29th April until 2nd May saw the gathering of 1,400 like-minded people at the LIONS Multiple District 308 Convention in Suntec, Singapore. It is an annual event for electing new leadership and charting the programmes for next fiscal year. It is also a fellowship session to chit chat and share experiences with others on serving the community. As the largest service club in the World, LIONS have been known for their tireless and selfless efforts in serving the underprivileged and unfortunates. Thereby, the gathering also saw those excel in works being recognised and rewarded.
Community service especially on voluntary basis is never an easy task. It is not that difficult to extend our helping hand to the needy, either in cash, kind or passion. The most challenging part to me is getting members to continue and to sustain their energy to serve long term programmes. While many have started an activity well, the activity might have only one off effect and short term gain to the beneficiaries. Some social workers have spoken against the one off activity at welfare homes that will disturb the daily routine of the inmates. It is not uncommon for the inmates to return to their normal life after many days because of excitement created during visits by volunteers. Thereby, it is advisable to have long term project with the welfare homes and it is important too to have schedule visits or activities rather than in piece meal during the festive seasons only.
In order to do so, sustainability in terms of energy, capacity and enthusiasm is critical. While many Lions are passionate of serving, many might have difficulty to stay put longer with a project. Many community services failed because lack of sustaining power or continuity. So, it is important to overcome this challenge by deploying better strategies. Perhaps to synergies and to pool different resources from various stakeholders together for a particular project. It is about smart partnership and sharing of resources.
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