14 Mar 2023

Lions club of Mokomoto conducted eye testing at Sefhophe village as part of the club’s mandate to improve health and wellbeing of communities and providing humanitarian service to the needy people.

Formed in 1999 and based in Selebi Phikwe, the 26-member club also tested the elderly people of Sefhophe for diabetes and hypertension.

The club engaged the service of Dr Thanuja Panicker, an optometrist operating in Gaborone and also a member of the Gaborone Lion’s Club.

Dr Panicker said one of the club’s pillars was to protect the vision by conducting eye testing, explaining that 80 per cent of blindness was preventable.

She said it was important to reach out to communities and offer simple pairs of reading glasses hence he decided to take the initiative to the people of Sefhophe, where the club targeted to test 100 elderly people.

Apart from reading glasses, she said those who had conditions such as cataract were referred to government hospitals for further examination.

She said the initiative targeted the elderly people most because they happened to be neglected thus failed to access medical services.For his part former vice president, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe thanked the club for extending the gesture to the people of Sefhophe.

He urged the community to invest in good health and wellness by engaging in physical activities or exercise to ensure that their wellbeing was sustained.

Dr Kedikilwe said a lot of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) were as a result of lack of exercise and called for the community to take the initiative to engage in various physical activities.

In the olden days, he said, NCDs were unheard of because people worked hard at their cattleposts and ploughing fields, but that had changed with time due to technology resulting in the increase in NCDs.

The club also conducted a similar campaign in Tobane, Mmadinare, Damochujenaa and Botshabelo.

The club Secretary, Mr Anil Patel added that Lion club of Mokomoto was devoted to offering humanitarian service by volunteering for different kinds of community projects.

He said the club was a non-profit making organisation whose members were dedicated to changing the world through charity work.

Mr Patel said the first Lion club was formed in Botswana in 1968 at Lobatse, whilst Selebi Phikwe club was the third.

He said Selebi Phikwe club stopped operating after the closure of the BCL mine therefore in 1999 Lion’s club of Mokomoto was formed.He added that the club continued to touch many lives in Selebi Phikwe and surrounding areas to make life better for the people in those communities. ENDS