Posted on December 25, 2006

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Lions Clubs International to Allocate Final $2 Million for Tsunami Recovery

With the second anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami approaching, the Lions Clubs International Foundation in Oak Brook, Illinois, has announced plans to allocate the final $2 million of nearly $15 million it raised for tsunami victims and recovery efforts.

Despite political unrest, civil war, and government red tape in many of the South Asian countries that were hit hardest, LCIF built homes, schools, hospitals, and orphanages. In Sri Lanka, 400 homes have been completed, and plans to build 1,432 new homes are underway. The organization is also creating professional development programs to help those displaced by the tsunami become more financially independent and self-sufficient. In the Indonesian province of Aceh, LCIF and local Lions Clubs have established two villages that consist of 545 homes with electricity, six deep-water wells, and village restrooms. Upcoming projects in Indonesia include economic revival activities in the Lions villages and additional housing for tsunami victims.

In Thailand, LCIF has completed 195 homes in two villages on two separate islands, and construction has begun on clinics, orphanages, and water towers. A new economic revival program is currently underway for the hundreds of people who depend on marine life, and a new vocation center to reestablish fishing in the area will be completed in 2007. In India, the organization will build homes, community rehabilitation centers, potable water facilities, primary health centers, schools, and an orphanage. Across the South Asian region, an LCIF-funded mission in February 2005 provided 1,800 pairs of glasses for victims who lost theirs during the tsunami. In addition, LCIF distributed 60,000 pairs of eyeglasses and taught 125 Sri Lankan Lions how to use two donated lensometers and run an eyeglass recycling operation.

"I saw first hand the tsunami destruction in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and Indonesia, and now I've seen the reconstruction first hand," said Lions Clubs International president Jimmy Ross. "The Lions of South Asia have helped put lives back together and have given hope to thousands of people."

“As Tsunami 2nd Anniversary Approaches, Lions Clubs International to Allocate Final $2 Million of $15 Million for Recovery Efforts.” Lions Clubs International Foundation Press Release 12/19/06.

Primary Subject: Tsunami Relief
Location(s): Aceh, Illinois, Indonesia, Oak Brook, Sri Lanka

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