Lion's seeks govt cooperation
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta
The government should embrace social organizations and work together in managing the chronic problems in society, says a Lion's club governor.
Newly appointed governor of Lion's Club Indonesia District 307-B Charles Ong Saerang said on the sidelines of the district's first cabinet meeting on Friday that the government could use the organization's wide network to implement social programs.
"In Taiwan, the new governor (of a Lion's Club district) was greeted by the president, while here, only my driver came to pick me up at the airport," said Saerang jokingly. "Actually, we provide a lot of assistance for the government's programs."
The 2004-2005 cabinet of Lion's club district 307-B plans to focus on raising awareness of diabetes.
"Diabetes in Indonesia is on the rise due to our changing lifestyles," said Saerang. The governor, who is also the director of jamu (herbal medicine) producer PT Nyonya Meneer, cited the consumption of too much sugar and lack of exercise as two causes of diabetes.
Data from 2003 on the number of people with diabetes across the archipelago varied between 2.5 percent of the population, or 5.5 million people, as reported by the Indonesian Association of Endocrinologists (Perkeni), and 6 percent of the population (13 million, reported by the Indonesian Diabetes Association (Persadia).
The district plans to distribute brochures and hold free eye checkups on World Diabetes Day, which falls on Nov. 14.
"We will work with Lion's Clubs in Australia and Malaysia for this project," said Saerang, who replaced former Lion's Club governor Anton Hadiardja.
The Lion's Club International was founded in 1917 in the United States and currently has 1.4 million members throughout 193 countries.
The clubs in Indonesia are divided into two districts: 307-A and 307-B, with the first comprising of clubs in Sumatra and half of Jakarta and the latter in the other half of Jakarta, Java, Bali, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. There are 78 clubs and 2,142 members in district 307-B.
Continuing last year's program on cataract eradication, the district will also offer free surgery for some 1,000 patients from poor families.
Other programs include reconstructive surgery for harelips and a program for street children. The latter will be conducted in cooperation with Lion's Clubs in the Netherlands.
Later in the evening, the Lion's Club Indonesia made State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim and State Minister of Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto its honorary members.