United for Life

For several years, the Lions Club La Ciotat Lumières has been committed to a major humanitarian project: the construction of a maternity ward in the heart of rural Benin in West Africa.

This project holds profound meaning after the tragic loss of five Lions who were en route to inaugurate the clinic in October 2025. A dream shaped by friendship and boundless solidarity is now marked by deep emotion, and their memory will live on in every life saved.

A project born from friendship and service

It all began more than a decade ago with a meeting between Father Victorin Sagui, a Beninese priest dedicated to education and health in the villages of the Atacora region, and the Lions Club La Ciotat Lumières. With Father Sagui’s help, the club supported the schooling of more than 300 children.

During their work in the region, the Lions learned about rural women traveling more than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) on rough tracks to give birth — often at the risk of their own lives and those of their babies. From this reality came the determination to act: to build a modern and accessible maternity ward at the center of the 14 villages of Kotopounga.

The project was financed by Lions Club La Ciotat Lumières, Lions Club Pays de la Sainte-Baume and the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), and also received support from the Lions Club Natitingou Tata and Father Victorin, the future facility director.

Thanks to this tremendous collective effort, the foundation stone was laid February 22, 2025, followed by a moving moment of sharing with local villagers.

A work of international solidarity

The humanitarian project to offer Beninese mothers a safe, dignified and humane place to give life illustrates the strength of the Lions network. This included 38 volunteers from Lions Club La Ciotat Lumières and support from Lions Club Pays de la Sainte-Baume and numerous donors.

With a 50% LCIF matching grant covering half of the total budget — more than US$30,000 — and additional funding provided by the club, the maternity ward has become a powerful symbol of international cooperation and fellowship.

A tribute to our departed Lions

Our momentum of joy and hope is pierced by sorrow. The tragic bus accident in Togo struck our great Lions family with full force, taking five of our devoted friends — Hélène Bernardi, Claude Allegrini, Philippe Courty (Lions Club La Ciotat Lumières); Sandra Corda (Lions Club Pays de la Sainte-Baume); Michel Hétroit (Lions Club Valenciennes Athènes du Nord) — and injuring others. They embodied, through their mission, the noblest values of our movement: service, friendship and solidarity.

These Lions, who fell in the line of service, gave the very best of themselves for a more just and humane world. Their commitment will continue to live through every stone of this maternity ward, through every smile of a mother saved, through every child born in dignity.

Despite the sorrow, our determination remains unshaken. The project will continue, in memory of our friends, with even more heart and even more faith in humanity. Because serving means continuing where others had to stop. In Kotopounga, songs of life will rise within the Lions maternity ward. And those songs will carry, far beyond borders, the memory and hope of those who believed in this project until their last breath.

A message of gratitude

I would like to express our immense gratitude to the global Lions family. Since the announcement of this tragedy, we have received an extraordinary wave of solidarity: countless messages of condolences, sympathy and support from our executive officers, our international bodies, and districts throughout France, Europe, Africa and the world. They are so numerous that it is impossible to name them all, but each one deeply touched and comforted us.

I would also like to share a special thought for our Lion friends in Togo, who surrounded our members with exemplary kindness. Their support and dignity in the midst of hardship stand as a powerful demonstration of the Lions spirit. In these painful times, your gestures and words remind us how meaningful our motto is: “We Serve” — with heart, in solidarity and fellowship.

On behalf of all Lions of France, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this chain of friendship and support that unites Lions around the world more than ever.

This article was originally published in LION Magazine France, and has been translated from French.