Lions Club Delivers Modern Sanitation Facilities To Lagos Island Pupils
By Sherif Salau
The Lions International Club Lagos, Ikoyi Club, District 404-A3 Nigeria have delivered modern sanitation facilities to Lagos Island pupils.
The club inaugurated 11 newly rebuilt toilet facilities and supporting sanitary amenities. The previous facilities had deteriorated beyond repair and largely unusable. Pupils and staff had been forced to manage as best they could in conditions that compromised both health and dignity.
Mrs Pat Jinadu, Immediate Past President of the Ikoyi Lions Club and coordinator of the project opens up about the reconstruction and why the club took up the project.
“It is not really a renovation because when we came here, the toilets were completely run down and we had to build them from scratch,” she said.
“The environment itself was dirty. I had to first clean up the place.”
Funds for the work were raised from friends, family and well-wishers, including several associates of her husband. Jinadu framed the intervention as a straightforward expression of the Lions Club’s founding purpose.
“The purpose of the Lions Club is to serve, and we decided to give this school 11 toilet facilities because of the need here. We cannot leave everything to the Lagos State Government. NGOs like us have to come in.”
Vice District Governor Oladele Lamidi, standing in for District Convener Elder Johnson Efunkomaya, told the gathering that the facilities would help create a more decent learning environment.
He urged the children to treat the new amenities with care and keep them clean. A representative of the Lagos Island Local Government Council, Oladumoye Tomi, was equally direct in his appreciation. Young children, he noted, cannot reasonably be expected to go long hours without proper toilet access.
“For the Lions Club to say they will do this and actually do it, it is a great contribution to society because these children are our future leaders.”
Other guests reinforced the health dimension of the project. Bola Abioye described the new block as an edifice for the future leaders of tomorrow, stressing that a clean environment is essential if children are to avoid preventable illnesses.
First Vice-President of the Ikoyi Lions Club, Afolabi Balogun, offered a memorable analogy when one part of the human body is neglected, the whole system suffers. Proper sanitation, he said, is not an optional extra but a foundation for wellbeing.
Head Teacher Sanusi Shadiat closed the ceremony with a simple vote of thanks on behalf of the school community. The pupils’ songs of appreciation lingered after the formal speeches ended.
