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Service programs and Initiatives

Report by PCC Pirkko Vihavainen, MD107 Finland,
at the Europa Forum 2023 in Klagenfurt

 

 Thank you all who visited Service Activities Table in Klagenfurt. We wanted to make Meet your IDs in other way than earlier. Now we have also three Board Appointees from Europe. I am very happy about that. Everyone of us nine presented one committee of the International Board. We also wanted to discuss with you, not only present ourselves and our committee.

My committee is Service Activities Committee. There are members from India, Japan and USA. I am the chairperson in this fiscal year. In addition there is an non-voting Appointee from Ireland. It is intresting to see how different needs we have around the world.

We have now:

  • 8 Global causes
  • 8 Programs
  • 5 Service Areas
  • 1 Partnership
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with additional causes scheduled for development in next fiscal year.

The survey will be made during this autumn. After that we will make decisions what and how we will proceed. Can we maybe include some other programs.? There has been discussed also about mental wellness. Environment is of special importance this year. You can see the five programs

image Service Projects in Kenya
After the Board Meeting in Cairo in October, many members of the Board with spouses and some of the Staff travelled to Kenya and took part in several Service Activities there. We stayed in Maasai Mara Nationalpark. It was my first time on safari. It was exciting, but even more I liked to help people in need in Maasai village. We helped with many service projects sponsored by the Lions of Kenya. We packed and presented food packs to 50 families there. The pack provides enough supplies to feed a typical family for a month.

Eye screening
Then we went to a primary school. We tested outside of the school building vision of the pupils. Only a few pupils could see well enough. Most of them needed to go the classroom to be checked more in details.

Solar cookers and tree planting
The next place was Nashulai Conservancy created, governed and managed by the local people with the mission of “Conserve Wildlife, Preserve Culture, Reverse Powerty”. We presented solar cookers for families in Maasai. Solar cookers is a project of Finnish Lions. Lions Club Helsinki/Pohjois-Haaga is the organizing club in Finland. It has been also a joint two years project of Scandinavia. The cookers use the energy of the sun to cook and bake, saving the forest and making the people’s life easier and healthier. Lions sponsor the material and the cookers are built in Kenya by Kenyan people. It will be possible also any Lion to sponsor solar cookers to Kenya. We are just checking the best channel to do it.

Each of us also planted a tree in the Nashulai conservancy. There are almost 80 new tree plants now.

Lunch to the school children
We went back to the school and served lunch to the pupils. The lunch was also presented by Kenyan Lions and we walked in the big hall bringing lunch plates, refreshments and buns to the pupils.

The next board meeting will be held in Vancouver, Canada in March without any service projects. Actually, the spouses have during the meetings service activities. In Cairo they for example cleaned up a part of Nile.

image How do the people find out what we do?
What I would like to say to all European Lions and Leos, is that we have absolutely great service activities! Show them with proud to other people around the world! Let us keep in the mind that we are changing the world, one relationship, one community at the time. We might think about our activity that it is not so meaningful, but it really can change one life! It is meaningful. It matters! Together we can make big difference.

I encourage every club to share the activities on the social media, websites, magazines and face to face at the events. People in your community want to help. Give them an opportunity by asking them to join us. Let us tell our stories! Let us give every member and every club their voice.

I ask every club also put the activities on MyLion until Lion Portal will replace the current platform.

Mission 1.5 through the Service!