AÍ CHIHUAHUA! – VISION RESTORATION IN THE LAND OF THE TACO BELL DOG

LIS team and local Lions Club members celebrate the end of the vision clinic in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico.
LIS team and local Lions Club members celebrate the end of the vision clinic in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Mexico is a large and very diverse country.  Many travelers from the United States know the country for its beaches – Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuantanejo, maybe Huatulco.  Some visitors may have only penetrated as far as border towns like Tijuana, Mexicali, Agua Prieto, Ciudad Juárez, Neuvo Laredo, Matamoros and others.  There is a lot more magic awaiting beyond, however, as well as welcoming peoples of a mélange of cultures and even languages.

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PANAMA LIONS TEAM 2023 – VISION RENEWAL IN THE ISTHMUS

Photo-op sign on Flamenco Island off the Pacific entry for the Panama Canal. First Lions stop in Panama.

Lions in Sight is a subgroup formed by Lions and optometrists in the late 1990’s.  Originally (and still well represented), most of the volunteers and doctors for the group came from the San Francisco area.  The group expanded activities in the 21st century with a vision clinic a year to Mexico’s 8 Lion regions.  One to two other trips went afield to more distant clinics – Palestine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Armenia, Albania, etc.  Lion volunteers and doctors soon came from all over the US helping spread the motto of Lionism “We Serve”.

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A LIFE WELL LIVED – Adventures with Dr John Demshar

Dr John Demshar performing ophthalmoscopy on a patient in Kalumnai, Sri Lanka.

I knew John Demshar was ill with some kind of rare cancer.  Not three weeks ago, I talked with John.  He sounded a bit weak, but optimism oozed from his thoughts.  Then I saw the notice of his death a couple of days ago.

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LIONS VISION CLINIC IN ALBANIA

ashraf 3 last clinic
Last morning of Lions Vision clinics at Ashraf 3, Albania.

Lionism is truly a worldwide phenomenon.  My wife and I joined a 36-member Lions In Sight team – composed of 13 doctors and 23 others from all over the US and Canada – that worked at various vision clinics Albania seeing over 7,000 patients during the first week of November 2018.

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EYE CARE IN THE SRI LANKAN TSUNAMI AFTERMATH – 2005

This optometrist provided eye care to victims on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka, one of the areas most devastated by the tsunami.

The day after Christmas 2004 was a good morning to be a little early to church. While Mr. Rasanayagan puttered away in his home in Kalmunai, Sri Lanka, his wife had already left for the nearby Assembly of God church for 9 a.m. services.

The tsunami waves hit at 8:45 a.m.

Where there were houses along the shore, the tsunami left only debris behind.
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HELEN KELLER SMILES – Lions from Mexico and the US come together to meet her visual challenge

There’s an eye clinic in Rio Verde!

Note – this is an article I wrote for the Oregon LIONS monthly magazine back a couple years ago. It seems like a nice place to launch this blog from. Helen Keller truly smiles.

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