DURING the celebration of Worldwide Induction Day (WWID) at the National Library on Saturday, the local chapter of Lions Club International warmly welcomed a new group of community-oriented individuals into its membership with a jubilant ceremony.

The occasion served as a means of welcoming new members and showcasing the club’s continued support of regional and global service initiatives.
Celebrated on the last Saturday in April, WWID is an exciting global membership celebration to unite Lion clubs around the world in welcoming new members.

The ceremony got underway at 15:00 hrs and saw the induction of over 20 new members, who swore the Lion’s oath, pledging to uphold a code of integrity and service.
The oath was administered by longstanding Lion Natascha Hamilton, who later handed out official Lions Club pins and certificates of membership.

She also gave the keynote address, in which she stated that the Lions Club can now better assist communities and engage in humanitarian endeavours with welcoming new members.
“On this day, we offer these persons the opportunity to experience our pride of service and gift of lasting and meaningful friendship. This is truly a cause for celebration”, said Hamilton.
According to her, the new members will fill a very important role within the organisation.

“They hold the key to our future. They will be the leaders that will move us forward to the next generation. As we share our tradition and ask them to carry on the legacy of Lions and Leos, we should also look to them for new ideas and inspirations so that we may learn from them just as they learn from us.”

Hamilton reminded that no one becomes a Leo or Lion on his or her own. She explained that the prospective member has to be brought into the organisation upon approval of the Club’s board of directors and on the recommendation of a very important person, their sponsor.

“The sponsor had the foresight to see the quality of the Leo or Lion in each new member and saw potential for them to do something truly great and to use their skills for the most important mission of all—to serve others,” Lion Hamilton added.

Meanwhile, the new members expressed eagerness to contribute.
Newly inducted Lion Samantha Scott expressed that it was an honour to become a member of one of the world’s largest service organisations. According to her, over the last few months, they have been exposed to the organisation’s activities, culture and history.

“It is indeed a distinguished organisation. We look forward to serving,” she expressed.

The ceremony concluded with a tail twisting activity and raffle, providing an opportunity for new and existing members to mingle and discuss future endeavours.

Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, USA, the Lions Clubs International has over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries.