Lions Club International spends $1bn on humanitarian services

NAN-H-103
Club
By Usman Aliyu
Ilorin, May 10, 2017 (NAN) The Lions Club International said on Wednesday that  it had spent $1 billion globally on humanitarian services  in the 100 years of its existence.

Mr Kumar Raju, an International Director of the club,  disclosed this at a news briefing in Ilorin to herald its 12th Multiple District Convention in Nigeria.

Raju noted that Africa took the larger part of the club’s grant  for  humanitarian services.

According to him, about $50 million grant is donated annually by members of the club across the world to pursue various projects.

He explained that aside meeting  humanitarian needs, the club had also assisted in the area of disaster relief, saving sight and serving the youths.

Raju said that the club was willing to assist  Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) if there was a proposal from government.

The director, who  said that the club had assisted more than  300 million people  to tackle  blindness globally, however,  lamented that 413 children die daily due to  lack of injection that costs less than $1.

Raju  stated that the Lions Club would celebrate its centenary in June, adding  that it was also  committed to  tackling  diabetes.

Also speaking, Mr Kola Oyekanmi, the Council Chairperson of Lions Club Nigeria, said that the club had since 1917 aided the blind and visually impaired.

Oyekanmi added that it had championed youth initiatives and strengthened local communities through hands-on service and humanitarian projects.

According to him, the club which  started in Lagos in December  1964 with 24 members can now boast of 6,000 members across 261 clubs in the country.

“Lions in Nigeria have built monuments in terms of physical structures that continue to serve as legacies

“Some of these included but not limited to Motherless Babies Home in Lekki, the Leprosarium in Ogbomosho, a block of hostel for children with Special Needs in Ilorin and several boreholes in Asa and Ilorin South Local Councils of Kwara,’’ he said.

Oyekanmi said that the club partnered Sight Savers International to conduct cataract surgeries for over 5,000 people in the country.

The theme of the 12th convention is “Centennial Celebration of Humanitarian Services in Harmony.’’ (NAN)
AUO/JEY/OJO
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(Edited by  Johnson Eyiangho/Mufutau Ojo)