The grants, bestowed by the Lions Club International Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, are the center's largest project-specific grants ever. This gift allows us to see the enormous growth and commitment of Lions Club. With the two grants, the center will establish over the next five years projects in 15 countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, affecting more than 110 million people at risk of contracting trachoma or river blindness. Carter said, like the center's other health projects, the new efforts will train local people to help their neighbors. They do 90 percent of the work.
Trachoma is the world's leading cause of preventable blindness.
River blindness is spread via parasites that enter the body through bites from blackflies, which breed in fast-moving water. Though an estimated 18 million people are infected and another 120 million are at risk, the disease is preventable by a single annual dose of medication. In return, Carter offered a replica of the life-sized statue sited at The Carter Center depicting an African boy leading a blinded man. The original statue was, in fact, commissioned by Lions Club. One Lion from the crowd asked Carter to compare being head of his local Lions Club chapter to being president of the United States.