“District 201 N5 The Lions Clubs of Sydney & Norforlk” conducted its District Governor change over formal annual function with an array of inspiring speeches by several dignitaries and office bearers and friends of lion movement that included several past district governors, and Prue Carr, State MP.  The incoming District Governor Lion Ron Gattone was handed over the mantle of the district’s leadership by the immediate past president Dennis Halpin who reminded the well-attended audience of the motto of lions “we serve” and that even serving others is an opportunity that they are blessed with and should be considered that way.

Lion Ron Gattone said that at the recently concluded centennial celebrations of the Lions International at Chicago the most heard word was “Namaste” a word in Sanskrit language (one of the oldest languages of the world and still widely used in India).  He said that the current President Lion Naresh Agarwal (of Indian origin) started coining the word at the celebrations = the word stood for “the spirit within me salutes the spirit in you” a knowing that we are all made from the same ONE and that there is a divine spirit within each of us.

Lion Ron said that this aptly represents the lions’ ideal of “we serve” and brings out the true meaning of “our selfless service to others”.

It was also a satisfying moment for the Lions Club of Sydney Indians.  During the occasion it was recognised for its best record of service to Diabetics Awareness with the award of “The James P Ledingham Memorial Trophy’ that was received by Dr Rohitas Batta, President of the Club and Padman Karamil, First Vice President. It is needless to add that the Lions Club of Sydney Indian undertakes lot more community service activities, including seminars on ageing, mental health issues etc. and also raising funds to support the Lions Club International Foundation’s charity activities.

Lions Club of Sydney Indian continues the celebration of Lions International’s centenary and fund raising activities

Lions Club of Sydney Indian continued their “WE SERVE” activities with their regular meetings and highly sought after health awareness topics presentations to the community.  On 21 at the Parramatta Lion’s Den (North Parramatta premises) the Sydney Lions organised an open forum coupled with the Lions International’s centenary celebrations that was well attended by the community as well as several members of various Lions Clubs of Sydney.

Dr Rohitas Batta, president of the Club gave a concise summary of the club’s past achievements and with the excellent support of the Club’s treasurer Dr Narasimha Reddy the attendees were given a glimpse of what the Lions planned for the rest of this year. The newly elected District Governor Lion Ron Gattone congratulated the club on its service for the community and offered his full support to the club.

Dr Gurprit Ganda MAPS, a qualified and trained Clinical Psychologist gave a passionate presentation on Common Mental Health Issues faced by people. These included depression, stress and anxiety.  She discussed the impacts stress has on the human body. Dr Ganda also talked about neurotransmitters, the effect of diet and lifestyle on mental health, symptoms of depression, common thinking distortions and the range disorders that fall with generalised anxiety disorder including phobias, obsessions, panic disorder. Dr Ganda covered a wide range of psychological therapies that practitioners such as herself use to treat such disorders.

The District Governor Lion Ron Gattone praised Dr Ganda on providing a highly valuable insight into the issues of mental health and prompted the audience to take on themselves the task of promoting community awareness of this huge health issue.  He also said promoting personality development would help solve lot of health and social problems while enhancing individual capabilities.

“Thanks to Bunnings North Parramatta assisted by its events co-ordinator Ms Bree, the core volunteers and supporters of Sydney Lions held a successful Barbeque event on Sunday 25th June.  The event helped to raise badly needed funds to support the “Lions Measles Program” when LCSITeam presented to the Lions District Treasurer a cheque of $500 for Lions Club International Foundation as its first instalment towards this program,” Padman Karamil, Vice President & Media Coordinator, Lions Club of Sydney Indian added.