Lions and LCIF teamed up to purchase equipment that improves the quality of milk in Latvia. The increased capability to detect bacteria in milk means 6,000 local dairy farmers now are able to export their milk to the European market and Latvians themselves are drinking safer milk.

LCIF contributed US$30,000 toward the laboratory's state-of-the-art Bactoscan 8000 machine, which cost US$152,846. Also footing the bill were Lions of Denmark, US$34,153; Lions of Iceland, US$5,000; and the Danish Dairy Board (DDB), US$83,693.

"These donations have been a first-class Lions project carrying big economic advances for the local community," said Lion Asger Thomsen of Multiple District 106. "This has allowed Latvia to integrate into the highly competitive European market for quality dairy products."

The assistance to Latvia follows more than a decade of hard times for its dairy industry. The breakup of the Soviet Union resulted in severe financial problems for the dairy industry (and other industries) as a market economy replaced a centrally planned economy. Production of milk plummeted by nearly 60 percent since 1990. About half of the milk produced was sold directly to the market by dairy farmers without being pasteurized, exposing Latvians to health risks. The milk that was processed did not meet European Union regulations and could not be exported.

The Bactoscan 8000 allows lab technicians to quickly and accurately read the amount of bacteria in a given sample of milk. The Latvian government and the DDB oversaw training of laboratory staff in modern analysis techniques. LCIF's assistance made possible the pilot laboratory in Tukums, located in northern Latvia. An entire network of milk laboratories throughout Latvia is planned by Lions of MD 106, the DDB and Latvian officials.

LCIF standard grants, the kind given to the Lions in Denmark, assist Lions in financing humanitarian service projects that are beyond local financial capacity. "Without the support of LCIF, this project in Latvia would have been difficult for MD 106," said Thomsen.

Standard grants typically are given for purchasing equipment for hospitals and clinics, developing recreational areas for the blind and supporting vocational programs for the disabled. In 2001-2002, LCIF gave 147 standard grants totaling US$6.3 million.