Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Lions Food Collection and Distribution Silver Jubilee Celebrations

蔡忠民主席

晚宴筹委会主席雷因旭先生

新加坡狮子会会员

各位嘉宾

大家晚上好！

首先，祝大家父亲节快乐!

我恭喜狮子会食物收集与分配中心庆祝成立二十五周年-银禧。狮子会食物收集与分配计划能够持续进行这么久全靠所有狮子会会员、义工和民众的支持。谢谢各位的支持还有贡献。感谢大家。

经过二十五年，这项计划已经在社区里扎了根。每个星期五，宏茂桥的居民和宏茂桥第226D座巴刹和巴西班让批发中心及裕廊批发市场的摊贩都会慷慨捐出食品。约有30名义工轮流聚集在宏茂桥第226D座的收集中心将食品分类，然后把这些食品派送到全岛各处的14所养老院和育幼院。逢年过节时，他们还会包括一些应节食品，如新年糕点让这些较贫困的居民也能感染节日的喜庆。

食物收集与分配计划能够成功地进行，让那么多人受惠，要归功于雷因旭先生。他在1988年独自成立这项计划。当时，他单枪匹马，一个人收集和派送食品给忠邦和义顺所有需要的居民。虽然困难重重，一个人要东奔西包，偶尔因为路途远，食物受损，白忙一场。但是雷先生依然坚持下去，因为他看到居民需要这些食品，拿到时都很开心，所以觉得一切辛苦都是值得的。

他今年虽然已经高龄85岁，但是雷先生还是每个星期五会去收集中心帮忙。他坚持了25年，仍然兴致勃勃地关怀他人的精神可嘉。雷先生激励我们各尽所能去帮助较不幸的人，去努力坚定去实现梦想，而且无论年龄，都继续保持积极的心态。这是对我们，对所有新加坡人的好榜样。我们的食物收集与分配计划也多亏与多位宏茂桥巴刹的摊主还有居民，以及巴西班让批发中心和裕廊批发市的摊主每个星期慷慨捐出食品。

任何一个社会都有需要帮助的弱势群体。在一个富裕的社会里，像新加坡这样的富裕的社会里还是会有需要帮助的家庭。在每一个国家都是这样的。这是现实，这是事实，但是我们不是无能为力，我们可以，甚至必须各尽所能来帮助较贫困的同胞，关怀他们的温饱，扶持他们，不让他们因为有经济困难而被社会所遗弃。摊主与居民慷慨助人的精神是新加坡精神的重要一部份。这也配合政府通过社会发展理事会及各种福利配套来帮助贫困国民的各种计划。

在座的狮子会会员也是好模范。除了食物收集与分配计划，狮子会也在全岛各处推行其他许许多多有意义的计划，包括设立狮子乐龄之友协会和狮子乐龄之家，帮助失明和失聪人士，鼓励年轻国人服务社会 ，通过幼狮会会员组织各种活动。这些活动反映了狮子会为社会服务的精神。我希望狮子会的精神会在我国全岛各处绽放光芒。

当社会贫富差距日降扩大的时候，服务社会的精神就更加重要。我们不能忽略身边较不幸的人士，也要珍惜我们共享的共同空间。所以我鼓励大家向雷先生看齐，为需要帮助的同胞伸出援手。携手打造一个全民一心、温情处处的美好家园。

再次恭喜狮子会，也感谢大家对狮子会的支持。谢谢各位.

. . . . .

Mr Ronald Chua

Project Chairman for the Food Distribution Project

Mr Looi Im Heok, PBM

Organising Chairman of tonight’s dinner

Lions of Singapore

Friends, fellow Singaporeans

Happy Fathers’ Day to all fathers who are here and also in Singapore!

I like to just briefly congratulate all of you on the 25th Anniversary of the Lions Food Collection and Distribution Project and thank all the Lions, volunteers and donors for supporting the Project for all these many years.

The Project has now become an integral part of the Ang Mo Kio community - particularly in Kebun Baru. It has been going on for 25 years. It depends on the support from the stallholders and from the people in the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market and the Jurong Wholesale Market. Because of you, hundreds of residents in 14 homes are able to look forward to these food supplies every week and especially during festive seasons - when it is not just some food supplies but also something extra, which will enable all the residents to join in the festive cheer.

I thank Mr Looi Im Heok who has been working on this for 25 years and is now 85 years old. He is still going strong and has a lot to do with starting this and keeping it going. We congratulate him, thank him. He inspires us all to help our fellow citizens in big ways and small, to see ideas to fruition through team work and determination and to stay active regardless of our age. This is what active aging is about. Well done to Lion Looi and all the volunteers!

In particular, I will like to thank the stallholders and residents who have donated the food, as well as the volunteers who had helped to organise and keep this activity going. In every society, there will be some needy families. Even in affluent societies, you will find some poor people. It is not possible to eliminate poverty completely but we can and must do our best, each one of us, to help the poor, both to express our concern for fellow citizens and also to make sure that needy citizens are not left behind.

The generous way in which the stallholders, the volunteers, the wholesalers have supported this project is an important part of the Singapore spirit and of our Singapore community. It complements what the Government is doing through big schemes and small to help the poor, through our welfare programmes, through our CDCs, through our grassroots organisations.

The Lions are doing many good projects all over Singapore. This Food Collection and Distribution Project is just one of them. There are many more initiatives which you are carrying out. I hope that this spirit of service is sustained, built up and can spread throughout our Lion City because serving the community is more important in a world where income distributions are getting wider, stretching out, where it is easier for people to get immersed in our private spaces, preoccupied with our own lives and our own concerns, and not so focused on working together to help others.

We must encourage everyone of us to do something to help our fellow Singaporeans, and thus keep Singapore our best home – a cohesive and united people and a happy and bright future for all of us.

Congratulations once again on this Silver Jubilee! Thank you very much indeed.