February 2009
Hook and Odiham Lions Club
21 Years of serving the communities of Hook, Odiham, Hartley Wintney and the surrounding villages
Barn Dance
organised by your local Lions
Help Lions raise money to support others less fortunate.
Saturday 4th April 7.30 - 11.30 at ELIZABETH HALL, HOOK.
Dancing to the very popular ROGUES GALLERY
Just £10 each includes a Ploughman's Supper, and a bar is provided
Tickets obtainable from; Trees Newsagents
Elizabeth Hall or Lion Chris Jones on 01252 844 036
Trip to India
One of our members, Judith Goodchild and her husband John, went with a group of UK Lions to India in November 2008. Here is her report;
I recently went with a group of UK Lions to India and it was a life changing experience. We visited the Golden Triangle - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. We saw the sights such as The Taj Mahal, the place where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated and the Amber fort and tried riding on an elephant. Whilst we marvelled at the sights it was the people that really made an impression on us.
From our coach we saw the slums that many Indians live in and heard the constant blaring of horns as all manner of vehicles tried to make their way along the crowded roads in the cities. I think the largest number of people I saw was 12 on a tut-tut which really held only 4 in some comfort.
Despite these, to us awful living conditions, everyone seemed to be happy and would give us a beautiful smile and wave when they saw us. One of the worst things I saw was a young girl washing herself in a puddle by the side of the road and it was a common sight to see people washing at the village pump. It does make one thankful for our own standard of living here.
Our Lions group leader, Max Mongia, had made contacts with the Lions in India, including Past International President Ashok Meta and visits were organised. We met some members of the Indian Lions in Jaipur, who gave us gifts and a meal and told us of their activities. Much of these activities are community based and whilst some were similar to those undertaken by Lions here in the UK, for example drug awareness, others were not. They included holding Yoga camps, providing food to hospital patients, removal of waste and women's rights workshops.
Our other visit was to the New Delhi South Lions Club, an immensely powerful club on the international Lions scene. They invited us to one of their meetings and gave us a meal and gifts. One of the projects they told us about was a scheme that they were about to launch. This was to provide initially, 200 hand sewing machines, at a cost of £20 each, to be placed in rural communities. They would go mainly to women who would be able to make clothes for their families and their communities thus earning some money whilst being able to stay at home and look after their children. It would help the community, but most importantly it would give them self respect.
Our group were so impressed that they have promised to provide one hundred of the initial number. This club had also been instrumental in setting up the Lions Blood Bank in Delhi and we made a special visit to this. If we in the UK need a blood transfusion we expect it to be provided by the National Health Service. In India such a service does not exist and a few years ago a District Governor decided that the Lions should set up a blood bank. This was taken up by his successor and it became a reality.
The Lions in Delhi were able to finance it. They also helped to prepare the site by hard physical labour. Now they are proud to have provided a state of the art facility which is the best in Delhi, employing 100 staff in three shifts. They also run Blood donor clinics to get the blood which is then processed at the Blood bank. When the blood is used a small fee is requested if the recipient can afford it. Otherwise it is free.
The main Lion behind this scheme is PDG JP Singh and he spends much of his time at the bank and is a regular donor as are his family. In fact his daughter celebrated becoming 18 by giving her first pint of blood! We were really impressed by the dedication of these Lions and this is what is so wonderful about Lions Clubs International. We may not all serve in the same way but 1.3 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs in 205 countries and geographical areas do serve their fellow man and live up to our motto " We Serve". Judith Goodchild
Ordinary People
Amazing Things
