District Governor Chief Guest at the Lions Pre-School Concert

Multi-Service Health Camp at Walana

New Lions joins the Panadura L/C Den

The Lions Club of Panadura was chartered on the 17^th December 1967 with a membership of 20 who harboured a common belief to make our society a better place to live in for the ones which it is not. The Lions Club of Kalutara was the parent club.

Among the distinguished founder members Lions Joe Abeywickrema, Vernon Chanmugam, Dr Fairley De Silva, Anton Fernando, Ivan Fernando, Ranjith Fernando, Bandula Fonseka Tissa Gooneratne, Asoka Jayatileke, Roy De Mel, Kumar Moonesinghe, Susantha Perera, Cyril Salgado, Lasil Soysa, Shelton Soysa, Dr Gordan Walles, Dr D.S.Wijesinghe, A N De Zilva and M.T.M.Bafiq's names are noteworthy. Their commendable ceaseless contributions to Lionism has made them recognised in the District level and international level in various leadership roles.

We had the proud privilege to celebrate our Golden jubilee of 50 great years in 2017, when the International celebrated the centenary.

Currently the club has 35 active members who dedicate their time, efforts and resources to serve the less fortunate of the society to enhance the quality of their lives.

As we celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2017, it's moment to look back on our long and proud tradition of service and the numerous achievements of our club.

We are particularly proud to have club members who have risen in various Leadership roles in Lionism and have been at the helm of our Association as guiding force for existing and newer members.

We have the privilege of producing a Past District Governor Lion Dr Shirley Perera, who led the District 306A1 in 2007-8 with distinction.

Our Founder Melvin Jones said “You can’t get very far until you start doing something for someone else.”

We are proud to have within our membership 3 individuals who have received the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. Past District Governor Lion Dr. Shirley Prerera, Lion Errol Smith and Lion Dr. Sarath Samarage received this award which is the highest form of recognition and embodies humanitarian ideas consistent with the nature and purpose of Lionism.

Leading the Club 8 times – A Rare Achievement- Our current President Dhammika Padmasiri holds a record by taking the reins of this great club for 8 terms.

Outstanding Couple in Lionism - Lion Errol Smith and Lion Lady Devika has been crowned together Lion & The Lion Lady of the Year, twice in 2003-04 and 2015-16. Lion Lady Devika was crowned 6 times as the Lion Lady of the Year.

An outstanding Secretary – A role model-We have an excellent Secretary in Lion Nihal Wijeratne taking our club administration to greater heights.

THE POWER OF SERVICE

Lions are ordinary people who do extraordinary things to help others and support good causes. Over the last 50 years we have served the communities with a multitude of services based on the needs.

12 Houses for the poor. In 1988 the Club with funding from Germany constructed 12 houses for the poor in Kaludewala village.
A Reproductive Health Unit donated to the Kethumathie Maternity Hospital Panadura
Vision for the visually handicapped – Screening for visual problems, provision of spectacles for the needy, Cataract surgery
Education for the children – A Pre-School is being run for over 15 years for underprivileged children Free uniforms are provided to the children, Conducting general medical and eye check-ups. Organizing an Annual New Year Celebrations for the kids with prizes, and an Annual year-end Concert for the kids and providing Free gifts, A play area was also set up last year. Organizing a Free Annual excursion for the children and parent
Children and Youth – Our priority - Annually we offer 7 scholarships to underprivileged deserving students. The Lions Club of Panadura was a pioneer in setting up Youth Services Clubs.
Caring for the mothers – Educational programs and gifts were given to the poor pregnant mothers. Equipment donated to the Kethumathie Womens Hospital
Services for the elderly- Inmates of several elders homes in Panadura are given health check ups, entertainment, food and gifts.
Empowering the Persons with special abilities- They are provided with meals, gifts entertainment and appliances. Many programs were conducted for the inmates at the Camilla School. Provision of meals, conducting health camps and donation of gifts and musical instruments are some of the highlights.
Lions Club of Panadura pioneered the concept of multi-service health camps. Many Health Camps for the remote communities were conducted over the years.
Blood donation campaigns, Diabetes Action – Screening, Awareness and World Diabetes Day
Promoting Healthy Lifestyles-Awareness Seminars, Donation of equipment to Healthy Lifestyle Centers catering to an emerging priority health problems .
Protecting the environment – Tree planting campaigns, distribution of plants and educational programs on environment.
Promoting Nutrition – Many programs on nutrition awareness, Distribution of Kola-Kenda and milk foods were conducted.
The service minded Lions of the LIONS CLUB OF PANADURA, joined the World Lunch Relay by serving an underserved rural community in the north of Sri Lanka, with healthcare and provided food and nutrition to win the Lions World Lunch Relay Contest. They were selected out of hundreds of entries from all over the world, because they best expressed the spirit of the event in the category of biggest food drive.
Peace building through Religion, Sports and Arts – A unique annual project to build ethnic harmony since 2011 organized in collaboration with the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA) and the St.John Ambulance. Lions Club of Panadura was awarded the “Gold Star Award” for the Best Youth Camp at the 37th Multiple District Convention

We Serve – 50 Years of continued humanitarian services to the needy.

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.