Watch LQ – Lions Quarterly to Learn How Lions in India Foster the Kids of Prisoners
Our clubs fill the needs of communities around the world, ranging from providing training to at-risk teens to securing access to clean water. In India, Lions work to ensure that youngsters aren’t growing up in prison while their parents are incarcerated.
The Calcutta Midtown Lions Club raised funds to open a home for the sons of those imprisoned for committing crimes. The Lions work to give the children advantages similar to what they provide for their own kids. The 11 boys receive an education, including music and computer training. They also learn to care for the environment.
The home gives opportunity to formerly incarcerate women, who would otherwise lack employment and support from their families. A former inmate and current house mother, says that she enjoys watching the boys develop into mature young adults. “They were so shy, they didn’t have any confidence,” she said of the kids when they first arrived.
Promoting our clubs and informing our neighbors that our clubs are here to help are key components to healthy, sustainable clubs. In Nepal, Lions coordinated an elephant soccer tournament to promote their work as well as tourism in the region.
Multiple District 325 coordinated the two-day festival in Sauraha, Chitwan, and different community organizations sponsored each of the four soccer-playing elephants. An elephant beauty contest followed where officials judged the animals based on their cat walk, attire and health.
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Story of the Week: Lions in California Work with the Community to Beautify a School
Our Lion and Leo clubs work to improve their communities in 206 countries and geographic areas around the world. The Downtown Long Beach Lions Club partnered with community organizations, school officials, teachers, parents and students revamp a local middle school, while developing pride and a sense of ownership among the students.
In front of Hamilton Middle School were tufts of grass, packed dirt and two sad trees. With a matching grant from the City of Long Beach, the Lions set to work landscaping the area. Seven groups of students, ranging in age from 6 to 15, decorated 160 stepping stones.L ions installed the stepping stones and other landscaping enhancements with students and neighborhood volunteers. So far, more than 320 people have pitched in to make the school a better place.
Lion Hilda Gaytan, the committee chairperson for the project, said it’s been a rewarding task. “These kids all possess big hearts. It was amazing to see them working for three to four hours doing hard labor. The best thing was listening to their cheering for their school after feeling tired.”
In this video, you’ll see the stepping stones the kids created and part of the landscaping process.
Photo of the Week: Maine Lions Get People with Disabilities Moving
With 1.35 million Lions worldwide, our projects are as diverse as our membership. Many clubs choose to help those with disabilities, and a number of clubs have formed to support the needs and goals of the Special Olympics. We found this week’s photo from the Massebesic Lions Club at The Reporter.
The club has built personal energy transportation vehicles, also known as PETs®, for the past four years. Once assembled, the three-wheeled vehicles are powered by a hand crank. They allow people in developing nations who cannot walk to travel, even in locations that do not have paved roads or sidewalks. The club recently completed its 50th PET®, which cost about $250 each to build.
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President’s Service Blog: Lions Join Gates Foundation, Other Leaders to End Diseases
I recently met with representatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, including Bill Gates, along with government representatives, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, many global health organizations and 13 major pharmaceutical companies. We discussed how we could work together to eliminate or control 10 tropical diseases by 2020. We pledged to increase our efforts to combat diseases such as trachoma, sleeping sickness, leprosy, river blindness and Chagas disease.
I was joined by LCIF Chairperson Sid L. Scruggs as I committed Lions to increasing our efforts to assist the 1.4 billion people worldwide affected by these diseases, known as “neglected tropical diseases” or NTDs. I also shared with these world leaders how Lions are working to help the “Bottom Billion” people on the planet who are suffering the most from tropical diseases and poverty.
Although much work remains to be done, Lions and our partners have already eliminated river blindness in Colombia and are working to eliminate trachoma in China. Learn more about the Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases Summit and the London Declaration in this Webinar. Information about our efforts is featured at 1:17.
The commitment by leaders in the public and private sector reaffirmed my belief that Lions can accomplish anything when we work together with like-minded people.
