Earlier this year our President Elect, Raj Dasan, travelled to Sri Lanka and had the chance to catch up with members of the Rotary Club of Kandy. While there, the club President gifted Raj a first day cover (stamp) from 2010 marking 80 years of Rotary in the country. Raj also exchanged pennants with the club President.
The Rotary Club of Kandy is the fourth oldest Rotary club in Sri Lanka and was chartered on 24th September 1941. But Rotary was first introduced to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in February 1929 – seven years after our own launch – with the establishment of the Rotary Club of Colombo at a dinner meeting held at the Galle Face Hotel. Colonel T Y Wright served as the first president, and A B Woolsam as the honorary secretary. Interestingly, the club was a member of Rotary District 89, which at the time also covered Afghanistan, Burma and India.
Over the years Rotary in Sri Lanka has established a number of health and social welfare projects, including the establishment of the Ceylon National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis and the Ceylon Cancer Society.
The First Day Cover given to Raj commemorates the 80th anniversary of Rotary in Sri Lanka, and was issued on March 27, 2010. It features a Rs. 10.00 stamp designed by M J C Fernando and the cover features a picture of Rotary’s Founder, Paul Harris.
Following Raj’s visit our International Committee has been looking into how we might support the Rotary Club of Kandy with some of their projects. In fact, we’ve already started helping them by collecting used and unwanted spectacles which will be distributed by Kandy Rotarians to underprivileged families.
You can learn more about the Rotary Club of Kandy from its website, here.
Picture: Picture of the First Day cover featuring Rotary Founder Paul Harris given to Raj during his trip. Picture credit: Rotary Club of Canterbury.
