By PJ Usanga
The Deputy Secretary General and Director of Pastoral Affairs, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, commended the activities and programmes of the Abuja Municipal Lions Club for their commitment to acts of kindness and selfless service.
“I commend and sincerely thank the Abuja Municipal Lions Club for their unwavering commitment to acts of kindness across eight vital thematic areas: feeding the hungry, caring for those with diabetes, disaster response, humanitarian services, youth development, environmental care, pediatric cancer support, and assistance for those with impaired vision.”
Fr. Banjo gave the commendation in his keynote address at the investiture ceremony of Lion Geraldine Bocco, the General Manager of the Resource Center at CSN, an agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) as the new President of the club.
In his address, Fr. Banjo emphasized the importance of kindness, saying, “The power to bring light to those who live in darkness is the effect of kindness.” He noted that kindness does not require wealth or extraordinary resources, but rather simple gestures of sharing, listening, and respecting others.
“Kindness lives in the simple gesture of sharing a meal, in the listening ear offered to a neighbour in distress, in the respectful manner we talk to our subordinates and those from whom we have nothing to gain, and in the courage to stand beside those who feel forgotten,” Fr. Banjo said.
Commending the club’s current school-building project for visually impaired children, Fr. Banjo also appealed to individuals and organizations, including the CSN, to support the project. “I appeal to everyone here, dear brother priests, sisters, distinguished guests, organisations, including CSN, CCFN, to support this great project,” Fr. Banjo said. “Even the smallest contributions, when combined, will create a powerful force of hope and transformation – a foundation of kindness that will give visually impaired children the opportunity to thrive despite the challenges they face.”
The Keynote Speaker concluded by urging everyone to recommit themselves to the shared mission of kindness, becoming ambassadors of hope and love in their daily lives. He quoted Mother Teresa, saying, “If you cannot feed a hundred hungry people, feed one.”
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. It has more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.
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