Leones Provide Ensenada With New Vision
text & photo by connie ellig
first published in baja times newspaper

Lions are people who volunteer their time, skills and resources to give something back to their community. The oldest of Ensenada’s three Lions clubs, Club de Leones Ensenada, A.C., was established in May 1947. Its membership is comprised mainly of local businessmen between the ages of 35 and 85. Of its 36 members, 24 are active. A volunteer committee of their wives, known as the Comité de Damas Club de Leones Ensenada, A.C., often assists with their community projects. Club de Leones Ensenada meetings are open to the public and take place every Tuesday at 8:30pm at their “Cueva” clubhouse on Av. Miramar & Calle Ambar.

Throughout the world, Lions clubs are renowned for their service to the blind and visually impaired. Although Club de Leones Ensenada will help anyone in need, children have been the main focus of the club’s sight conservation efforts. For more than four decades, the Leones have been assisted by California and Nevada Lions clubs from Districts 4A2, 4C1, 4L4, 4L5 and 4L6 who have supplied medical equipment and recycled eyeglasses, and have volunteered their professional services to conduct eye screenings.

In order to provide a year round program of sight conservation in Ensenada, the Lions of both Californias joined forces to construct the Nelson Bretts Silver Clinic in 1997. Located next to the Leones’ clubhouse, the clinic opens its doors once a week to offer free eye exams and eyeglass fittings to the needy. An average of 8-10 children and adults avail themselves of this service every Monday from 8:30-11am. Dr. Juan Manuel Ramírez heads the dedicated staff of regular volunteers that includes his wife, Silvia de Ramírez, Linda de Orraca, Frances de Bejarano and Salvador Ahumada.

Through the years, Club de Leones Ensenada has pursued numerous other community projects, many of which have been supported by the California Lions. The club pioneered the program of diabetes detection in their B1 District that includes the states of Baja California and Sonora. It has built–or contributed toward the construction of–dozens of schools in central Ensenada as well as in outlying areas like El Sauzal and Valle de Guadalupe and most recently, in the Las Flores community of Maneadero. It has donated chairs to kindergartens, desks to schools, and food packages and toys to needy families at Christmas. On April 30, Mexico’s Día del Niño (Day of the Child), the Comité de Damas Club de Leones Ensenada annually provides an ice cream and cake party for local schoolchildren.

Twice a year, Ensenada Leones and their wives host visitations from their California and Nevada counterparts. On March 17-20, 2005, more than 150 Lions from Districts 4A2 and 4C1 in central California, including several optometrists, traveled to Ensenada for their 42nd Annual Visitation. In addition to working meetings, city tours and social activities, the clubs offered a special eye clinic on Friday at the new Las Flores school in Maneadero. The Lions provided free eye exams and eyeglasses to approximately 200 people as part of “Operation Friendship 2005.”

“The primary objective of Lions Clubs International is to promote understanding among the peoples of the world,” states Club de Leones President Willy Rodriguez. “Thanks to the dedication and assistance of California and Nevada Lions, we have been able to accomplish a great deal in Ensenada. Our club is happy to be the bridge of friendship between the people of our two countries.”

Club de Leones Ensenada holds barbeques, raffles and other fundraisers throughout the year, but it is also appreciative of donations. Contributions that will be put to good use include hearing aids, eyeglass frames and lenses (especially children’s); ocular instruments and medical equipment; wheelchairs, crutches and orthopedic equipment; toys, school supplies, children’s desks, chairs and computers in good working condition. For more information or to make donations, contact President Willy Rodriguez at (646)182-9977 or send an e-mail to Vice-President Juan Manuel Ramírez. To learn more about Lions Clubs International, visit its multilingual website.
 

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