Rotary International nearly eradicates Polio worldwide

By Rotarian Torrey Sylvester
Houlton
    Though many of us see Rotary as an organization of our neighbors working in our backyards, the service group spans the globe with over 1.2 million members in 34,000 clubs. 
    The vision of Rotary has always been global. For the past 25 years, Rotarians have been working tirelessly to eliminate polio and 4 other childhood diseases that have ravaged children throughout the world for centuries.
    Partnering with the United Nations, and later joined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International has raised millions of dollars to carry the oral polio vaccine to all parts of the world where the disease was endemic. These areas are India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and believe it or not a small part of the northern tier of states around Wisconsin and Minnesota in some isolated areas.
    This scourge has crippled children in the USA and other developed countries during the first half of the 20th century notably our President F D Roosevelt. Many of you remember the iron lung that some of the children and adults had to endure in order to breathe.
    Many Rotarians have traveled to Africa and India to administer the oral vaccine, which is just two drops on the tongue of a child or give them a small sugar cube in which the vaccine was placed. With this one simple task the child is immunized for life against the dreaded polio.
    It is a cheap and efficient way to stop the spread of polio on our planet, which is the goal of Rotary, WHO and other generous people and foundations.
    The goal is in sight that all children are immunized from this terrible disease worldwide and we will achieve it. Rotary is proud to be on the leading edge of this vital fight and we are almost there to totally eliminate polio and the other childhood diseases from the world.
    Many of us know folks in our own community who suffered in childhood and were left with a shrunken limb usually a leg if they survived. Anyone can make a donation through local Rotary clubs to continue this good work until polio is no more.