Jinja gets first female Lions Club president after 49 years

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The Lions Club of Jinja has installed its first female president. The development comes 49 years since it was formed.

Elizabeth Kasolo, an expert in the hospitality industry, took over from Rajesh Raaychura during a function at Panorama Hotel at Masese in Jinja city's southern division on July 9, 2025.

Asked why the seat had not been attracting a lioness, Kasolo said previously, full membership was for men alone, while the females were into lionism, which involved community service and volunteering aimed at improving lives.

However, the club’s constitution was revised in 1987 and opened doors for women to fully get on board, but still, it remains a male-dominated entity with few females.

“This indicates the general low level of women's appreciation of the club and participation in the leadership roles,” she said.

Some of the club members, led by Raaychura and Kasolo, as they gestured by roaring as lions to show their unity at the ceremony in Jinja on Wednesday. (Photo by Jackie Nambogga)

Kasolo said this was not a challenge in Jinja but globally due to what she referred to as ‘organisational structure’ since recruitment of members was by invitation, not merely joining at leisure.

Also, she explained that retention of their members remained another issue as some were exiting due to the changing high expectations, perception and lifestyle.

She added that others fail to pay membership dues, and as a result, they end up dropping them from their register.

Kasolo, who joined the club as a lionism in the above year, has been a member for the last 38 years after joining as a lionism.

She had since 1987 held various leadership roles, such as secretary, a post that earned her an award in their entire district, service chairperson and first vice-president, saying these had greatly shaped and empowered her to take up the new task.

Achievements

In his handover report, Raaychura outlined his achievements during his one-year tenure, which included the construction of a modern kitchen at the Mpumudde home of the destitute.

They also built two classrooms at their Jumbo Kids Nursery and Primary School, managed by the club in Jinja city.

The classrooms, according to Eng. Farouk Isabirye Lubanga, who has been the activity chair on Raaychura’s board, were aimed at increasing enrolment and space.

Also, Raaychura said the club provided hunger relief in terms of food to 25,314 orphanages and at the Mpumudde home of the destitute in Jinja, southern division.

Under this activity, the club would target day scholar learners whom they provided with juices and snacks in order to concentrate on classes.

Besides donating 17 wheelchairs, Raaychura said they held a medical camp where locals were screened for cancer in adults and children, diabetes and eye screening, at which 4,497 eyeglasses were given out.

He boasted of how they were able to recruit ten new members, which led to the club’s growth in number.

Through the club’s keep Jinja environment clean, a total of 75,275 trees were planted in places like the Jinja central police station, prisons, along the Jinja main street, Islands and selected primary schools, among others.

Meanwhile, Kasolo outlined her eight-point agenda, which includes donating food to 20,000 beneficiaries, supporting 15,000 with visual impairment and conserving the environment by planting 50,000 trees.

She had earlier embarked on this campaign by planting 200 tree seedlings at Victoria Nile Primary School ahead of her installation later in the evening.

Besides retaining their membership, she also pledged to bring ten more, paint zebra crossings at strategic locations and provide cancer and diabetic support to 5,000 people.

The former assistant manager with Imperial hotel Kampala and Crested Crane hotel in Jinja pledged to provide counselling and guidance among 10,000 youth in primary and secondary schools.

She said this was one of the strategies of fighting drug use and other vices, as well as sensitising boys about menstruation by involving them to support girls instead of laughing at them in case they stained their uniforms.

Polly Ndyarugahi Kamari, the past district governor who was the chief guest, commended the club for supplementing on government’s social services in the community.

Kamari challenged the public with the assumption that the club was for the rich, saying it was about humanity.

On her board, Kasolo named ...Takolakibi as secretary while the Jinja district information officer, Hajira Nalubanga, as a tamer.

Nalubanga will be the custodian of the club’s property, including the gong and gavel, among others.

Therefore, she called for support to enable her achieve the planned goals.