AURORA - VOLUME 05

VOL V | MAY 2021

IS

INTHE ONLY WAY OUT
IS

LEO DISTRICT 306B2

AURORA MAGAZINE 4
8
TABLE OF CONTENTS 10

Betterment of Leoism 14
Transition 2020 18
Jingle Bells 20
Passion into Profession
Humanity into Action
TIERWELT
Senehas wiyamana
Piya Satahan

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Future Expeditions 22
Femina 23
Embrace the Reality 23
24
Green Heart 25
Nature’s Hidden Treasure 27

Editors’ Note
Team Behind

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TRANSITION 2020

“Leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive
plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working
t.ogether.”

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Transition 2020

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The success of any club (or organization) to endow skilled, rewarded, and credible
depends on how much its members feel LEOs to the society to serve and strength-
connected to the core values and vision of en it.
the club. Therefore, with the intention of In order to receive a more efficient and
making the new membership applicants practical outcome from Transition 2020,
for the term 20/21 feel the true values and interesting online game sessions, knowl-
purpose of being a LEO, the Transition edge-sharing spaces and presentations,
2020 was held by the Executive Board, videos, experience-sharing speeches, and
Director Board, and the membership of interactive sessions were conducted. A
the LEO Club of University of Kelaniya descriptive presentation was conducted
on 27th November 2020. by LEO Kasun Balasuriya, President of
Due to the safety protocols imposed be- LEO Club of University of Kelaniya for the
cause of the current pandemic situation, term 20/21 that could give all the partic-
Transition 2020 was held virtually via ipants a thorough understanding of what
Zoom video conferencing platform with is Leoism, who is a LEO, and the impor-
the participation of more than 350 new tance of being a LEO to serve the needs
membership applicants while ensuring of the community that we live in. The
that they understand today’s need of cre- session was followed up by the insightful
ating a group of young individuals who and empowering experience-sharing ses-
are passionate of serving the society with- sion conducted by LEO Pasan Thilakar-
out any conditions. LEO Pasan Thilakar- athne, the past president of LEO District
athne, Past President of LEO District 306 306B2. An online gaming session was
B2 for the term 17/18 distinguished the also conducted during the event and Ni-
event as the Chief Guest. mesh Sasanka, Dileesha Thisara, and Ka-
Transition 2020 consisted of many in- vishi Imaya were awarded as the first, sec-
spiring sessions and interesting activities ond, and third place winners of the online
that allowed the new membership appli- gaming session. Finally, the participants
cants to have a better insight on Leoism. were briefed on the latest updates of the
LEO club is a well-reputed organization LEO Club of University of Kelaniya that
around the world for its unlimited ser- could give the new membership appli-
vice for society and for the well-being of cants a broader perspective on the better-
its people. LEO multiple district 306, Sri ment of Leoism and fellowship.
Lanka is also well recognized for the ef- Transition 2020 was initiated successful-
fective performances and social services ly with the guidance of LEO Navod Du-
with a great number of beneficiaries. This nusinghe, Project Chairman, LEO Upek-
legacy and the reputation are empowered sha Nirangi, Project Secretary, and LEO
by each LEO in every club situated in all Himanshi Siriwardena, Project Treasurer.
6 districts. Therefore, the strength of Leo-
ism is fed by the contribution, attitude,
leadership, motivation, and awareness of
all those LEOs.
Thus, as an LEO club of a reputed state
university in Sri Lanka, LEO club of Uni-
versity of Kelaniya has the responsibility

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Jingle Bells

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of
mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous
in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
Calvin Coolidge
The project “Jingle Bells” is a joint virtual Christmas
project with Lions club of Gampaha Metro which con-
sists of an awareness program and a carol singing ses-
sion. Given the current pandemic situation and safety
guidelines, the Leos and Lions were resilient and crea-
tive enough not to compromise on Christmas celebra-
tions. The awareness sessions were conducted from 15
th to 21 st December and the Carols night was held on
21st of December.

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Further, carols have an interesting history
which dates back to 4th century Rome. Thus
the Leos of University of Kelaniya and Lions
of Gampaha metro were inspired to organize
an awareness program and it was concluded
with a grand carol night to cherish the joyful
spirit of Christmas festival. Since most of the
Leos were Buddhists, the project focused on
sparking interest by posting interesting facts
and enhancing the intercultural and religious
understanding. These information and the
importance of Christmas were communicated
through an English and Sinhala post series on
Facebook and WhatsApp from 15 th to 20 th
December.
Moreover, the project “Jingle Bells” marked its
end on 21st December through the one hour
session which celebrated the joyous spirit of
Christmas. The Carols night included 4 car-
ols ; 2 English carols and 2 sinhala carols, a
live performance by Lion Surangika and her
family and presentations regarding the signifi-
cance of Christmas was done by Leo Chamodi
Dhanajani and Leo Rashmi Ranasinghe.
In conclusion, the project was concluded suc-
cessfully with more than 170 participants on
Carols day and over 1000 views for the poster
series. The project chairwomen, Leo Hiruni
Nimthara and Leo Hiruni Madhubashi-
ni along with the Leo family of university of
Kelaniya and Lions family of Gampaha Metro
gained more than 100 wishes proving the suc-
cess of the attempts taken to improve the bond
between the Leos and Lions and celebrate
Christmas amidst an unprecedented time.

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GAIA
KODITHUWAKKU

Could you tell us how you got into this field of
work?

Life brought me here. I Didn’t plan it or strategize to cre-
ate this business. It basically created itself through me.
I turned to training as a coping mechanism when I was
going through suicidal depression. and as years went by,
it became my number one passion. So I documented my
journey in social media and that in return became my
current platform. Along the way, I got qualified, Start-
ed competing in international physique competitions,
and started coaching women from Sri Lanka and from
all over the world. I’ve been doing this for nearly eight
years now, and the nature of my personality is not to force
things to happen. I believe in going with the natural flow
of things. And that flow brought me here.

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How would you define passion?

Passion is a physiological response to the energy you
create within yourself when you are connected to
things that brings you ultimate joy. Fitness has been
my vehicle to serve others and to heal myself. But my
passion is to stay committed to my spiritual evolu-
tion & through my being-ness inspire others to do
the same.

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Is there a person or a situation that inspired
you to join the field of fitness?

The desperation to get out of depression forced me
into training. I wanted to stop wanting to kill my-
self. I wanted to live and for once feel good within
my own being. And training gave me that.

How would you advise someone who is
struggling to capitalize on their passion?

Stop trying to capitalize it. Take away the expecta-
tions and do it because of how it makes you feel.
When you commit to each moment without ex-
pectations, and when you do it for the pure love of
it, the universe will conspire to align people, places,
and situations to manifest the greatest outcome for
you.

Have you faced any challenges on your
journey of becoming successful?

I have faced challenges In every aspect of my life
from childhood to the recent past. Without chal-
lenges and adversity, you stay stagnant. The road-
blocks force you to grow, evolve, and transcend
whatever it is that holds you back. I have experi-
enced sexual abuse, violence, loss, poverty, and
chronic mental instability. And all of that has
shaped me into who I am. I am grateful for each
and every painful moment.

What are your thoughts on destructive crit-
icisms? Are there any such situations that
you have faced and how have you handled
them?

I face criticism often. In the past and in the cur-
rent times. It is just how it is. There will always be
someone who will be triggered by your truth and
who you are. And these things help you become
stronger energetically. Whenever it happens to me
instead of pointing fingers at them, I observe my
1 o2wn emotions. I make it an opportunity for me to

VOL V | MAY 2021 ISSUE

test my spiritual maturity. I do not respond, instead
I observe my own emotions. When you shine the
light of awareness into any emotional situation,
the awareness itself dissipates the negativity and
the discomfort. I’m not bothered about them, I am
only interested in my own response. And for me,
that is going in/ inner exploration.

What do you think one needs to do to turn
one’s passion into profession?

Follow your highest excitement. Do what brings
you joy every day. And when you do this consis-
tently over time, it will take you where you need
to go.

What is your final advice for the youth out
there?

Take it easy on yourself. Don’t let the pressure of
society kill your spirit. You don’t have to fit into
one template of success and achievement to create
an incredible life. Commit to your happiness and
wellbeing. Commit to your spiritual alignment.
Spend time in silence and stillness. Pray. meditate.
When you focus on coming into alignment from
the inside, your physical reality will automatically
fall into place.

Any quote you prefer that refers to turning
one’s passion into profession.

It’s an idea, not really a quote but I stand by this.
We are human BEINGS. Not human DOINGS.
We are so obsessed with being busy and DOING
things to achieve and create success that we have
gotten uncomfortable with being still. When we
master the art of BEING, life will bring you every-
thing you need gracefully without effort. You no
longer need to hustle or grind. We can by being
in our alignment and sovereignty create our dream
life effortlessly.

What is one quote that you live your life by?

The only way OUT Is IN. 13

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“If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me.
Because humans want to save things that they love.”

Steve Irwin

TIERWELT

Tierwelt 2020 is a photography and art competition organized on behalf of the ‘World Animal Day’ to
raise awareness regarding animal conservation. This project created a space for upcoming talents in the
art and photography field who are also wildlife enthusiasts, to showcase their skills and to contribute to
a worthy cause.
The competition was initiated from 4th of October ( World animal welfare day ) to 23rd of October 2020.
Given the current pandemic situation the competition was organized virtually. However, over 60 entries
were judged by a veteran panel of lecturers of University of Kelaniya to select the winners for ‘best pho-
tographs and arts’. The ‘most popular photograph and art’ were selected through an online voting round.
The certificates were distributed to all the winners through registered post as an appreciation of their
talents.

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1ST PLACE
EMAL GIMHANA

2ND PLACE
DILSHANI SILVA

3RD PLACE
DANUSHKA DISSANAYAKE

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1ST PLACE 2ND PLACE
VIHANGA SENANAYAKE
TUVINI NETHSARA

3RD PLACE
MAHEN KANISHKA

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Furthermore, humans and animals have an intrinsic bond which assists the longevity of
Earth. With urbanization and industrialization, destruction of natural habitats, hunting
and poaching, environmental pollution has increased and it has negatively impacted the
lives of animals. Art forms have always been a very powerful tool to communicate import-
ant messages. Thus, the competition was used as a means of communicating the impor-
tance of protecting wildlife and especially the endangered species.
In a nutshell, the project Tierwelt was a huge success which was able to encourage the
community to preserve wildlife for the future generations and to ensure the longevity of
the natural world through an art and photography competition. It was done under the
guidance of the project chairwoman Leo Hirushi Nawanjana , project secretary Leo Up-
eksha Nirangi, project treasurer Leo Vinuri Nisansa and with the support of the amazing
Leo family of university of Kelaniya.

SAJINI PIUMA RUSIRU NIMSARA
MOST POPULAR ART MOST POPULAR PHOTOGRAPH

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SENEHAS

WIYAMANA

Identifying the timely requirement of taking care of
the senior citizens of the country and strengthening
the children who are considered as the greatest as-
set of a country, the two days service project of Sene-
has Wiyamana was launched in parallel to the annual
Christmas celebrations. The project was initiated on the
25th and 26th of December 2020 at the Mayura Chil-
dren’s and Elders’ Home Mathugama, with the active
engagement of the Leos of University of Kelaniya who
never hesitate to serve the society and leave a positive
impact even amidst the pandemic.
The project Senehas Wiyamana was conducted with the
utmost intention of improving the lifestyle of 35 senior
citizens from the ages of 57 and 82, and 15 children with
down syndrome between the ages of 7 and 18. Many
impactful activities were carried out between the two
days of the project that not only fulfilled the physical
requirements of the dwellers of Mayura Children’s and
Elders’ Home but also brought them inner happiness
and fulfilment. In addition, by engaging in such a valua-
ble and impactful community development project, the
LEOs were also able to uplift their personal leadership
skills while achieving inner happiness.
Furthermore, the LEOs of University of Kelaniya could
identify and provide solutions for many problems that
the Mayura Children’s and Elders’ Home faced. Lack of
dry rations to fulfill their daily needs, lack of medicines
and sanitary items and lack of financial and human sup-
port to keep the surroundings of the Home clean were
among the major problems. Therefore, through the tre-
mendous efforts and commitment of the LEOs, the en-
tire Home was cleaned, and the walls were painted.

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In addition, some renovation activities were also carried
out by the LEO members. Next, required monetary support
from the community was also received for this project, es-
pecially to provide the senior citizens and elders with the
dry rations, medicine, sanitary items, and plastic prod-
ucts that they require. The alms-giving program was also
a value addition for the project Senehas Wiyaman since
the senior citizens enjoyed very much the herbal porridge
and ‘kitul jaggery’ that was distributed. On the last day of
the project, a musical programme was also held where the
senior citizens, children and LEO club members enjoyed
alike and shared the warm greetings and true happiness
derived through the season of blessings: Christmas.
In conclusion, project Senehas Wiyaman was a great suc-
cess and through this project, the members of the LEO
club of University of Kelaniya were able to create a posi-
tive impact on society by uplifting the quality of life of a
group of senior citizens and differently-abled children. In
addition, it must also be mentioned that this timely initia-
tive was coordinated and guided by LEO Upeksha Nirangi,
Project Chairman, LEO Ishini Sithumini, Project Secre-
tary, and LEO Himanshi Siriwardena, project Treasurer of
the project Senehas Wiyaman.

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PIYA “Never give up! One day we would love to say that we
SATAHAN used to have diabetes”.

Celebrating World Diabetes Day, which is held
on 14th November of every year, the LEO Club of
University of Kelaniya organized a social media
campaign to spread awareness on diabetes and di-
abetes prevention, especially among the younger
generation.
Diabetes mellitus, which was once considered a
disease of the developed world, has currently be-
come a worldwide issue, with two-thirds of the
global diabetic population living in developing
countries. By 2025, Southeast Asia is expected to
be the region with the highest number of diabetes
patients in the world. According to 1998 WHO es-
timations and projections on diabetes prevalence
of its member countries for the years 1995, 2000,
and 2025, the estimated and projected figures for
Sri Lanka were 2.5%, 2.6%, and 3.5%, respective-
ly. According to the data from recently published
studies, Sri Lanka is among the countries with the
highest diabetes prevalence rates in the world. Ac-
cording to the statistics, there should be 2.8 mil-
lion adults with diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka at
present and a significant proportion of this may
yet be undiagnosed. Furthermore, Sri Lankan
studies revealed that one in five adults has either
diabetes or a pre-diabetes condition. In addition,
Diabetes mellitus is increasingly diagnosed among
young adults worldwide. Scientists at King’s Col-
lege London and the National Diabetes Center
of Sri Lanka have found evidence of a high num-
ber of risk factors for type -2 diabetes among the
young urban population in Sri Lanka. Moreover,
studies show that children and young people can
also develop diabetes for various reasons and the
number of youngsters getting diagnosed with dia-

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PIYA SATAHAN

betes is increasing annually. With the current busy insightful topics were discussed such as “Can’t we
schedules, young people are at a higher risk of de- cure diabetes?”, “How can we detect diabetes be-
veloping diabetes due to various reasons such as forehand?”, “Effective ways to control diabetes”,
skipping meals, tending to eat junk food, and not “How food can control our blood sugar level?”,
having time to exercise. “What kind of complications can be detected due
Diabetes cannot be cured and can only be con- to diabetes?”, “What are the treatment methods for
trolled therefore, early detection of diabetes and diabetes?” and “Are you at risk of getting diabe-
proper management of it can help to make life eas- tes?”. In addition to these posts, the members of the
ier. As lack of awareness about diabetes among the LEO Club of University of Kelaniya were invited to
youth community is one of the major reasons for join hands and voice their opinions of diabetes and
undiagnosed diabetes that has a high risk among prevention of diabetes. Consequently, many Leos
the younger population, it was essential to conduct shared diabetes awareness quotes through social
a good awareness campaign to prevent the risk of media platforms.
diabetes. Moreover, it is observed that the risk of The project successfully ended on the 20th of No-
diabetes continues to increase among youth with vember 2020, after a week of insightful sharings
COVID – 19 pandemic because of the unhealthy on major social media platforms. The Facebook
lifestyle and diet changes during this turbulent posts that were shared, had a total reach of more
time. Therefore, project ‘Piya Satahan’ was execut- than 21000 likes collectively demonstrating the
ed with the aim of identifying diabetes as a topic of huge success and the impact that the project Piya
greater concern in society while aiming to spread Satahan created by contributing to educate the Sri
awareness among the youth by addressing an un- Lankan youth on diabetes and diabetes prevention.
noticeable problem. Thus, it can be noted that this project was a social
Also, throughout the project, the youth population media awareness program that was able to share
of Sri Lanka was informed of diabetes, its caus- the right content at the right time with the right
es, symptoms, prevention methods, and ways to audience to add up to the success of any communi-
receive treatments through the major social me- ty-based project.
dia platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Special thanks would be extended to Dr. J. M. Jaya-
WhatsApp that young Sri Lankans are most famil- maha of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital who
iar with. Furthermore, the project was conducted helped us immensely to gather necessary informa-
from 14th of November 2020 to 20th November tion that enriched the quality of the content that
2020 and many Diabetes Awareness Posts were was shared. In addition, it must also be mentioned
shared mainly through the official Facebook and that this timely initiative was coordinated and
Instagram pages and WhatsApp Groups of the guided by LEO Piyumi Thakshila Bandara, Project
LEO Club of University of Kelaniya. The post con- Chairman, LEO Vinuri Nisansa, Project Secretary,
tent was created using the three languages Sinha- and LEO Melani Kawshalya Jayarathne project
la, Tamil, and English which increased eventually Treasurer of the project Piya Satahan.
the impact and effect of the content shared. More-
over, throughout the week, seven interesting and

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FUTURE

EXPEDITIONS

The leoism of the Leos of University of Kelani- WHY IS FEMINA IMPORTANT?
ya is so inspiring due to their resilience and pas-
sion to do greater good. This movement of young ·
leaders who have envisioned a vast impact and The low infrastructure facilities and low income
change in the world.Being really committed to this rates in the identified remote village area, Ihala
good cause, they have well-thought out plans and Peliyankulama
well-defined set of goals to change the world for Severe crisis in employment opportunities due
the better. The farsighted and agile Leos have been to COVID-19 pandemic. With their low income
flexible and thoughtful in identifying community rates,they keenly focus on fulfilling their funda-
needs and building an impactful project around it. mental needs such as food. Thus,those families are
They have been engaged in creative and impactful in a difficult position to spend money for sanitary
initiatives to do greater good in the community items such as sanitary napkins.
and have planned multiple stupendous projects for
the future as well.

Here is a glimpse into the future expeditions of The lack of knowledge about personal hygiene and
the resilient LEOs of University of Kelaniya. It is women’s health was identified as a major challenge.
evident that these young Leos will turn their fu- Thus, the need to empower them both physically
ture-forward visions into actions and make a pos- and mentally by raising awareness on topics such
itive change in the world amidst these challenging as personal hygiene and sex education, was felt.
times. FEMINA is an empowering and an impactful ini-
tiative that aims to empower women in this remote
FEMINA village both physically and mentally to rise up with
great personalities.
FEMINA is a service project by the women em-
powerment avenue, for 30 school girls which is
planned to be conducted at Ihalapuliyankulama
Gramniladhari division.In this project it is expect-
ed to conduct an awareness program, donation
program of sanitary napkins, a counselling pro-
gram and an entertainment program with the mo-
tive of empowering the young girls both physically
and mentally.

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TEHMEBRREAALCITEY

“Embrace The Reality” is a virtual project, which
will be conducted as three sub projects namely, a
poster campaign, a webinar with a consultant and
another webinar with an attorney-at-law. Through
this project, it is expected to increase young peo-
ple’s knowledge and improve their attitudes relat-
ed to sexual and reproductive health and behav-
iors and prevent abuse faced by children, men and
women. Given the current situation of the world,
the social distancing and being restricted to home
has increased the number of abuse cases . Also, it is
common to see the ‘taboo’ topics such as sex edu-
cation getting swept under the rug. Therefore, this
project aims to debunk the myths and raise aware-
ness of the community regarding the so-called ‘ta-
boo’ topics.

GREEN HEART

“ Plant a tree and plant hope for future”
The ‘Green Hearts’ Project is a tree planting cam-
paign focusing on environmental , wildlife and
animal conservation and it will be conducted in
the destroyed area of Hanthana hills by wildfire.
This project was initiated with the main objective
of giving rebirth to the Hanthana Mountain Range
and improving the environment and quality of life
in Sri Lanka. The total fire damage in forest cover is
5,619.18 hectares during the last four years.
These forest fires have caused serious adverse ef-
fects to the biodiversity in mountainous ecosys-
tems and most of these fires have been set on by
humans for their selfish purposes. Therefore, as re-
sponsible citizens we
took a step ahead for preventing such actions and
conserving the

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NATURE’S

HIDDEN TREASURE

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty ev-
erywhere “
Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Nature’s Hidden Treasures” is a photography and
documentary competition focused on wildlife, life
below water and environment and it will be con-
ducted along with a flyer campaign that is main-
ly focused on commemorating “World Wetland
day 2021”. Furthermore, through the 07 days fly-
er campaign, we are aiming to give knowledge for
the people about wetlands which are rare, precious
sources of nature. As everything is done by using
distance learning in this era, this will be a fruit-
ful project to raise awareness about wetlands while
improving the skills of people.

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Editor’s
Note

It’s with great pleasure and humble pride that
we present you the 5th volume of AURORA,
the official newsletter of Leo club of university
of Kelaniya.We, as the editor panel has aspired
to capture the unwavering commitment of the
astounding Leo members of University of Ke-
laniya.The resilient Leo family of University
of Kelaniya has proven their excellence once
again through the multiple projects that were
conducted throughout the year 20/21. This
newsletter is also a testimonial of the ardent
passion of the Leos of University of Kelani-
ya to do greater good and strive for excellence
by adapting and overcoming all the obstacles.
We also extend our heartiest gratitude to the
empowering and inspiring Ms.Gaia Kodith-
uwakku for accepting our humble invitation
and taking her time for the second interview
of the “ Passion into profession” interview
series and thereby adding much more val-
ue to the newsletter with amazing insights.

Hiruni Udumulla Arachchi
Editor
Leo club in University of Kelaniya

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Editor’s
Note

It is with great pleasure and honour that we
present to you the fifth edition of “AURORA”;
the official newsletter for the year 2020/2021.
We, as the editors panel, aspired to capture
all the inspiring stories of brave and futur-
istic members of the LEO Club of Universi-
ty of Kelaniya who, despite all the challeng-
es that they faced since the beginning of the
last year, tried to bring out positive change
towards nature, society and its communities.
This is also a testimonial of their unwaver-
ing commitment and kindness blended with
flourishing creativity and innovativeness that
illustrated the true potential and necessity of
people who are passionate about the well be-
ing of the society while adapting to challeng-
es caused by a crisis situation with optimism.
Therefore, we would like to welcome you all to
witness the journey and visions of our brave
warriors throughout this new leoistic year. To-
gether let’s go on a journey of hope and positivity!
Thilini Mediwake
Editor
LEO Club of University of Kelaniya

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Team Behind

Leo Chethiya Galkaduwa
Leo Club of University of Kelaniya

Leo Thilini Mediwake
Leo Club of University of Kelaniya

Leo Hiruni Udumulla Arachchi
Leo Club of University of Kelaniya

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www.facebook.com/leouok

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