INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR'S BANQUET

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A colourful banquet in honour of the visiting International Director Alexis Vincent Gomes was held at the five-star Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam on Saturday (1st Feb) night and ended much beyond midnight hours. 

The almost six-hours banquet was loaded with enthralling acrobatic tricks by a local cultural troupe, long speeches by prominent people including the Chief Guest, presentation of personal friendship banners and lapel pins, presentation of awards to Lions Members with long service beginning with ten years to forty years, presentation of a special memento to the Chief Guest on behalf of seven lions Clubs in Dar es Salaam, delicious and spicey supper with oriental and occidental dishes crowned with many type of sweet dishes etc.

It turned out to be a night to remember when the main speech of the evening was delivered by the Chief Guest in his well-familiar tongue....French.  An interpreter with a good standard of English accent was around to make the director's speech laudable and enjoyable by all.

The director is on record to have promised his Listeners that he will re-visit Tanzania and make sure that he will talk in the National language of Tanzania...Kiswahili. In actual fact he began his speech by uttering a Kiswahili sentence "habari za jioni?" (meaning how are you this evening). The manner and style of uttering this short sentence, almost in an aristocratic manner, captured the audience attention throughout his speech.

Before the Chief Guest came to the podium, the Past District Governor Lion Abdul Majid Khan introduced him as an illustrious and leader with charismatic attitude. He managed to justify the introduction of the Chief Guest with chosen words at the right places mainly because, as he said, is a prominent lawyer in his country!

The District Governor, Lion Ndesanjo was thrilled with the 100% attendance and the situation demanded a few seats more for more guests. He was overwhelmed to see that sixteen men and women were sworn in as New Lion Members, thus increasing the number of total membership in District 411B.

Governor Lion Wilson N. Ndesanjo welcoming the Chief Guest and including all who attended the Banquet in honour of ID Lion Alexis V. Gomes at the Serena Hotel, Dar es Salaam on Saturday night.

PDG/PMCC and GMT Leader, Lion Abdul Majid Khan introducing the Chief Guest, Lion Alexis V. Gomes to the attentive audience in the five-star Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam on Saturday night.

One prominent senior Lion on the high table, PDG/PMCC Hon. Lion Shem Bageine also addressed the audience by emphasizing the fact that Africa needs to have its own Constitutional Area and hence chart its own course of serving humanity. Hon Shem Bageine is a Cabinet Minister in the Uganda Government and is in the Ministry of East African Community Affairs. He was accompanied by his spouse Lion Elianor Bageine who is a Region Chairperson in Uganda and was instrumental in chartering recently two  new clubs there.

The enthralling performance of  the Culture Troupe which kept the audience spellbound for almost forty minutes.

International Director Alexis Gomes inducting the sixteen young men and women as New Lion Members in various Lions Clubs in Dar es Salaam.

Story & Pictures by Abdul Hai

Sixteen young men and women holding lit-candles took the oath, before International Director Lion Alexis V. Gomes, to abide by the constitution and code of ethics of Lions Clubs International as Lion Members.