For Susan Giles, Pakistan is another world. As Goodwill Ambassador for the Newcastle Golden Spike Lions Club, she spent several weeks last summer in Karachi, Pakistan, as the honored guest of the city’s own Lions Club. “In the U.S. we don’t really know what poor is like. It was a life-changing experience,” she says. In Karachi, the club’s funds go primarily to medical clinics and other relief for the poor, and although Giles came face-to-face with conditions of extreme poverty throughout her trip, she came away from the experience with a feeling of hope. “I was really touched by the people,” she explains. “Despite terrorist attacks, and violence happening, the majority of people just want to earn a living and survive.”

The Newcastle Lions club plans to send money annually to support their “twin” club in Karachi, in addition to their primary focus of helping the residents of Newcastle. Each year, the club provides a variety of community services, ranging from constructing wheelchair ramps for the disabled to recycling hearing aids, cell phones and eye glasses for those in need. “I have discovered my purpose and I have found my joy,” Giles states. “If I die tomorrow, I will leave this world knowing my life was worthwhile.”

For more information on the Newcastle Golden Spike Lions Club, visit newcastleca.lionwap.org.

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