The North Durban Lions Club (NDLC) will see their president Avril Hobbs be inducted as leader of the pack for another year, this September, in what would be her third run of heading the non-profit organisation in serving and uplifting the community.
Reflecting on her many years as as part of the club, the 66-year–old said being a Lion means the world to her as it enables people to serve as a collective with credibility regardless of colour, creed or personal life choices.
She said: “I have been involved in the organisation from a young age because my father was a Lion and both my husband and I were Leos, which is a youth division of the Lions. At that time, I wasn’t allowed to join because Lions were only made up of men but times have since changed and I was officially inducted as a Lion in 2015. As a young person it gave me a lot if leadership opportunities that I would never had otherwise and opened up the doors that allowed me to serve.”
The Durban North resident said apart from assisting communities when the need arises, some of her goals will be to continue helping new mothers with baby packs and using the initiative as a catalyst to supply them with Imbeleko’s. Another goal, is to establish a Leo club in order to give the youth a platform to serve communities and to equip them with leadership skills and the Lion’s values which they would carry into other facets of their lives.
“Being a lion isn’t just a title, it’s a lifestyle as we carry our values into all facets of our life. It means everything to me, it means that I can serve other people, its so gratifying to assist somebody. We all assume that everyone lives the way that we do. And that’s absolute nonsense, we don’t have to go far to find folks who are worrying about whether they can purchase a loaf of bread to last them the week,” said Hobbs.
