Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
The 52 Lions Clubs in District 5SKN received a $15,000 US Emergency Grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF).
The grant was made available to help relief the stress and trauma that evacuees are facing as a result of the wildfire outbreaks in District 5SKN.
“Basically we serve,” Prince Albert Lions Club Representative Randy Braaten said on Saturday. “The LCIF gives disaster grants all over the world like earthquake relief, fire relief, typhoons and hurricanes. They spend billions of dollars over the years.”
The grant enables Lions in the District to purchase and distribute highly needed supplies to the wildfire evacuees. 5SKN Lions Clubs have already added almost $15,000 to the relief effort, and more is coming in daily.
These funds are not just for Prince Albert, but are being used by Lions in other communities that hosted evacuees.
The LCIF Emergency Grant supports Lions in providing immediate and short term relief efforts for people affected by natural disasters such as wildfires. The grant can be used to purchase essential relief supplies for distribution at shelters and relief centres.
“We threw in a bunch of pampers, juice boxes, granola bars, cheese and cracker packs. A Lot of food, baby wipes and stuff like that” Braaten said.
Prince Albert Lions Club purchased infant supplies and food items to distribute at the registration centre in Prince Albert on Saturday.
“All the clubs in the district have been busy where they have evacuees trying to keep them fed, then clothed, then entertained,” Braaten said.
Lions members are also active on the ground mainly in the Saskatoon to Prince Albert corridor where thousands of evacuees were housed. Efforts expanded through the past several days to areas of need identified by other agencies.
Lions members went to the evacuation location at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre on Saturday afternoon to drop off the donation.
“It’s a stressful time for them and to ease their pains we need to donate and give whatever we can to help them out,” Braaten said. “It’s looking better, I think some of them may be able to get home now but it’s still tricky situation because a lot of them might have lost their homes.”
–with files from Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald
