Medico
Founded in 1981 by Belgian Lions who wished to assist the populations of Lions District 409 (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi) through local Lions Clubs, Medico has gradually expanded its activities to other parts of the world where the need for assistance is equally great.
Medico’s activities are aimed at supporting social medicine projects, providing rapid assistance in the event of natural disasters, and participating in humanitarian and charitable actions of all kinds.
The assistance provided by Medico has evolved over time. Initially, it consisted mainly of supplying medical equipment obtained free of charge or purchased with financial support from Medico. The Chain of Friendship of the Lions Club of Leuven, with which Medico maintains close ties, is responsible for the storage, refurbishment, and shipment of this equipment.
In recent years, Medico has increasingly focused on providing grants to projects proposed by other charitable organizations, whether they originate from Lions Clubs or from non-Lions organizations.
Decisions regarding interventions are made by the Board of Directors, whose members are exclusively drawn from Belgian Lions Clubs.
Medico is authorized to issue tax certificates for any donation of EUR 40 or more made by an individual or a company in support of projects in countries classified as developing countries.
For more than 80 years, Lions Clubs International has dedicated substantial resources to the fight against blindness through its SightFirstprogram. A second campaign, SightFirst II, is currently underway. Since the end of March 2007, Medico has contributed to this effort through a nationwide campaign to collect used eyeglasses from numerous pharmacies. These glasses are recycled by Medico France and distributed free of charge to populations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Since its foundation, Medico, in cooperation with the Belgian Air Force, has delivered dozens of tons of medical supplies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. In addition, it has provided grants totaling more than EUR 500,000 to projects across several continents.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of some recent interventions:
- Guinea (Conakry): medical equipment
- India (Bihr): repair of a dike
- Central African Republic: funding for a 3-hectare palm plantation and an industrial poultry farm for an orphanage
- Ukraine (Kalinkavitchy): hospital equipment
- Lithuania (Šalilė): operating room flooring
- India (Bihr): construction of a primary school in a Dalit village
- Algeria: earthquake relief, including bandages and minor surgical supplies
- Egypt: construction of a waste incinerator for a leprosy center
- Huế, Vietnam: construction of a dormitory and workshop for an orphanage
- Burkina Faso: partial funding for the construction of a water pump.
Help us...
Faithful to the Lions Clubs motto, “WE SERVE,” Medico is determined to continue its charitable activities, as it cannot remain indifferent to the suffering and hardship faced by people around the world.
To do so, Medico relies on your financial support.
Medico Lions Clubs Belgium ASBL
IBAN: BE46 3631 3165 7736
BIC: BBRUBEBB
We issue a tax certificate for every donation of EUR 40 or more made by an individual or a company.
