Our program for October 18 - GSE Team from Sri Lanka

Today’s program was from the Rotary Group Study Exchange team from Sri Lanka.  We were first given a greeting in Sinhala, then each of the team members spoke to us.

Sylvester is the Team Leader.  He is the past President of the Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town.  There are 61 clubs in Rotary district 3220.  He works in the field of marketing and has also taught marketing for over 20 years.  He is married and has two children.

Nilumi is 26, and a biotechnologist.  She has a BA in molecular biology from the UK and also a master’s degree.  She works in the area of wound care, specifically Maggot Debridement Therapy, where maggots are actually applied to certain wounds and help them heal.  This is new therapy to them, although it is used in California and elsewhere.

Seshika works in the treasury department of a bank, specifically where funds are invested.  She loves to travel.  She is a professional dancer in Latin American and ballroom dancing.  She also teaches underprivileged children and serves in a program that helps poor street children.

Kanchana is a Chartered Architect and has both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.  She has recently been part of a zero carbon development.  Don’t mess with her:  she is a champion black belt in Karate.  She is also interested in art, writing, theater, music, photography and more.  She is very creative.

Arjuna is a physician.  He worked three years in a hospital before working as a community physician.  Now he works in a field that uses data to predict future health needs in various areas of the country.  He is married and has a five-year-old daughter, whose translated name means “galaxy.”

He thanked Rotary for the gracious hospitality they have experienced during their trip in the U.S.  For all of them, this is a vocational exchange as well as a cultural exchange.

I believe I speak for the entire Club when I say we were very pleased to have this GSE team among us and to hear of their backgrounds.  But we were sorry to hear that Rotary International is dropping the GSE program as it currently exists.

Rocky Ludes