Port Shepstone Lions Club
District 410-E | South Africa
District 410-E | South Africa
"God would like to wipe the tears from their eyes, but God can't unless you are the means by which God does that and so you help to prevent blindness. You give sight to those who have cataracts, and God smiles through the tears because God has such fantastic partners - you (the Lions of South Africa)"
Bishop Desmond Tutu
The Lions and Lion Ladies of the Port Shepstone Lions Club have, for almost 5 decades, voluntarily provided a selfless service to our local communities. These are some of the recent and ongoing service projects that have been made possible by these extraordinary volunteers...
Port Shepstone Lions provide ongoing support to the following organisations:
A Safe Place is a secure venue where victims (particularly women and children) can seek refuge and safety from the scourge of human trafficking, rape and abuse. The new unit is strategically situated at the entrance to the local school in the Merlewood Township outside Port Shepstone. The unit is manned after hours by qualified security personnel. Victims are referred to social workers etc. for further action.
The Genesis Trust is based in Port Shepstone and was established by Lions District 410-C's 2014 "Citizen Of The Year, Pastor Trevor Downham. The Safe Places, a project of the Genesis Trust, have been established to address the plight of injustice, particularly relating to “at-risk” women and children, in neighbouring communities.
There are very limited statistics available on violent crimes against women and children in South Africa and the internet is littered with claims on various classifications of violence, many of which cannot be substantiated. South Africa is notorious for its high level of rape, but the true scale to which the problem extends is unknown. SAPS statistics only record reported proven incidents of rape.
An Institute for Security Studies report states “policing is only part of the solution. Most violence takes place between people who know each other or live in the same communities, and there is little the police can do about this until the crime has already been committed.”
Given the sometimes-limited resources the police have available to them, many incidents of violent crime go unreported and unattended. In instances, families will seek to resolve incidents of violent crime within the community between themselves, seeking financial compensation from the perpetrator rather than legal justice and physical & emotional treatment for the victim. In such instances, the trauma suffered by the victim goes unattended.
Although largely seen as the responsibiliy of the police, acts of violence need involvement from members of communities as the scale of the problem isn’t isolated to polce reported incidents. ‘It is important to understand that violence – whether it's murder, rape or assault – is not something that the police can prevent or reduce on their own,’ - Gareth Newham, Head of the Governance, Crime and Justice Division at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
Port Shepstone Lions regularly hosted a group of underprivileged children at The Pont Holiday Resort in Port Edward. The children, usually aged between 6 and 17, are accompanied by members of the Reitz Lions Club in the northern Freestate. Most of these children come from impoverished families who reside in the towns of Reitz, Warden, Petrus Steyn and Frankfort in the Northern Freestate.
Reitz Lions members liaise with their local child welfare, identifying children who qualify for this project, meet with their respective families/care givers and obtain the required permissions. They also source transport, and obtain sponsorships for toiletries, meals for the road trip etc.
Port Shepstone Lions organise sponsored accommodation for the children and their Lions chaperones, usually at the Pont Holiday Resort n Port Edward. Sponsorships and donations in the form of cash donations, foods and drinks, tents, fuel for the bus, mattresses, toys, clothing, sweets, stationary and entertainment/outings throughout the course of the week were also organised by members of the Club. All meals are also provided by Port Shepstone, Ramsgate and Shelly Beach Lions Clubs. Sponsorships are provided for many of these meals by local companies and organisations.
Most of the children have never seen the sea and most have never experienced a proper holiday. Port Shepstone Lion Ladies provide each child with a sponsored goodie bag which contains sweets, chocolates, stationary and other novelty items. They are also provided with many items of clothing which are kindly donated towards the project.
The various activities provided during the week vacation include trips to the beach on the Spellbound Gambler river raft, a trip to the Wild Coast Sun Water World, a trip to the Shelly Beach Ski Boat Club where they enjoy sponsored boat rides on the ocean. a visit to the Riverbend Crocodile Farm, a visit to Pure Venom Reptile Park in Shelly Beach and a visit to Lake Eland Game Reserve.
This project was truly a heart-warming experience for all Lions involved. Many members became quite emotional when they experienced the love, joy and appreciation expressed by these wonderful children. Port Shepstone Lions would like to express their deep and sincere gratitude to all sponsors and our local community who gave so generously to make this project possible.
Every year during the long weekend of 14 - 16 December, Harbourview Superspar kindly allow Port Shepstone Lions to collect food donations for the needy. Members of the Club worked in shifts at both entrances in order to promote the project and provide descriptions of what groceries were required. The generosity of the public is always extraordinary. Numerous shopping trolleys are filled and a number of cash donations are made. The cash donations are utilised to purchase additional items required and food hampers are packed by members of the club for distributed to various needy families and institutions in the Port Shepstone area.
Food donations are made to:
St Catherine's Anglican Church Feeding Scheme.
The Old Apostolic Church Food Outreach.
Hibiscus Food For Life School Feeding Scheme (Raj Mabaheer)
Sithunyuwe Bread of Life in rural Umzumbe.
Reinhardt's Place
Another school that receives regular support from the Port Shepstone Lions Club is the Suid Natal Primary School which is sutuated in Oslo Beach, Port Shepstone. A large number of the pupils at this school come from poverty stricken families and many will not receive presents this Christmas. The Port Shepstone Lions and Lion Ladies have been visiting this school for a number of years now and providing the children with gifts and treats to celebrate the Season of Goodwill and provide some sort of comfort in these very difficult times.
Founded in 1994, Reinhardt’s Place is a home for mentally impaired persons of all ages and is located in Pumula on the South Coast of Kwazulu-Natal. They cater for most categories of impairments including :
Epilepsy, autism, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other mild to profound mental conditions.
The staff at Reinhardt’s Place are experienced and trained in all its activities with hands-on care and are themselves parents of an autistic child named Reinhardt. They have empathy with both the parents and affected loved ones. Reinhardt’s Place is totally committed, supportive and equipped to meet the needs of the residents and their relatives and everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Port Shepstone Lions Club, in conjunction with the Master Builders Association sponsored and installed 3 heat pumps at the home. One of the pumps was for the bathrooms and general use, the other for the kitchen and a special chlorine resistant heat pump was installed for the therapeutic jacuzzi used for the treatment of some of the kids.
S.A. Guide Dogs Association
The Association for the Disabled (KZN)
Mbango Home Care (For the Aged) (Web Site)
South Coast Hospice
The Cancer Association of South Africa
Schools Feeding and upliftment Schemes
Various Community Feeding Schemes
Genesis Trust
Annual Book Prizes for all local schools
Cornerstone School for Autustic Children
Reinhardt's Place for the Mentally Handicapped
Lions BrightSight
Higher Ground
Port Shepstone Child Welfare
Diabetes Camps
This page is dedicated to the Lion Ladies' Club of Port Shepstone whose support and dedication to serving are an inspiration to us all.