Lions and LCIF are already responding to the powerful, massive earthquake that struck Sichuan Province in central China on Monday, May 12. Lions in Hong Kong and Macau have raised US$600,000 and LCIF has committed an initial grant of US$500,000 to address immediate needs and provide medicines, clothing, blankets, water purification and temporary housing. Lions have already sent 5,000 tents for displaced victims, and more are on the way. Through a vast network of Lions clubs members in Hong Kong and China, Lions and LCIF are also dispatching relief teams to the affected areas to deliver supplies and assist with hands-on relief efforts.
“As the only international volunteer service organization in the China, Lions Clubs International Foundation is working hand in hand with Lions in the area to assess and address immediate needs. Through our grassroots network of Lions in the affected communities, we are able to get relief supplies to those in the most need very quickly,” said Lions Clubs International Foundation Chairperson Jimmy Ross.
Similar to Lions’ response to other worldwide natural disasters, LCIF expects donations from Lions around the world to surpass US$400,000 in the first week. These immediate funds will help address immediate needs. Additional funds raised from Lions in the coming weeks will go toward long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation needs such as housing, schools and eye health care.
Lions have a long history of working with the Chinese government to provide humanitarian service. Since 2002, Lions Clubs International has been the first and only international volunteer service group to be officially recognized by the Chinese government. China’s government issued an executive order that was countersigned by the Chinese premier to officially establish two pilot Lions clubs in Shenzhen and Guangdong. Today, there are 1,655 Lions clubs members in 79 clubs in China in addition to 1,429 Lions in 62 clubs in Hong Kong and Macau.
Lions service in China began in 1997 with the SightFirst program. SightFirst is LCIF’s blindness prevention program aimed at addressing and reversing preventable blindness. Through SightFirst China Action, LCIF has invested more than US$30 million to build up eye care services and eradicate preventable blindness, which was matched with US$200 million from the Chinese government. Those funds supported 4.6 million cataract surgeries in China and Tibet, established 104 surgical eye units in rural areas and trained eye health care workers where there previously were none. LCIF is providing sustainable eye care services for rural poor populations.
