KUALA LUMPUR: The Lions Clubs endeavour to alleviate social issues related with begging, homelessness and poverty among Malaysians.
Newly-elected Lions Clubs International District 308-B1 governor Dorothy Ong Lee Ping said this was among its main missions to offer the less fortunate a better tomorrow.
"We know that it is a difficult task but we are bent on seeing that there is hope for the underprivileged to enjoy a better life.
"Our members are willing to serve with a big heart by sacrificing their time and energy for the said purpose.
"The Lions know that they cannot do it alone. To accomplish big things, we have to pull our resources together, roll up our sleeves and work to make the impossible possible," Ong said at the annual "District Governor's Inauguration Dinner 2022" at Menara PGRM, Taman Pertama in Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras.
The guest of honour was Lions Club past international director Datuk Dr K. Nagaratnam. More than 800 members from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei attended the event which saw the installation of District 308-B1 "cabinet members" for the 2022-2023 term.
District 308-B1 covers the states of Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.
Ong called on her district's 4,000-odd members from over 130 clubs to earnestly step forward to carry out humanitarian and community services for the benefit of society.
"We must be willing to do it with a smile because this is how we live, this is how we serve and this is who we are as Lions.
"We know that together we are larger and there are no limits. Together, we can achieve our mission," she said.
As a leading organisation in humanitarian and community service, she rallied for Lions to place more emphasis on collaborating with corporate companies, non-governmental organisations and government agencies via their corporate social responsibility programmes.
"Lions are the bridge between society and the organisations, just like how we mobilised our volunteers during the year-end monsoon floods and other natural calamities.
"With larger resources and contributions, we will be better placed to help those in need by being creative and thinking out of the box.
"We must adhere to our theme 'We are the world, together we can' to empower Lions and volunteers to serve the underprivileged," she said.
Ong outlined her three core values – promote and building teamwork; foster diversity; and embrace inclusivity – in achieving the Lions mission.
She added that Lions Clubs International worldwide were already carrying out assistance programmes involved with hunger, improving eye-sight, the environment, childhood cancer and diabetes.
"We are also getting greater involvement from the youth, whom we aim to empower with leadership attributes. At the same time, we are inculcating resourcefulness, leadership, motivation and direction for our Lions to offer advice to the public suffering financial difficulties, following the Covid-19 pandemic," Ong said.
PIX by Adrian David: Dorothy Ong Lee Ping (left) presenting the 'Cabinet Officer Appointment Certificate' to District 308B1 global service team coordinator Stella Foo, witnessed by Datuk Dr K. Nagaratnam at their annual 'District Governor Inauguration Dinner' at Menara PGRM, Taman Pertama in Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
