THIS CLOSE...
Rotary is 108 years old on February 23rd! What an accomplishment.
A major effort in Rotary over the last 30 years has been the work on the Polio Plus program. And what a success it has been. To date, polio is 99% eradicated. The remaining countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan carry the only reported cases of polio to date. India has been polio-free for 2 years. Amazing. "We are this close" to ending polio.
Sharla had the opportunity to speak with 2 nurses from India who participated in the Polio Plus program. Their enthusiasm, gratefulness and excitement about the program was evident. They report that families are no longer questioning the vaccine. They want to give their children the best opportunities to be healthy and polio-free.
As a sign of support, those in attendance today had their picture taken to be part of the world's largest commercial. You can upload your picture too at http://thisclose.endpolio.org/en. You can donate money to the Rotary Foundation Canada earmarked for the Polio Plus program. Until the end of March, each dollar a Rotarian donates will be matched by CIDA and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Thus your $1 turns into $3.
Happy Anniversary Rotary!
Next week the Greeter/Newsletter is Ted Rodych, and Sergeant at Arms is Sandy Redden.