Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

To make the world a better place
By N.Dilshath Banu
Change the world- do you like that idea? You may think that to change the world is an impossible task. How can one person change the rest by simple means? And more than that, changing the attitude of everyone is a huge task. But there is a way, you could participate in change and change the attitude of people.

It’s simple – you just need to be a member of a delegation that is hoping to make a change which can be done through volunteering at a club, which could enhance your capacity to reach out to people.

Volunteering provides us the opportunity with a real-life learning experience, encouraging social integration and offering opportunity to show solidarity with other people.

It’ll not only make you feel better about yourself, it’ll also make you more appealing to college, universities and future employers.“We all learn from mistakes. But when you are in the corporate world, you cannot afford to make huge mistakes, as it’ll cost a lot. Sometimes, you may even be ridiculed as a result of your mistake. But when you are with us, you are given the chance to learn from mistakes and you will not be ridiculed by them, as we all understand that we are in the same family,” said Leo Leyon Aponso, the Director of Leo Club of Colombo Millennium.

The Leo movement, which was initiated way back in 1957, is considered the youth project of Lions Club International. Its motto encompasses Leadership, Experi-ence and Opportunity for development and contribution, individually and collectively, as responsible members of the local, national, and international community.

The Leo movement of Sri Lanka dates back to 1968. The Leos in Sri Lanka are divided into three Districts- Leo District A, Leo District B and C. The very first Leo Club was inaugurated as the Leo Club of Wattala (at present, in District 306 B).

Next, was Leo Club of Colombo (Host), which is the oldest Club in the Leo District 306A. In fact, the Leo Club of Colombo is the longest standing Leo Club in Sri Lanka at present.

The Leo Club of Colombo Millennium, which started in June 2003, is one of the clubs of Leo District 306 A. It covers Colombo, Polgasowita, Mettegoda, Piliyandala, Horana, Dehiwela, Mt.Lavinia, Moratuwa, Panadura, Wadduwa, Aluthgama and Galle. Comprising 25 Leo Clubs and more than 500 Leos, it includes Leo Clubs at Prince of Wales’ College, Moratuwa and the University of Moratuwa. For the past two years, the Club has initiated a variety of projects ranging from child care, health care, sports, environment, leadership programmes and many more.

“We are covering four criteria, one is community work, membership, fund raising and promotion and publicity,” says Ranga de Silva, the present President of the Leo Club of Colombo Millennium, adding, “and for a year, we do around 60 to 70 projects and around seven projects per month. We are credited as an active club by our Multiple District President, Leo Shehan Kumar.

“When members speak to us about their interest in joining the Leo Club, we give them the opportunity to work with us for some time and we’ll take this opportunity to examine whether the particular volunteer could spend adequate time in the club activities.”

Says Leo Ranga, on the membership procedure, “Usually, we contribute to our projects during the weekends. We understand that not everyone has time constraints. As the membership range in between 14-28, some of the older members would have to attend to their work and other matters. We arrange a flexible time framework for those who cannot contribute to all the projects. This will make it possible for them to attend to their work while not preventing them from participating in the projects. We respect the balanced attitude to life.”

Leo Ranga says that the people coming in to the club should have the will to contribute towards the club actives. “The hard thing is to involve people; but the hardest is to keep them. We really work as a team and I would like to see that my members are active. It’s just not the membership, but their participation that counts. The main idea of the club is to get young people from the different walks of life to get together and work toward a common goal to serve the community”

“In a club, where you meet different young people and need coordination, you will surely need lot of negotiating skills to do projects. All members will have to listen to the others and seek to identify the other person’s view. This will enable us to develop lots of skills, which will lead to self-development” he says.

Leo Ranga recalls that the Leo Club of Colombo Millennium had actively participated in many tsunami-relief programmes, in collaboration with Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC).

Being part of Leo Club of Millennium, you’ll experience the chance of not only being a member of an active volunteer club, but also develop your self. If you are interested in committing your time, energy and enthusiasm to work as a volunteer, you can contact Leo Ranga on 0777796151.

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