Page 1Leos of Lanka

Leos of LankaThe Official Newsletter of Leo Multiple District 306 Sri Lanka

Second Issue - April 2014

Page 2Leos of Lanka

“Follow Your Dream” Leo Walk 2013Leo Walk 2013 “Follow Your Dreams” was a massive success. Despite of the rainy conditions, Leos of Sri Lanka marched forward under one theme on 15th December with a record breaking participation from all over the country from Trincomalee and from Jaffna as well. Many Lion Leaders

including MCC Lion Padmasiri Ranawakarachchi and MDCL Lion Anver Dole walked with Leos from the start to the end of the Walk which was a great encouragement to Leos of Sri Lanka.

Leo Aquatics 2014Annual Swimming Meet

Leo Aquatics 2014 is the annual swimming championship which is open for all the Leo Club members was held on 05th of April, 2014 from 9am onward at D.S.Senanayaka College premises. Leo Clubs of Unawatuna Diamond Stars, Horana Metro, Polgasowita, Wattala, Colombo Plaza, Wickramasinghepura, Thalangama Golden City, D.S.Senanayaka College and St.Thomes College joined their hands in organizing Leo Aquatics 2014.

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International President Meets Leos of Sri Lanka

Prestigious event “International President Meets Leos of Sri Lanka” was held with lots of glamour on 13th December at Department of National Archives auditorium, Colombo. It was truly a colorful event organized showcasing the elements of Sri Lankan culture. International President Barry J. Palmer, Past International President Lion Mahendra Amarasuriya impressed seeing the enthusiasm and good work of Leos of Sri Lanka. Over 380 Leos were presented from all over the island on the occasion.

Message from Multiple District President

Time is moving fast, we are approaching towards the successful end of another Leoistic year. Every Leoistic year finally leaves lots of satisfaction and memories of our good work.

The months we have passed so far in 2013/2014 had been a busy period for Multiple 306. It was challenging for all of us. Making a difference in our society, archiving difficult goals, Sri Lankan Leo Family is brightly shining everyday with leadership in every level.

The enthusiastic, vibrant six Leo District Presidents who is in charge of six Leo Districts have been the key success of Leo Multiple this year, I can say without any doubt. We took risks in doing things differently breaking the usual routings which allowed fellow Leos to think out of the box.

We Hope you all will enjoy the good read and continue the good work in the rest of the few months.

Leo Buddhika Lakmal, Leo Multiple District President 2013/2014

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Message by Multiple District Leo Chairperson

Leo Olympics 2014“Strive for Excellence”

Partnered with Sri Lanka Youth, Leo Olympics 2014 was held on 16th March 2014 at Sri Lanka Youth grounds, Maharagama. It was very exciting to see the massive crowd of participants with high enthusiasm in cheering their fellow Leos. The decorations for each District house added lots of colors to Olympics.

All the District Presidents put lots efforts into this annual sports meet for Leos of Sri Lanka displaying inter-district synergy. MCC Lion

Padmasiri Ranawakarachchi MJF, MDCL Lion Anver Dole MJF, IPDP Leo Dhanuska Ramanayake, Chairman of Sri Lanka Youth, all District Governors, Vice District Governors, PDGs, PMDPs, DCLs, PDPs, Leo Club Advisers, parents and other guests who were present on the occasion to encourage Leos.

After tough competition Leo District 306 A2 was able to secure the championship at Leo Olympics 2014.

The Leos of Sri Lanka continue to amaze me! Some of them have extraordinary skills which have been honed over the years through exposure to Leoism. In the recent past I have witnessed the development of strong bonding, not only within a District, but also among the six District Presidents, which then flows to the respective Districts.

The Leos have developed signature projects like the Leo Multiple Walk and the Leo Olympics, which generate much excitement and enthusiasm among all Leos.

There is no doubt that the Leos of Sri Lanka can hold their own with the best in the world. PCC Lion Anver Dole MJF, MD Leo Chairperson

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Leo Multiple Receives Top Ten Leo Club Extension Award

Together We ServeMultiple 306 Service Day

For the first time in the history “Leo Multiple 306 Service Day “was organized by Leo Multiple District 306 in order to celebrate World Service day on 6th of April. All the Leo Clubs in Sri Lanka were in-vited to organize service projects in a single day island wide. The service day was a massive success with lot of impact and created good awareness on Leo Clubs within the local society.

#mdserviceday #2014

For the Leoistic year 2012/2013 Leo Multiple District Awarded 2 Top Ten Leo Club Extension Award Lapel Pins in recognition of highest net growth of New Leo Clubs in Leo District 306 A2 & Leo District 306 C1. We congratulate Leo Dhanushka Ramanayake, PCC Lion Anver Dole MJF, Lion Widyakeerthi Dissanayake, Lion Dickson Jayasinghe, Leo Isuru Senadheera & Leo Shaminda Livera & their teams for the job well done.

Leos of Horana Midcity conducted ‘Athwela’ project for the students of Batuwita P.M.Perera Vidyalaya & Manana Gnanarathana Vidyalaya. Leos supported the schools for their sport meets by providing gifts to students who won sports events. Students were also given with other items needed for their academics.

“Athwela”A Service Project by Leo Club of Horana Midcity

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Up to date they have successfully completed 13 projects and 4 fund raisers. Our inaugural project for the Leostic Year 2013/14 was Arunella held at Padukka Weragala Sri Ganawimala Primary School. It was conducted in collaboration with the Lions Club of Colombo Mid City and YBA and consisted of more than 16 community service projects, which included medical clinics, an eye clinic, legal services, planted a plot of herbals at a school, which benefitted more than 700 people largely. Next was Sahajeewana, which was a collection of 4 projects created around the theme ‘Harmony among all religions’. The 1st phase of this was a “Mal Dansala” distributing more than thousand five hundred flowers at Sri Alan Mathiniyarama temple, Kirulopone. Following this they conducted yet another successful project, a blood donation, at the Sri Yamuna Sadhaham Ashramaya – Kirulapona. Thereafter they conducted our 1st educational service project, nana sarana, at the MatharaWauwa Central College in Devundara Mathara. They donated books, bags, shoes and socks to the students of this school. Our next project was an Aloka Pooja at the Bellanvilla temple.

After a lot of hard work and many sleepless nights on the 27th of October 2013 the 2nd Annual Installation Ceremony of the Leo club of Colombo Knights took place at the Colombo City Hotel. The Chief Guest at this event was District Governor Lion Lasantha Perera MJF / JP, and Guest of Honor, District President leo Jayangi Pathiranage. There were more than a 100 participants at this event, which ended with dinner

and a DJ which everyone enjoyed throughout the night. Clean the Shore was the next project for which they cleaned up the Mount Lavinia Beach. On the World Aids Day, 1st of December took place our project ‘Take the Lead and Share the Love’ taking the lead to make our society aware of this topic that is hardly discussed in our country.

Our next project was Caring hands, where they took the mothers from Charles Ranasinghe Elder’s home to visit the Kelaniya Temple. They ended this with dinner for our mothers. Our next project “Abe Dhane” was brought to life with the aim of saving a cow and its baby taken to be slaughtered. Thereafter took place the project Hope in collaboration with the YBA for which they not only donated goods but also spent time with the kids at Camilla school, singing and dancing with them. On the new years eve they had a Parthana Pooja at Udahamulla,lighting more seven fifty oil lamps. They commenced the new year with the phase 2 of the Sahajeewana project. Here they spent the evening with the lovely kids at the Salvation army in Dehiwala. After few hours of fun they served dinner and said our goodbyes. They have carried out four fund raising projects so far. Printing and selling of car stickers, selling of club t shirts, selling pens for Sahajeewana and distributing tills for “Abe Dhanat” be returned once full.

Spotlight on a Leo ClubLeo Club of Colombo Knights

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“Happy School Time”Service Project by Leo Club of Wattala Classic

With great pleasure as at the beginning of second quarter, Leo Club of Wattala Classic has continued their service for the betterment of the society.

A project of donating school children goods under the guidance of project chairperson Leo Sheromi Dayawansa on 29th of November 2013 at Kalpitiya – Uchchamune Island Government School was successfully done. To 24 number of beneficiaries, stationary items, playing items, day to day needs, medicine and sweets were distributed. Participation of 5 club Leos, 8 visiting Leos, 2 Lions and a Council Officer made this day more meaningful.

Combination of 3 strong Leo Clubs during a time period of 5 hours helped 80 poor children who are liv-ing in an island. Donation of a gas cooker, a water filter, a Dham board, bats and balls, badminton rack-ets, lunch boxes, water cups, stationeries, sweets, World and Sri-Lankan maps and a first aid box will help them to feel that they are not neglected, even though they are in a remote area.

Learn to LeadLeadership Workshop

Leadership Development Programme for school prefects of Godauda Maha Vidyalaya , conducted by the Leo Club of University of Moraruwa took place at Godauda Maha Vidyala premises on 21st of March 2013. 32 school prefects participated in the programme.The objectives of the project were to Enhance prefects’ leadership skills, Give away the knowledge of Leos to the society, Develop talents of prefects, Develop creative skills of prefects and as a social responsibility of Leos.

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Leo Club of Unawatuna Diamond Stars started this year with lot of hunger to serve the community. They got great team with lot of spirit and skills. They backed up each other in each and every moment. They were a one

big happy family. When looking back to the past they can see how successful they are. Each and every member

gave 100% with their abilities to get great outcome. Final result is they managed to

finish 18 projects successfully within 6 months. Dengue Prevention Cam-

paign , Arunalu Painting Competition , Apatath Puluwani Concert , HIV Awareness Campaign [ Twinning Project ] were mass projects among them. They become champions in

Leo Mastermind Quiz Competition and Photo Contest which organised by

Leo District 306A1. They are looking for-

Half Way through the Journey

“Make A Wish”Leo Club of Salapura City

The children wishes are so innocent but there is true happiness when we grant what they wish for it might be the time they have a smile in their faces after being diagnosed with having a terminal illness. It’s hard for those who are not in their shoes to imagine. These children and their families are suffering substantial emotional and often financial hardship. Leos believe that it is social responsibility of the citizens of Sri Lanka to develop a better care package for these very Sick Children and their vulnerable families.

So Leos of Salapura City started a project called “Make a wish” everyone have a dream you, me and these kids too. People like us have more time to make our dreams reality, but these kids don’t have such time because no one can tell what is their time to leave this world. Leos help them to make their dream come true. They will be happy even for a day because of Leos.

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A Chat with a Leader

What motivated you to venture into Leoism?

I had no intention of becoming a Leo when I visited the home of Mr. Cyril Wickramaratne who happened to be a Lion. I was a Sales person selling websites. I asked him about Lionism in the hope of creating a rapport with him to get my business. He thought I was really interested in becoming a Leo and phoned up a Leo immediately. The rest as they say is History!

What were the challenges that you faced as a Leader of Leo Multuple District?

When we were junior Leos we didn’t even know what the Multiple was since it was inactive. PMDP Manjula Wijesundera and I decided to change this. My main challenge was to create an interest in the Multiple District through innovative ideas. Thus, the Leo Walk and the Leo Sportsmeet came in to life. Another big challenge was the fact that the LTTE Tigers controlled some of the areas of Sri Lanka and no Multiple President had officially visited all corners of the island due to these issues.

How did you overcome those challenges?

I always think out of the box. I was very transparent in everything I did. No politics. Just empowering the Leos to come out with their level best. I had a plan, and worked towards achieving that and more. As the famous song goes “What I want is What I got!”

What are your values in Leoism?

I always wanted to be remembered as a Leo who always stood up for the right thing. Awards and recognition are temporary. If you work hard and smart, awards will anyway come your way. But more importantly the respect you earn from fellow Leos is what I always believed in.

What is the energy you see in Leoism that should be improved for the betterment with your experience?

Unfortunately I see a lot of bickering among Leos for Awards and points for projects. Did we join this movement for that? The important thing for Leos to remember is the reason why they joined the movement. Also the Leos

should be more innovative. My word, if we had the technology you guys have now we would have done wonders.

How did the experiences from Leoism help you in your studies/career?

I owe almost all my life and professional successes to Leoism. Leoism taught me to come forward and speak fearlessly and today I am a professional speaker and trainer. Leoism taught me proper reporting tactics which enable to me prepare professional project reports and proposals every day.

What is your message to Leoism as a Leo who came a long way as a Leo Leader?

Don’t be discouraged if things do not happen according to plan. Leoism is a learning platform. Make mistakes and correct them before you go in to the world and mess it up and probably lose your job. Also, grab hold of every opportunity that comes your way. Never say No to anything. Because if you do, there will be 10 others who are willing to take that opportunity and succeed.

Past Multiple District PresidentLion Shehan Kumar

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Services by Leo Club of MahabageP.I.P.Mahendra Amarasuriya

“Share the Love”Cancer Hospital Project by Leo Club of Pamunugama

The Leo club of Mahabage P.I.P.Mahendra Amarasuriya, District 306 B1 had the opportunity to lend a helping hand to the children of “Lama Gramaya” on the 14th of September 2013. This orphanage is overseen and conducted by the Good Shepard Convent Sisters. Children who are taken care by this mothers varies from ages of 3 to 17, all children are girls and are well cared for. Most children are orphans and some children with dire family situations are kept here temporarily by the courts. For each child the government pays a sum of Rs.20 per day and the Convent mothers rely on purely donations to take care of these children. The mother superior who was running the orphanage was so kind in bringing us to attention about the most essential products that they needed, which was mostly linen and body soap.

Leos were able to provide the children with items such as soap, milk powder, panadol, biscuits and a sum for a good day meal. As Leos were visiting the orphanage the children were practicing for a concert which was due to be held two weeks from our visit. The sisters prohibits out siders from seeing the children because some of them has on going court cases, but Leos were fortunate to see some 5 year olds practice for concert.

“Share the Love” Cancer Hospital Project in Maharagama (Children’s Ward) was organized in the remembrance of Late President, Leo Nickshan Shaminda. Indeed it was a great moment. There were 162 kids in the Children’s ward, and Leos could give a pack of dry ration to each of them. Leos of Pamunugama hope that it would be a great strength for them; also they had a really nice time with these cute flower buds.

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Leo Club of Wattala donated items to the library of Thalavitiya Siri Saman Vidyalaya, Digogedera, Eheliyagoda, with the support of an International Organization - Tharuna Youth Group (TYG) of the Sinhalese Youth Forum in New South Wales, Australia. This new library facility was opened at the Thalavitiya Siri Saman Vidyalaya, Digogedera, Eheliyagoda on 31/12/13 as planned.

The donation included a multimedia projector, chairs, books, cupboards and the broken tables the school used before had been repaired. The school now can accommodate a full class in the library. Previously two children had been sharing one chair to sit and has had no multimedia facilities to aid teaching. This generous contribution helped the teachers to improve teaching techniques and also, provided a better environment for students to learn. This was mentioned and emphasized by the Principal and Teachers over and over again during the ceremony held to hand over our donations. The overall project cost was Rs. 220,000/-

Improving the Library Facility at Thalavitiya Siri Saman Vidyalaya, Digogedera, EheliyagodaLeo Club of Wattala

Jeewana Yathra 2013Multi-Service Project

Jeewana Yathra 2013’’ is a “Mega Multi Service Project focused on many areas.

It is a responsibility of us to serve needy children whenever they re-quired our service. This is the high time to for it, in a situation where the tragic war lasted more than 3 decades has been over and war affected people seek for a change. We Leos decided to help needy war affected school children to develop their skills and enhance their Knowledge which would be a great service to the society

Around 40 Leos, Lions and Parents were participated for the event. Journey Started on 17th November 2013 at 6.30am by Express Train from Colombo Fort to Killinochchi

Leo Clubs of Godigamuwa, Piliyandala,Madurawela, Polgasowita, University of Moratuwa, Moragahahena, Ingiriya United, Rattana-pitiya and Bandaragama Central jointly organized the event.

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“Vidvaan 2013” Inter School All Island Debate TournamentLeo Club of Mahanama College and Mahanama College Oratory and Debating Society organized VIdvaan 2013 for the 2nd consecutive year. Selecting 32 best debating teams as per covering the whole island we hosted Vidvaan’13 .We were able to create optimum justice for the competitors by first time introducing senior old debaters as the judges of tournament and for the time by introducing 3 trophies for the winners. The last Debate was held by the inaugural guests like Mr. Chamuditha Samarawickrama, invited schools, teachers, parents and by a lot of invitees. Final debate was won by Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo and the runners up were Sri Sumangala College Panadura.

GENEROSITYA project by Leo Club of Kolonnawa

As a great charitable service we have organized to provide a lunch for 220 patients at the National Institute of Mental Hospital as previous years. It was on 26th of January 2014 starting from 10:00am. Leo Club of Kolonnawa decided to give away fried rice with another 4 potions.

Leos of Kolonnawa have engaged in many service projects in the past and they also share a special relationship with the National Institute of Mental Hospital as Leos have provided our services for NIMH since 2003 In this year Leo Anuradha headed the project and all the club members, other clubs and through personnel contacts

people contributed their best to this event.

As the chief guest the multiple president 306 Leo Buddhika Lakmal, and as the guest of honor Leo Sudheera Bandara, district president of 306C1 were participated.

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