Lions Club To Construct Eye Testing Center In Voinjama

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The Chief Executive Officer of the Security Expert Guard of Liberia (SEGAL), Momo T. Cyrus, and family during the week embarked on a series of humanitarian activities in Voinjama, Lofa County.

   On Monday, August 23, 2021 Cyrus held discussion with authorities of the Tellewoyan Hospital in Voinjama City, at which time he promised, on behalf of the Ducor Lions Club, to construct a modern eye center at the hospital.

   Providing a brief history of Lions Club in Liberia, Cyrus, who is a past President of the Ducor Lions Club, said that Lionism started in Liberia as far back as 1964, and that there are seven clubs in the country.

   “As a past president of the Ducor Lions Club, I am a senior Lion in Liberia and internationally. We are here to serve humanity, and the theme or objective is ‘to serve’,” he stated.

   He said that, as Lions, they do not serve for any political gain, monetary value of selfish motive, but serve humanity, especially visually impaired and physically challenged people.

   He informed authorities at the hospital that the Lions Club is heavily involved with helping blind people around Liberia, noting that eye centers at the John F. Kennedy Hospital and Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County, were constructed by the Lions Club.

   “Other counties are actually benefiting from Lionism in Liberia. If you look at the Eye Clinic at JFK in Monrovia it is the Lions Club that built it, and in Buchanan we spent almost US$500,000. And we got more than US$350,000 in grant coming in a few months to build eye clinics in three counties.”

   Cyrus, a senior Lion who comes from Lofa County and, considering his involvement in Lionism and love for his people, especially for the blind, hopes, though not definite, to lobby with senior Lions in Liberia that they may buy the concept and become willing to support it before he expedites it to the international body.

   “We will be pushing forward to build an eye clinic at the Tellewoyan Hospital here in Voinjama in a few months. We will push it as a senior Lion. Again, let me be clear: it is not a definite thing because money is not there right now, but we think that if we make our case as Lofaians and, given the proximity of the hospital and the number of beneficiaries that will benefit from the eye clinic, I think we will make a very strong case to the Lions Club and then to Lions international. So, as I leave from here I am going to start having discussion with my senior Lions, that there is a need to have an eye clinic at the Tellewoyan Hospital, just as we did in Monrovia and Buchanan.   

   Speaking, the Acting Head of the hospital, Dr. Wilmot S. Frank, welcomed Cyrus’ plan for the construction of an eye center at Tellewoyan Hospital, noting that the construction of the center at the county’s major referral hospital, with a population of over 200,000, is critical. He appealed to the Ducor Lions Club through Cyrus to help sponsor one nurse of the hospital to study eye care and treatment. He said that the study, which is for a year, will enable the nurse to conduct effective eye testing and treatment, even before the construction of an eye center. The request was welcomed and accepted by Cyrus.

   Earlier, Momo T. Cyrus broke ground for the construction of a dormitory for visually impaired people in Voinjama. The cost for the construction is put at US$25,000, and is expected to be completed within 24 months.

   Speaking on behalf of the visually impaired community, Isaac S. Soribah, Coordinator for Visually Impaired Community of Lofa County, extended thanks and appreciation to the Ducor Lions Club and to Cyrus, who happens to be the past president, for thinking about people with visual impediment.

   He said it is a good thing to provide learning opportunities for the blind, noting “it will be good to have a dormitory for ourselves because there are young children that are not going to school”.

   He stated that they have engaged the superintendent to provide a place for members, to enable blind children to learn and be able to express themselves.

   He further thanked Cyrus, his family and Ducor Lions Club for thinking about them.

   For his part, the Assistant Superintendent for Development, Samuel Mulbah, who proxy for the Superintendent, William Tamba Kamba, said that the process of acquiring land for the construction of the dormitory for visually impaired people in Voinjama started two years ago.

   Assistant Superintendent Mulbah said that, with the help of the Land Authority, a land was finally acquired and ground breaking for the construction has taken place.

   He said that the county is pleased that a second portion has been added, which is the construction of an eye clinic, to help cater to the people of Lofa County. He prayed that God will empower Cyrus so that other senior Lions can buy his proposal for the establishment of an eye clinic at the Tellewoyan Hospital to provide eye testing and treatment for people of the county.

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