When WHO sings???

The old expression, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings," comes to mind, especially with the latest report of cases of POLIO throughout the world. Unfortunately, the numbers are up over 2007, and the need is so very great right now, to make sure we break the chain of this virus. To view the most recent reports, please click on the link here: http://www.polioeradication.org/casecount.asp

As is easily seen, three new cases of POLIO (two cases of Wild Polio Virus 1 and one case of Wild Polio Virus 3 - WPV1 and WPV3, respectively) were recently reported, bringing the total of new cases in India to 549 for the year 2008. Just when it is believed an area is fully contained, one or two cases are diagnosed, and it is back to scheduling National Immunization Days (NIDs), where literally tens of millions of children, under the age of five years, receive the POLIO vaccine from volunteers such as those traveling with me on the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009.

With further review of the report referenced above, one can easily see that Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan still lead the world in recent diagnoses, although it is difficult to verify in Afghanistan exactly how many new cases there might be, due to current conditions there.

Below, I have included more comments from members of my team as to why they have chosen to join the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009.

First from Rotarian Mark Little, from the Rotary Club of Norwich-St. Edmund's in England:

Of all the Rotary projects which I have been involved with abroad, the
forthcoming toilet project is going to be one of the most worthwhile and
effective. Sanitation has always played second fiddle to the provision of
safe clean water. The implication that the overwhelming majority of sickness
is water-borne or is caused by faulty drinking water still pervades popular
lore today. The reality, however, is that a much higher proportion of this
disease burden is to do with poor excreta control and lack of hygiene. For
many years, the over-emphasis on water as the principal driver of public
health, and the much higher demand from customers for water supplies as
compared to toilets, has skewed interest and investment. Our sanitation
project is going to redress the imbalance a little.

It will also be a great delight for me to meet up with Rotarian friends from abroad who I have not
met for a year at Chahalka and to sample some of the Indian cuisine provided for us by my good friend Sanjiv.

Next we hear from Nancy Day, the mother of a Rotarian, who will be joining her daughter, Crissie, as members of the team:

Traveling to India has always been a "dream trip" for me; thus, the opportunity to participate in
Rotary's program to help the women and children in Chahalka improve their lives makes the trip even more rewarding. In addition to experiencing the beauty and vastness of India, I look forward to broadening my knowledge of other cultures and giving something back to those who are less fortunate. Finally, I am happy to be sharing this experience and special time with my daughter, Crissie, who is the Rotarian.

Finally, in this posting, we read comments from Ken and Lois Horton, from Nipigon, Ontario, who will be joining one of last year's team members, Linda Nicol...

We have had several members of our Rotary Club travel to India to assist with Rotary’s initiative to help rid the world of polio. Our club has been very active in contributing towards this endeavour, and we both made donations as well. Last year, four of our members traveled to India with the 2008 Dream Team and unfortunately, we were unable to go with them. During 2008, a Canadian, Ramish Ferris, who was born in India, bicycled across Canada to raise money for polio sufferers. 75% of the proceeds for his Cycle to walk campaign were donated to Polio Plus, and Rotary Clubs across Canada helped by hosting fund-raisers and accommodating his team as they traveled. I (Lois) am currently the President of our local club and feel a huge commitment to this cause. I am also most interested in helping the village of Chahalka after seeing the photos of last year’s group and learning of the needs of the people. We love to travel and want to learn more about the people of India and interact with fellow Rotarians to help in other parts of the world.

We would like to hope that this will be one of the last NID that will be needed to eradicate polio, and would be quite pleased if it will be so.
Last year’s group was so enthusiastic about the “Dream Team”, we thought that it would be exciting to find out for ourselves.

As we near the date of departure from our homes, many of us traveling from pretty frigid areas, I am confident there are mixed emotions: leaving family, leaving our daily routines, leaving our businesses, leaving our local Rotary Clubs, and embarking upon a journey of unknowns. If we reflect upon the amazing progress that has been made ever since Rotary International took on the eradication of POLIO as its first and only corporate project, joining forces with the United Nations through UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization, we stand in awe of the distance we have traveled. We have immunized over TWO BILLION CHILDREN and as Dr. R. Bruce Aylward, World Health Organization's coordinator of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, stated at a Rotary Zone Institute this past September in Philadelphia, it is due to Rotary International's unwavering dedication to this cause that we have reached the levels of eradication that we have. However, Dr. Aylward went on to state without equivocation that if we fail to END POLIO NOW, we risk the very strong possibility of POLIO returning to countries throughout the world which have been POLIO-FREE for decades.

Whether it is the FAT LADY or ROTARY INTERNATIONAL or yes, even WHO (World Health Organization) that sings, we will all join the choir knowing each of us has participated to some degree in the eradication of POLIO from the face of the earth! Let's make sure that children like the little boy in this photo will not have to fear paralysis or death from POLIO.