is Interact,’says Sumitraarachchi who has been unanimously chosen to lead the over 4500 Interactors from 105 active clubs in the country from Jaffna to Galle for the year 2011/2012. All the life skills that we need, we learn in Interact,’ adds the District Interact Representative.

The constant thriving to organize themselves better, to serve the community and networking at their get togethers, via sports festivals or just club installations, gives a taste of adulthood to young school children. To Sumitraarachchi and his friends, Interact means many late nights of planning, many meetings with the committee members,transparency via accurate treasurers’ report from all Interact clubs that are audited and of course euphoria at the end of well-executed events.

Understanding the community project

Sumitraarachchi joined the Interact club in his school, with his friends, attracted by their annual community project – the health camp. There he learnt that dealing with club members meant patience, understanding of other points of view and most of all tolerance. At the health camps itself, he has learnt that for any activity to be carried out smoothly and to work efficiently, the co-operation and support of many many people is needed. He set out to be the glue that held them all together.

‘With Interact there is no division. There is only friendship and a helping hand. That is what helps us feel like a team. The unity and spirit of belonging to a fantastic organization makes each and every one of us feel very special. There is no competition to whichever school you belong to, there is only friendship, ‘ says Sumitraarachchi. ‘We are respected by our peers and we learn self-esteem and most of all we learn selflessness. When we go out on our projects to serve the community we are able to understand how blessed we are,' says Sumitraarachchi in all sincerity. Whether it is painting a wall in an orphanage or a Christmas party in an old people’s home or a health camp that is annually run by his school, Sumitraarachchi feels he and his band of Interactors are there to serve the country and thus bring about a better life for the unfortunate in whatever small way that they can.

Sumitraarachchi has been guided through his year of District leadership, mostly by the Rotarian in charge of Youth for the Rotary District,Ananda De Silva. “At the start, I was simply felicitating clubs at their installation ceremonies, but uncle Ananda told me that I will have to give a speech at every installation. That was very very hard at first but then I learnt how to do it.’ With almost fifty speeches in sixty days, all of them to motivate, to inspire and hold together his band of peers, Sumitraarachchi has indeed become the expert at presenting Interact or even himself.

‘But I have a long way to go,’ he says modestly.'I am so inspired by the Rotary District Governor Gihan Siribaddene, who himself is so organized and most of all by the Rotary International President Nominee Ron Burton from United States of America (USA) who spoke at the conference. He was so inspiring. He spoke about Interact as Rotary’s future. He spoke with so much passion that he made all of us Interactors feel very special. Now we are rearing to go into the future and give our best to our communities in the true spirit of humanity.’