Lekki Elites Lions Club, which birthed recently, has installed Lion Vera Odu as founding President of the chapter.
Lion Odu was installed in a ceremony held at the prestigious Orchid Hotel in Lekki.
The ceremony, which served as a fundraiser also saw the induction of the board of trustees and new members of the chapter, which was inaugurated early this year.
In her acceptance speech, Odu who had served as president of Gbagada Jasmine Lions Club in the Lions service year of 2020/21, traced her journey to becoming the charter president of Lekki Elites Lions Club said, “following my relocation to Lekki in 2023, I saw a need to reach out to fellow like minds which led to the formation of Lekki Elites Lions Club in April 2024.”
Speaking on the club’s mission, Odu informed that, “for a successful Lions service year of 2024/2025, our mission is to serve the less privileged living in some lower income areas along the Lekki axis,” through implementation of various impactful humanitarian projects.
According to her, the projects include core areas such as cataract surgeries, feeding the hungry, childhood cancer/humanitarian aid, school fees sponsorship and youth empowerment, all of which were estimated to gulp the sum of N20 million.
She explained that, “in September we had a medical outreach around Langbasa where we attended to over 500 people. We also collaborated with eye doctors and Faith Impact Church to achieve that. We provided them with free medical tests and the people we identified to have cataract, Lekki Elites Lions Club sponsored the cataract removal surgery for four of them.
“In December, we have a project to reach out to as many families as possible to provide them with food palliatives. We are also particular about youth empowerment and promoting literacy in schools. We’ve been to one of the schools in Ajah, for instance, where we donated books to encourage the children. There’s a whole lot that’s going to be happening around here because the needs are enormous and we need a lot of funds to achieve these.”
The keynote speaker, Lion Mary Onu, during her speech, noted that it is a misconception to think that all residents of the Lekki community are swimming in affluence.
She stated that, “it’s not only the rich who live in Lekki. Once you get to the waterside, you will see abject poverty. In this same Lekki, there is someone who has not eaten for three days. For every rich household in Lekki, there are at least 15 households that are not so rich. There is so much help required in our community and that community happens to be Lekki. It’s a community that requires your service, treasure, time and talent.”
Appealing to well meaning individuals to render their support to Lion Odu and her team in order to enable them make tangible impact in their service year, Lion Onu said, “what I’m pointing out today is the importance of giving to your community. So let’s support Lion Vera to reach out. I appeal to you to help us serve our community.”