Nearly one in nine people around the world suffers from chronic undernourishment.
Lions are striving to change this by improving food security and access to healthy foods options in their communities.
“We want to make sure there is not one day where the children sleep with hunger and not one day where children go to school with an empty stomach,” says Past District Governor Ruth Chua, president of the Manila Amity Lions Club in the Philippines.
Knowing that a single meal wouldn’t make a lasting impact on the lives of children, the Amity Lions offer a small incentive to children who gain the most weight. With the assistance of an LCIF grant, Lions have been helping these children grow stronger, avoid illness and infection, and regularly attend school.
The Manila Amity Lions were joined by the Tacloban City Lions who extended the feeding project to a school in Tacloban City. Devastated in 2013 by Super Typhoon Yolanda, many children were left with no family income as their fisherman parents were forced to relocate. Chua also hopes to help these parents rebuild their lives.
“We cannot feed their children forever. We want their parents to also do their share,” says Chua, “But right now we want to save the children.”
These efforts extend worldwide.
In India, Lions are providing free lunches to 19,000 children across the country every day. In District 321 A2, US$10,400 in free grain was distributed across the nation to needy people. Roughly US$1 feeds three people.
In East Africa, the Kenyan Lions of District 411 A team up with Lions in Sweden to provide supplies for famine victims. In Lebanon, Lions ran a charity restaurant that fed thousands. In Australia, District 201 V5’s Hunger Portfolio brings Lions and the community together assembling food hampers for families in need.
In the U.S., Illinois Lions support Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit that produces nutritionally complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children in the poorest areas of the world.
Every community has its own way to contribute.
“Who knows? One of the children Lions help could be the future leader of this country,” says Chua. “If we can provide better health and better education, they could free themselves from the poverty they are in now. They could have a better life.”
Get the full story in LION Magazine and read about what Lions around the world are doing to improve food security and help their communities thrive.
Plan a hunger project with your club and deliver hope and joy to those in your community who need it most. Choose the service project planner that’s best for you and find all the resources you need to get started on our website.
Joan Cary is the assistant editor for LION Magazine.
