Wensleydale Rotary End Polio Now Campaign

To mark World Polio Day which took place on the 24^th October, Wensleydale Rotary club has lit Bolton Castle purple with kind permission of Lord Bolton, Tom Orde-Powlett.Members of the club have also been giving talks to schools about Polio and have been planting purple flowering crocus with the school children.

Purple is the adopted colour of the End Polio Now campaign reflecting that when a child receives life-saving polio drops on mass polio immunisation days, their little finger is painted with a purple dye, so it is clear they have received their polio vaccine.

Prior to 1960 Polio was endemic throughout the world causing paralysis and sometimes death. Polio can strike at any age but mainly affects children under five. Each year polio paralysed 350k children annually.

In 1985 Rotary International launched PolioPlus working with international partners, the first and largest internationally coordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative, with an initial fundraising target of US$120 million which was soon achieved and surpassed.

Polio was eradicated from the UK, Europe AND the Americas by the 1990’s. In 2000 a record 550 million children received the vaccine and the western pacific region from Australia to China was declared polio-free.

Today there are only two countries in the world where wild polio is endemic, Pakistan and Afghanistan. However cases have increased in both of those countries and as has recently been reported there have been cases in war torn Gaza.

Photographs

Bolton Castle lit in purple taken this week

Children from Leyburn Primary School helping to plant Crocus

Wensleydale Rotary is committed to local charity fund raising, community service and involvement, especially promoting ethical and sustainable projects. Calling on the many decades of our members’ experience in Wensleydale, we bring a unique mix of local expertise and organising skill to our efforts. All are welcome to come along and see what our club does, and new ideas for our efforts are always welcome !