KNYSNA NEWS - A special Knysna Lions celebratory dinner was held at the Knysna Yacht Club on Saturday 21 July to show gratitude to a few generous individuals.
The evening honoured volunteers that have helped to strengthen the Knysna Lions and their related community projects in the Southern Cape.
The induction of new president Barry Hutchinson by outgoing president Craig Wood was on the agenda. Barry Hutchinson will be leading a strong team of Knysna Lions, who are currently volunteering to raise money for Sightfirst and other community projects in the Southern Cape area.
The Lions of Uniondale and Knysna own the Buco Lions Karoo to Coast, which serves as the main fundraiser for these projects.
Dr Charl Roux
Dr Charl Roux, an ophthalmic surgeon and humanitarian, was honoured with the Melvin Jones Award – the most prestigious award in Lionism – for his service to the community.
Dr Roux has given very generously of his time to perform 19 cornea and many other operations pro bono to people in need. This service has included the patients' pre-op investigations and their post-op appointments and aftercare.
The Knysna Lions have sponsored the actual corneas, the cost of the anaesthetists and theatre costs as part of their contribution to Sightfirst in the area. Dr Roux has also done some retinal attachments and several cataract operations where there were complications. Dr Roux has spent many hours of his time in order to help people who are not in a financial position to restore their sight.
Olwen Toms
Olwen Toms, who is the life force behind the Sightfirst project, was honoured with the International President’s Leadership Award from the Lions International in Chicago. Olwen is the second person ever to receive this award in South Africa. Past district governor Tilley Nel handed Olwen this award and praised her for her tireless efforts on the Sightfirst project.
Tilley explained that this award was for Olwen’s passion for ensuring that as many people as possible could be given the gift of sight. Olwen said that Helen Keller challenged the Lions to become Knights of the Blind.
With input from Olwen and the Knysna Lions, Sightfirst has enabled 4 307 cataract operations to take place and 160 are booked for later in 2018. Sixty guide dogs have been trained by the SA Guide Dog Association as a result of the donations made to this organisation by the Knysna Lions.
An eye clinic has also been established in Knysna where subsidised eye testing takes place for Operation Brightsight.
A full list of the incredible achievements to date by the team is available on the www.karootocoast.com website.
Olwen has also voluntarily given ongoing advice and guidance to the rest of the district on the Sightfirst and Brighlight projects.
Please feel free to find out more about the various projects that the Knysna Lions support at www.karootocoast.com.
Entries for the Buco Lions Karoo to Coast Mountain Bike Challenge that takes place on Sunday 23 September are sold out for 2018.
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