Raising Polio awareness

Penrith Rotary spreads the word about the fight to end Polio

Ahead of World Polio Day on 24 October, Penrith Rotary has been active in the local community spreading the word about the 35-year fight to eradicate Polio worldwide.

As some will already know, Rotary International together with the World Health Organisation and the Bill and Meranda Gates foundation (Microsoft), are instrumental in the fight for the eradication of Polio worldwide. Over 30 years ago there were approximately 350,000 cases per week across the world; there are now only a few cases per year due to the vaccination programmes around the world, most of which are funded by Rotary International and the Gates foundation.

As part of an education programme to raise awareness of the devastating effects Polio can have on families, communities and countries around the world, Penrith Rotary made a presentation to Greystoke Primary School. They provided the school with 200 purple crocus bulbs to plant, so that each spring they would bloom and act as a reminder of the fight against Polio. The purple crocus has been adopted by Rotary in its ‘End Polio Now’ campaign, to represent the purple dye used to mark the little finger of children to show they have been vaccinated.