The LQP is a series of school-based education programme that provide children (age 6-28) with essential life skills to help them lead healthier life-styles, resist harmful drugs and develop a positive self-image. Since the programme was launched in 1984, more than twelve million young people have benefited around the world and trained over 500,000 teachers to teach these vital skills in the classrooms.
The Lions Quest Programme (LQP) in Tanzania is spearheaded by a fifteen-member Steering Committee led by Past District Governor and Coordinator of the LQP, Lion Abdul Majid Khan. The committee met in Dar es Salaam on Sunday last (3rd Nov.) at Highland Villa, Msasani in Dar es Salaam.
In his opening address, the LQP Coordinator told the committee members that there was an alarming increase of drug trafficking in Tanzania. He said that the current scenario must prompt members to reflect hard on the implications, especially the involvement of the youth of this nation who are main victims.
"The current situation exposes a child to greater risk of drug abuse and violence, the habit of smoking or chewing tobacco, taking extensive intoxicants is also drastically increasing among our young children," PDG Khan said.
The Steering Committee through the Lions Club International, had hosted the LQP for Africa last year for twenty delegates from the United States of America, India, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania . The International Coordinator of the Quest Programme Kelly Young, Past International Directors Dr. S.P. Amin and Dr. Manoj Shah attended the meeting and set the way forward for implementation of the programme.
In Dar es Salaam, the Steering Committee organized a workshop where a senior trainer from India, Mrs. ratna Chaudhary conducted the workshop and also trained two local teachers, Lion Mathew Alex and Mr. Christopher Chinyala to be trainers at all workshops.
The Steering Committee through a grant of US$ 30,000 have already conducted five workshops in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Dodoma, Morogoro and Mwanza. More workshops will be conducted in Dodoma and Tanga before the end of this year.
PDG Khan said: "It is therefore our desire to encourage the Lions Clubs, well wishers, philanthropists, charitable organizations to leverage additional funding to raise the local grant of US $25,000 to help share cost of purchasing LQ books and help subsidize local cost of teachers training workshops and to translate two books into the National Language Kiswahili."
The Coordinator has called for more and serious involvement of all the twenty Lions Clubs in Tanzania which is in line with one of the major goals of District Governor Lion Wilson Ndesanjo. The meeting was also attended by 2nd Vice District Governor Lion Haiderali Gangji who also sponsored the light lunch and venue at the Highland Villa.
Story by Abdul Hai
LQP Secretary
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