LET'S CELEBRATE WORLD POLIO DAY WITH GUSTO
Most special days, it seems, are promote days like coffee day or ice cream sundae day or "Friendship day " or "Mother or Father day " or some other day to stimulate the use of a product or activity or relationship. Today, however, is "WORLD POLIO DAY * which was designated by Rotary International over ten years ago. It is not a day to commemorate or promote the terrible disease, POLIO , but rather to recognize the October birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk who led the first team, to develop a vaccine to protect people from contracting the dread disease. Without such a vaccine we would still be fearing the annual scourges of the disease and the fear that it brought to parents worldwide. By 1952 Polio was killing more children than any other communicable disease. In addition it was crippling many more.
When vaccine was available it was swiftly used in the United States and other advanced countries but it was still out there in the rest of the world. Several things happened to change that. President of RI Clem Renouf proposed an ambitious humanitarian program to recognize the 75th anniversary of Rotary in 1980 but fund raising was slow. Another member of the board was MAT Caparas (later to become president). MAT was a native of the Philippines and knew a Rotarian there who was a noted eye doctor. His name was Benny Santos who visited India and District 3140 in 1989 . If you ever saw Benny smile you would never forget him. Benny suggested that with the funds available from the 3H program it would be possible to immunize the children of that country from Polio. It was agreed by the board and President Jim Bomar went to administer the first drops when he was president.
That was a small step. But that small step gave hope that much more could be done and it has been. One country, yes, and then on to the billions in the world. Thanks to Dr. Salk for the vaccine to Clem, to MAT to Benny Santos. There were so many more in Rotary. Again a salute to Dr. Salk, Dr. Sabine and their successors on Polio Day..
NEEDLESS TO SAY TODAY POLIO IS 99.99% ERADICATED AND THERE ARE ONLY THREE COUNTRIES WHERE POLIO VIRUS IS ACTIVE AND AS OF TODAY ONLY 12 POLIO CASES ARE REPORTED. THANKS TO ROTARY AND TO OUR PARTNERS .
Lets Celebrate World Polio Day with Gusto .....
Ashok