ROTARY Rugby Dunsmore Club will be painting the town purple to raise awareness, funds and support to end polio.
The club has lined up a series of events and initiatives as part of its Purple for Polio campaign next week, leading up to World Polio Day on Saturday October 24.
The campaign aims to eradicate the vaccine-preventable disease which, if not eradicated, could affect 200,000 children annually across the world.
In Rugby, members will be watching the online ‘Rotary’s Gift to the World – our Polio story’ event on YouTube Live, John Clegg will address members on his work on Polio and Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery in India, and Amie Boyd will host an online fund-raising Purple for Polio music event on October 24.
Also, Rotary Rugby Dunsmore has arranged to plant 5,000 purple crocus corms at the corner of Newton Manor Lane and A426 as part of Rugby In Bloom, and Rugby Borough Council leader Coun Sebastian Lowe will switch on a purple light to illuminate Rugby Town Hall on October 20.
The colour purple has become a symbolic colour in the fight against polio, inspired by the colour of the dye painted on the little finger of a child to signify they have received a potentially life-saving polio vaccine.
President Mike Folly commented, “We’re proud to be marking World Polio Day locally and recognising the work of Rotary and our partners and the millions of people involved in so many ways in the fight for a polio free world. Only together can we end polio, a virus that is still potentially just a plane ride away.
“We have seen how we need to work together when dealing with Covid-19 and we can all play our part. The members of Rotary Rugby Dunsmore remain committed to working with our communities and our partners to eliminate this potentially deadly virus and make Rotary’s dream of a polio free world a reality.”
Globally, more than 2.5 billion children have been protected against the disease. Rotary has committed to raising around £40million each year to support global polio eradication efforts – and thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, every £1 they raise is matched 2-to-1 so is worth £3. Rotary has directly contributed over £1.6billion to ending polio since 1985.
In August, Rotary and the world celebrated a milestone, as the World Health Organization certified the Africa region free from wild polio. This leaves just Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world.
Visit www.endpolionow.org to find out more about the campaign.
Visit www.rotaryrugbydunsmore.uk for more information about the Rotary Rugby Dunsmore Club and its events.
