For the first time in the history of Lions Clubs, a city-based person has been elected as the international director to head its global vision and projects. V. Vijay Kumar Raju has catapulted Visakhapatnam to the international map after he was elected to serve a two-year term as a director of Lions Clubs International at the association’s 99{+t}{+h}International Convention held in Fukuoka, Japan, recently.
An active member of the Visakhapatnam Samarasya Lions Club of District 316 A since 1996, he has held many offices within the association. Mr. Raju is the first from coastal AP and second from the State to be a part of the Board of Lions Clubs International. He has also served the Indian Air Force and is presently running nine educational institutions and three private firms. Mr. Raju, who will be in-charge of the LCI’s operations, finance and audit committee, will oversee the organisation’s activities and projects in 64 countries.
During his visit to the city, he explained to The Hindu about the organisation’s mission and future projects during the centennial celebrations of service of Lions Club International.
Our mission
“From a global perspective, our focus will be on curbing diabetes. India will be one of the major areas of work for LCI in this aspect. Our mission is to also address areas like cancer, environment, vision and relieving hunger through sustained activities, projects and expansion works,” said Mr. Raju, also a recipient of the Gallantry Award from the President of India. Talking about the organisation’s projects in the region, Mr. Raju said a dialysis centre was coming up on the outskirts of Vijayawada at a cost of Rs. 7 crore. This apart, the organisation is also looking for a land in Visakhapatnam to set up a dialysis centre for which it has approached VUDA. Similar centres will come up in Srikakulam and West Godavari districts, he said. “We are also upgrading the Lions Cancer Hospital at Seethammadhara with an additional outlay of Rs. 20 crore to include state-of-art equipment and amenities,” Mr. Raju added.
Among its other major projects, a comprehensive eye care hospital is coming up at Salur, which will cater to the neighbouring States of Chhattisgarh and Odisha as well. “The project is being developed at the cost of Rs 1.5 crore and the Outpatient Department will be operational in a month’s time. We intend to make it a state-of-the-art facility along the lines of Shankar Netralaya in Chennai,” he added.
