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F E AT U R E<br />
LETABA HERALD - Vrydag 22 Mei 2009<br />
Lions - together in health<br />
LIONS International is made up of<br />
individuals who has decided to give<br />
something back to the community,<br />
forming the world's largest and most<br />
active service club organisation.<br />
Lions are dedicated to seeking out<br />
people in need, and fulfilling that<br />
need in an efficient, dignified and<br />
caring way.<br />
The International Association of<br />
Lions Clubs was the brainchild of<br />
Melvin Jones, a young insurance<br />
agent from Chicago. In 1917 Jones<br />
called together several existing clubs<br />
who had until then only existed with<br />
commercial motives in mind.<br />
Jones' ideal was to create a club for<br />
purely altruistic reasons - giving to the<br />
community with no reward in mind<br />
but the satisfaction of helping others.<br />
The Lions not only help those in<br />
their own communities, but all humans<br />
around the world.<br />
After the terror of the 2005 Tsunami,<br />
Lions International was one of the<br />
many NGO's that helped feed the<br />
victims. However, the Lions saw beyond<br />
the obvious necessities.<br />
Besides being one of the first organisations<br />
to erect water purification<br />
centres, they also supplied victims<br />
with spectacles - a seeming luxury<br />
that some people cannot live<br />
without.<br />
In 1925 Helen Keller challenged<br />
the Lions to become "Knights of the<br />
blind in the crusade against darkness".<br />
Since then, the Lions have contributed<br />
considerably to the blind and<br />
TARRYN Buyst, Public Relations Officer for<br />
<strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions Club.<br />
HELMUT Hanaczeck, Charter Member of the<br />
<strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions Club.<br />
Well done<br />
<strong>Letaba</strong> / Tzaneen Lions Club<br />
with your awards!<br />
visually impaired.<br />
The first South African Lions Club<br />
was formed in Cape Town in 1957.<br />
Today more than 1.3 millions individuals<br />
belong to the Lions clubs<br />
based in 205 different countries.<br />
They all share the same motto, "We<br />
Serve", and often do so at a major cost<br />
to themselves.<br />
True Lions dedication can be witnessed<br />
right here in Tzaneen.<br />
After the <strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions<br />
Club inception in 1969, the club has<br />
launched many initiatives, raised<br />
hundreds of thousands of rands, and<br />
assisted with many fundraisers, all in<br />
the name of charity.<br />
They too have contributed much to<br />
the blind and visually impaired.<br />
They joined the Operation Brightsight<br />
campaign where eye tests are<br />
given freely to those who can't afford<br />
it. Old spectacles are collected and<br />
adjusted so it can be distributed to<br />
those who need it most, and according<br />
to their specific needs.<br />
<strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions Club also<br />
assists the Eye Bank by collects details<br />
of individuals who would like to<br />
donate their eyes once they have<br />
passed away. The corneas of donated<br />
eyes are used for transplants, offering<br />
those with failing eyes a second<br />
chance at sight.<br />
The Flight-for-Life initiative was<br />
started by Lions South Africa in 1975,<br />
offering free helicopter flights in medical<br />
emergencies. The service has<br />
since been split up into various sec-<br />
tors, but in 1977 the service was<br />
suspended due to the enormous costs<br />
of running such a programme. Lions<br />
all over the country, including the<br />
<strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions Club, combined<br />
their efforts, and through various<br />
fundraisers, managed to get the<br />
helicopter back in the air.<br />
The <strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions Club<br />
raised a considerable amount of<br />
money for this project - by selling<br />
Lions Christmas cake!<br />
Even the Tzaneen Municipality<br />
joined in on the efforts and offered<br />
three landing strips in the area, as well<br />
as a free refill whenever necessary.<br />
The service was accepted as part of<br />
their ordinary ambulance service.<br />
The Lions also assisted the Medic-Alert<br />
initiative by marketing it ext<br />
e n s i v e l y.<br />
Branded medallions could be<br />
bought and any medical conditions or<br />
allergies of the wearer engraved on<br />
it.<br />
Paramedics, nurses and doctors<br />
came to accept this method as a way<br />
of receiving vital information about a<br />
patient in emergency situations.<br />
On several other occasions, <strong>Letaba</strong><br />
Tzaneen Lions Club has also assisted<br />
the Red Cross, the Hillcomb Holiday<br />
Resort for the blind, the Mouth and<br />
Foot Painters and the Leprosy Mission,<br />
proving the true extent of the<br />
<strong>Letaba</strong> Tzaneen Lions Club's commitment<br />
to all in need.<br />
LION Martin Fröise (president) and Lion Tarryn Buyst (Public Relations<br />
Officer) with Koos Smit, of Smit Garrun Brokers, at 2009s Smit<br />
Garrun/Lions Family Day.<br />
PAGE 21<br />
The face of initiative<br />
MELVIN Jones, whose brainchild became Lions International.
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