Rotary International Eradicating Polio

Nov. 30, 2010: The Historic Charleston Rotary Club was treated to an impressive and memorable review of how Rotary International continues in its time-honored work to combat and eradicate the planet of Polio.

Ed was at ease in his environment given his many connections throughout Charleston and South Carolina. Earlier in the year, he responded to the strong missionary call from within that took him to Nigeria in March 2010, where he helped in the distribution of polio vaccine and the education of the disease in remote parts of that nation.

As we all know, combating polio is the No. 1 humanitarian goal of Rotary. To remind us of the devastating effects of the disease, Ed shared images of polio sufferers from the 1950s and 1960s, enduring the crude support of the Iron Lung machine and those memorable leg-braces, wheel chairs and more.

In 1985, Rotary International launched an aggressive program, PolioPlus, with a goal to eradicate the planet of the disease by 2005. And, while we’ve not yet fully achieved our goal, the statistics of the battle are impressive:

* To date, $800 million has been raised under PolioPlus.
* More than 2 billion children in 122 countries have been immunized.
* In 2008, nearly 1600 cases were reported; in 2009 we counted 1,424 cases, and to date this year we count 799.

A new goal for Rotary is to raise $200 million by June 2012 that will match the $355 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A HARSH REALITY
Ed provided us a brief tour of his travels through Nigeria, including stirring images of villagers, old and young, living with the disease. Many of us, I’m sure shared the chilling feeling of how easy it is to forget that most of us walk, eat, drink and work without a care for these basic abilities. Many of the sufferers live their lives on the ground, crawling about on their forearms.

He closed by reminding the rapt audience how powerful diversity within Rotary can be and is a signature for our success. Living in support of diversity helps us transcend political, religious and cultural boundaries.

Once again, during this wonderful holiday season, let’s remember those less fortunate in our gestures, generosity and prayers. Here’s to Service Above Self…

Submitted by Mark Danes, Keyway Committee