THE NEWLY ELECTED LIONS INTERNATIONAL
PRESIDENT IS DETERMINED TO STOP PREVENTABLE BLINDNESS EVERYWHERE
By Walter Jayawardhana
The newly elected International President of the Lions Club, Mahendra
Amarasuriya said in Chicago that he was prepared to eradicate preventable
eye diseases from the Indian subcontinent, his native Sri Lanka and
Africa as a priority project through an internally changed Lions organization
that would be made “a dynamic vibrant 21st century organization.”
“At the end of my term as the International President I am determined
to raise 200 million US dollars for these projects,” to prevent
blindness and bring light to thousands said Amarasuriya in an interview
with this correspondent.
The Colombo’s Commercial Bank and Pelawatte and Sevanagala Plantations
Chairman who had been the first Vice President of the international
service club for the last one year was formally elected to the prestigious
position of the President July 6 during the 90th Annual sessions of
the Lions at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. This
city is on the edge of the great Lake Michigan where cold winds cause
havoc but had unusually fair weather during the day of the sessions.
Representatives from all world capitals of 203 nations converged on
Chicago for the election and discussed about other business matters
of the club. The 1.3 million members strong service club is the world’s
largest such organization and is enjoying a consultative status with
the United Nations . There are 45,000 club branches all over the world.
Speaking of his native Sri Lanka Amarasuriya, scion of a leading philanthropist
for the Buddhist education in Sri Lanka said, there are a back log of
3000 patients who have got to be operated on for cataract and part of
the money would go for that. As the President, Amarasuriya would direct
the organization’s leading project, ‘The Sight First program’
that aims to rid the world of preventable and reversible blindness.
Amarasuriya said using his elevation to the international presidency
of the Lions he is planning to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist attraction
. “When I visit countries I will be usually meeting heads of state
and I will make those opportunities to promote Sri Lanka,” the
newly elected President said. He would attempt to put up the map of
Sri Lanka in the world of the Lions since the Sri Lankan national anthem
is sung when he presides over Lions meetings anywhere in the world.
At many of these meetings he is also planning to show tourist promotional
videos of Sri Lanka. Amarasuriya said he had discussed these promotional
matters with his fellow Southerner, another Mahendra -namely President
Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Mahendra is the Sanskrit form of the Pali word Mahinda.
The Sinhala form is Mihindu)
Describing more about his eye sight related projects Amarasuriya said
the funds are being raised for Lions Club International Fund (LCIF)
and already 103 million US dollars have been raised out of his target
of 200 million. He said the Lions are involved in eradication cataract
by surgery, river blindness in Africa by distribution of anti-biotics
and surgery for trachoma,a contagious bacterial eye disease in which
scar tissue forms inside the eyelid, eventually causing it to curve
inward and the eyelashes to scrape the eye, often leading to infection
. Cataract is more common eye disease in which the lens becomes covered
in an opaque film that affects sight, eventually causing total blindness.
Amarasuriya said 143 million dollars ,raised in Japan, Korea, USA and
Europe have been invested between 1995-2007 in 800 projects by the Lions
in these “Sight First” projects, in 99 countries.
He said the Jimmy Carter Foundation is helping Lions with 68 million
US Dollars to eradicate River Blindness (on·cho·cer·ci·a·sis)
[òngko sur k? ?ssiss] ,a disease caused by parasitic worms and
transmitted by blackflies, causing skin nodules, lesions, and blindness.
He said Lions distribute two doses of the drug called Mectizan for each
patient for the complete cure of the disease.
Lions are supplying artificial lenses to be fixed on the eyes and maintain
surgeries in Sri Lanka. He said right now they are helping to start
Operating Room facilities at Jaffna and Navalapitiya hospitals. He said
the Lions are maintaining operating room facilities at Karapitiya and
helping to maintain 25 patient ward there.
Lions are running independent hospitals from government at Panadura
with two operating rooms and a ward of 15 beds. “We have finished
1300 cases there while we have finished 500 surgeries for cataract at
the other independent from the government unit we run at Hendala. Panadura
is being improved at the cost of US $ 122,000 and Hendala is upgraded
at US $ 120,000,” Amarasuriya further stated. He said those who
could afford to pay these centers are charged money. About 30 % of the
patients pay some money while 70 % receive free treatment. As an incentive
for the paying patients more comfortable wards like paying wards are
given. Money is spent to pay the ophthalmologists , who are expensive
to be hired , he said. Amarasuriya said the eye unit attached to the
Hambantota government hospital had to be closed for want of an ophthalmologist
and the Batticaloa unit is also not functioning for unstable conditions
there. But he said an Ampara unit is being planned. He said US $ 70,000
will be spent to improve an eye unit at Homagama hospital.
The new president of Lions said that Lions have helped 3 million catract
surgeries in India at 280 units all over the country. He called the
Indian program one of the most successful and said a surgery cost only
15 US Dollars, there.
Mahendra Amarasuriya said the Lion’s share of the Lions International
Boxing Day Tsunami relief fund of seven million US Dollars out of the
15 million pleged was received by Sri Lanka, while Thailand ,Indonesia
and South India received the balance. He said initially it was estimated
that 3000 houses could be built for Tsunami relief. But he said since
the estimate building cost had gone up and now only 1450 houses could
be built according to government specifications with running water and
electricity after purchasing or obtaining land. He said 350 houses of
that amount have been so far completed and 600 more will be finished
by the coming December. The other 500 houses will be finished next year.
Amarasuriya said with the houses the Lions are building child care centers
and community centers where such things as medical clinics could be
run.
“Forty thousand Sri Lankans died and 120,000 homes were destroyed
during the 2004 tsunami. Lions went right to work, providing food and
shelter. Helped by donations from Lions worldwide, Lions in Sri Lanka
also partnered with LCIF to build 1,459 homes and provide job training,”
Amarasuriya, hailing originally from one of the worst hit towns, Galle
in Sri Lanka said. He said 1450 houses are coming up at places like
Hambantota, Hikkaduwa, Bandar agama, Ampara, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.
He said the Sight Fist projects are also implemented in Bangladesh,
Nepal and Pakistan .
He said the Lions are engaged in Disabled vocational training, funding
schools and supplying special equipment like Lasers for surgery in those
countries.
Amarasuriya said apart from these major projects the Lions are currently
involved in developing pre-schools, granting scholarships for medical
and engineering students in need of financial assistance using funds
from Scandinavian and UK in Sri Lanka.
A science graduate from the University of Ceylon and an expert in management
Amarasuriya is determined to challenge the age old international body
into change and has selected “challenge to change as his theme
for the next year. He said, “Without this internal change, we will
no longer be relevant to the 21st century. We have to be flexible so
that people are not bogged down by bureaucratic procedures, by protocol,
and by pomp and pageantry. Young people appear to be more interested
in hands-on projects and not spending their time at meetings. That is
why I challenge the Lions to change internally so that we will establish
a different image – a dynamic vibrant 21st century organization.”
|
