Purple for Polio

There are two sites in Royal Wootton Bassett that have purple crocus bulbs planted by Rotary as a reminder of the End Polio campaign. One site was planted several years ago on the bank by Kingsley Avenue and the other was planted last October on the Interface Roundabout. The purple crocus is a reminder of the innoculation campaign that takes place in third world countries where purple ink is used to colour the little (pinkie) finger of children to prove they have received the medicine. These campaigns have reduce the number of cases of polio from 350,000 in 1985 to just 22 in 2017. We are close to eradicating the disease and must continue this final battle to wipe it out once and for all.