LION

PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Helping Children Is Our
Most Urgent Task
Courage, strength and wisdom can
come from the most unlikely sources.
Malala Yousafzai stands five feet
tall—tall enough to stand up to the
Taliban. As ayoung girl in Pakistan,
she demanded that girls receive an
education. ATaliban gunman shot
her in the head in 2012, but she
survived and received the Nobel
Peace Prize in2014 for continuing to
advocate for girls’ education.
In accepting the Nobel, she knew
she stood for so many others. “I am
also Shazia. IamKainat [two girls
who also were shot],” she said in her
powerful speech. “I am Mezon [a
Syrian refugee]. IamAmina
[threatened by Boko Haram in
Nigeria]. Iamthose 66 million girls
who are deprived of education. And
today Iamnot raising my voice. It is
the voice of those 66 million girls.”
My presidential theme revolves
around “dignity, harmony and
humanity.”Ibelieve that our
essential mission as Lions is to
perform service that enables people
to live with dignity. We especially
need to aid children, our future. We
need to help children who are
fighting disease, children who are in
refugee camps, children who are
suffering from hunger. Weneed to
help children escape the vicious cycle
of poverty. We need to provide
children with education and literacy
through the Reading Action Program.
We need to do so much more.
Now is the time for each Lion to take
action to serve children in need
around the world. Our future
depends on it. Malala’s passionate
call to action to help youths must
ring true to Lions today inthe same
way asHelen Keller's plea to help
the blind resonated with Lions 90
years ago. AsMalala said, “We have
already taken many steps. Now is
the time to take aleap. …Wemust
work, not wait. Not just the
politicians and world leaders, we all
need to contribute. Me. You. We. Itis
our duty.”
PICTURED: Einar Lyngar of
Norway aids achild at a
camp for Syrian war refugees
in Lebanon. Lions of Lebanon
and Norway have brought
clothes and other goods to
the camps in Lebanon near
the Syrian border that hold
120,000 refugees.
Dr. Jitsuhiro Yamada
Lions Clubs International
President
www.lionsclubs.co December 2015/January 2016
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