Rising Lions Club expands membership by 14 | 03 November 2020

The Rising Lions Club of Seychelles is expanding in terms on membership, after it inducted 14 new members into the club on Saturday.

The induction ceremony was held at the Coco D’Or Hotel, Beau Vallon, in the presence of members of the Lions Club of Seychelles, the Women’s Centennial Club, branches of Lions Club Seychelles.

All 14 new members are fairly young, mainly students at A-Level or university level studies, an important element to the presidency of newly elected club president Deepa K. Babu.

“This year, I wanted to initiate something new which has not been done, and I wanted to concentrate on youth empowerment. If you notice, we tend to attract the older generations but I wanted to break that norm, and make it more inclusive. The youths want a voice and I want to give a platform to them. I am also the secretary of Global Shapers Victoria Hub so I have been interacting with the youths, so I see that young kids have much to say, but that they get neglected because people think they are too small,” said Deepa K. Babu.

“Most of the projects that we do, their ideas come from the young kids. I implement their idea at the administration level, so through the club, they get this boost of confidence, they develop their communication skills. So, from the back-end, we support them but the project is up to them to coordinate. I am just there to give them the platform to do so,” Mr Babu said.

Mr Babu is a chartered secretary, and was founding member of the club which started in 2018. He first served as the secretary, before last year serving as the first vice-president.

While the club is guided by guidelines from the Lions Club International, the proposed projects are not necessarily fitting to the context and what the club hopes to achieve, adds Mr Babu.

“But what we see here, are things that are not necessarily touched. For instance autism, blindness, deafness and disability. We are trying to do and make an impact in these spheres and to break any stigma. The principle that I personally follow is not to change the world, but to change one person. If you can change at least one person’s life, that is a victory in itself. And try to change at least one person’s life as much as you can, so people can see you as an example and be inspired themselves to help others,” he added.

As a fairly young club, the members opt for projects that are impactful, and do not require much in terms of financial resources. Thus far, they have initiated projects that have benefitted residents of Foyer de Nazareth, as well as the Seychelles Deaf Association.

In future, the club hopes to launch a nationwide project encouraging youths to donate blood and to maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to be able to do so.

During the ceremony, new members were remitted with the necessary club memorabilia including the club pin.

New member Nellie Azemia is 19 years old and currently pursuing her A-level studies. The young robotics enthusiast has over the past three months found her voice, and seen her confidence and self-esteem boosted.

“I have always wanted to help out and have a voice, where I have a platform and I can participate and voice out for my friends, my community and our society. I feel as though the youths don’t really have a chance to express themselves so I feel that this is a great opportunity for us to join hands together and collaborate on projects to make a difference,” said Ms Azemia.

“If we put one smile on someone’s face, it is changing their world. It is really up to us. I also want to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to get the students more involved in technology,” she said.

Nellie says she has through the club, managed to overcome her social anxiety and is looking forward to teaching Science and Maths to deaf students. She hopes to promote the application of STEM to tackle societal problems in Seychelles.

Youths who are interested to serve their community and society and who are interested in becoming a member of the club are urged to get into contact with the club.

The accompanying photos taken by our photographer Jude Morel show some highlights of the induction ceremony.

Laura Pillay