Rotary projects around the globe

 

Rotary projects around the globe

October 2024

By Brad Webber

Rotary members and their partners in service come together each World Polio Day on 24 October to recognize progress in the fight to end the disease. Here is a sample of the ways members are taking action to make history and eradicate polio.

Colombia

Sonia Uribe and her husband, Alberto Londoño, created a stuffed animal collection called El Zoo del Amor, or the Zoo of Love, to comfort seriously ill children and raise money for polio eradication. Sales of Anna the giraffe, Lucas the tiger, and other animals — each wearing a shirt with Rotary and End Polio Now logos — have raised about $550,000 since their introduction in 2018. In addition to giving the animals to sick children, Rotarians carry them on their travels and snap photos of them at iconic landmarks. “All these animals have traveled, being ambassadors of the Rotary brand,” says Uribe, a member of the Rotary Club of Nuevo Medellín and, like Londoño, a past governor of District 4271. Londoño is a member of the Rotary Club of Medellín Nutibara. The couple also manage the Fundación Monica Uribe Por Amor, which assists children with spina bifida.

United States

The Rotary Club of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is helping a new generation learn about polio. Students from Dunmore High School have created a documentary based on interviews conducted during a polio and health policy symposium that the club and District 7410 organized for World Polio Day 2023. The film features interviews with International PolioPlus Committee Chair Michael McGovern, other Rotarians, and symposium attendees, and is scheduled for broadcast during the club’s World Polio Day events this month. “It is hard to get hands-on with history,” says Alan Roche, a Dunmore teacher who enlisted about 40 students to produce the video, which includes interviews with three local polio survivors, one of whom taught at the high school. The project was an eye-opener for the young people, he says. “It’s usually a page or two in the textbook, a blip in a slideshow,” Roche says. “It’s one thing to just learn about this and another to talk to someone who was affected by it and lives in your hometown.”

France

More than a dozen Rotarians and friends in southeastern France donned inflatable dinosaur costumes and stumbled along a 100-meter course in a playful footrace that raised funds and awareness for Rotary’s mission to end polio. Organized by District 1730, the T-Rex Race took place last October during the Fréjus International Air Festival, a kite fair that draws thousands of people. “The idea came to me to create an event to rejuvenate the image of Rotary in the fight against polio,” says Dinh Hoan Tran, the district’s immediate past governor and member of the Rotary Club of Nice. Spectators could place bets on the contestants. “We made people laugh and we informed people,” says Tran. More than 40 of the district’s 71 clubs participated in the event, as the district motivated clubs to “support PolioPlus to the tune of about $45,000,” he says.

South Africa

To draw attention to the need for vigilance and vaccinations, the Rotary Club of Newlands assembled Rotary members and others for a World Polio Day photo shoot with the landmark Table Mountain in the background. On the day of the shoot, however, a heavy mist enveloped the site. “We made the best of it, chatting and taking selfies, until eventually the sun came out,” says Past President Janey Ball. She used RI’s polio resources toolkit to create artwork for selfie frames and set up a Facebook event called Make Polio History to record the pictures and raise awareness. To encourage Rotary members, Ball suggested using the slogan “focus on the finish.” “The selfie frames have been in continuous use since the event, moving from one club to another,” she says.

Japan

Yoichiro Miyazaki switched into high gear to raise money for the PolioPlus Society. Miyazaki, a member of the Rotary Club of Tokyo Mitaka, cycled the length of Japan last October, covering 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) in 24 days. “If you don’t act, there’s no point,” he tells Rotary Italia magazine, using a slogan developed for his year as governor of District 2750 in 2023-24. Along the way, fellow district governors, other Rotarians, and well-wishers cheered for him as he traversed twisting roads, uphill climbs, and tunnels. RI General Secretary John Hewko, another avid cyclist, offered a video message of support. Prompted by news coverage of his ride, donors contributed $140,000. Miyazaki continues to pedal strong: In late April, he finished the Osaka-to-Tokyo challenge just three hours shy of the 30-hour goal en route to more fundraising for polio.

This story originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Rotary magazine.

Visit :-

https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-projects-around-globe-october-2024

Keep the Buzz going to fight polio

 

Keep the Buzz going to fight polio

Unexpected bumps fail to dampen an epic road trip around Europe in an electric VW Buzz

Bashar Asfour is no stranger to ambitious road trips. He’s managed the course for an annual motorsport rally through the desert in his home country of Jordan — before there was Google Maps. He’s had a passport since he was 4, traveled through 57 countries, and, as a polio survivor who has difficulty walking, is an ace driver himself. So, he was confident about organizing his own road odyssey around Europe last year to raise money for polio eradication.

Image credit: Maurizio Gambarini

He even had a cool ride picked out: a VW Bus. Not the classic version, but Volkswagen’s modern electric one, known as the Buzz. At times, however, the Buzz turned out to be more of a buzzkill. “Charging the car was a real hassle,” Asfour says, recalling charging stations that were fussy, slow, miles out of his way, or that wouldn’t accept his credit card. “The trip took 54 days, 12,342 kilometers, hundreds of hours of driving, and hundreds of hours charging the car!”

Thankfully, the longtime Rotarian, who currently lives in Jordan but is forming an e-club based out of Georgia, made it to the finish line, raised an estimated $277,000 (preliminary figure), and — astoundingly — missed only one of his 48 fundraising events. He also had a grand adventure, met some incredible people, and was awestruck by the kindness of strangers. Here, in his own words, are some of the stories from the 2023 My Journey to End Polio, which began in Berlin on 31 August.

BREMEN, Germany, 2 September

When the Buzz, with its bright paint job and End Polio Now logos, is displayed in the historic town center, it generates quite the buzz as passersby stop to ask what I’m doing or ask about polio. Later in this journey, other Rotary districts will do the same, putting the Buzz in the middle of marketplaces and old town plazas for a few hours to show people the good that Rotary is doing in the world. Many people in this part of the world have forgotten about polio, and it’s important to remind them that it remains a problem and we need their support still.

Image credit: Bashar Asfour

MILAN, 13 September

One of the biggest challenges of this journey is fatigue. I’m driving a minimum of six hours a day and sometimes as many as 13. Crossing the Alps from Switzerland to Italy, I discover a time-saving tunnel is closed, forcing me to drive over the mountains — and to charge the car even more. In Italy, charging stations are very difficult to find. On the positive side, there’s a gala dinner with a large crowd waiting for me in Monza, outside of Milan. And later, there’s an even larger crowd — the biggest of the trip — in Rome. While there, I will pass by the Colosseum, one of many extraordinary landmarks on the route.

Image credit: Bashar Asfour

IZMIR, Turkey, 25 September

Crossing the Aegean Sea from Greece to Turkey — with a VW Buzz — is no easy feat. The first ferry takes hours. I arrive at an island at midnight to catch another boat with just enough room for the Buzz. The sea is choppy and every bump sets off the car alarm. I arrive at a port near Izmir, only to have customs hold the Buzz hostage. At last, a Rotary incoming district governor bails me and the Buzz out. Beyond the gates, I am amazed to find two dozen Rotarians and Rotaractors in End Polio Now T-shirts greeting me warmly. The memory brings tears to my eyes. It was so beautiful. I forgot all the troubles I had.

Image credit: Bashar Asfour

ANKARA, Turkey, 28 September
ISTANBUL, 1 October

The hospitality of the Turkish people is exquisite. This is another beautiful moment. Before reaching Ankara, I pull into a rest area and am surrounded by a motorcade of Rotary members in End Polio Now vests riding motorcycles. They escort me into the capital. The people are so generous. After discovering that my credit card wouldn’t work at charging stations in the country, Rotary clubs call on their members to meet me on highways to charge me up. Some even invite me to lunch. Then, as I leave the country, I’m allowed to cross the border into Bulgaria like a VIP, without any delays. Once inside Bulgaria, a police escort is waiting to take me to my next stop, Stara Zagora. These moments I will never forget.

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, 12 October

If I ever decide to retire, I will retire here. They have delicious food, very kind people, and the most beautiful old town.

MUNICH, 13 October

Oktoberfest may have just ended but Rotarians here organize the production of a beer named My Journey to End Polio to raise funds. Of all the stops, Munich raises the most in contributions. During an event at a nearly full auditorium, local Rotarians present a check for 39,000 euros. I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack and am moved to tears again. With other contributions, the total raised here will hit 46,000 euros (about US$48,000).

Courtesy of Bashar Asfour

CHEMNITZ, Germany, 20 October

I arrive at the finish line in time to celebrate World Polio Day. I set out to do something big, and with the support of Rotary districts around Europe, I have. I’d like to do more of these trips on other continents. It has been a wonderful experience. I met so many friends and people I had never met before, but we talked like we’d known each other for 100 years. We are Rotarians, the same family.

Visit :-

https://www.rotary.org/en/keep-buzz-going-fight-polio

Hjelp Rotary med å utrydde polio nå!

Hjelp Rotary med å utrydde polio nå!

 Fare for internasjonal spredning gjør fortsatt polio til en internasjonal folkehelsekrise, sier Verdens helseorganisasjon (WHO), som har som mål å utrydde polio innen 2027. Så lenge det fortsatt er i polio i verden, er det fare for spredning - også til Norge.  Derfor fortsetter vi i Rotary å utrydde polio - og til det trenger vi din hjelp!

I år markerer vi verdens poliodag med å lyse opp Fjellstua i Ålesund for å  markedsføre innsamlingsaksjonen for å utrydding av polio. 

Rotary har vaksinert 3 milliarder barn og 20 millionar barn har unngått lammelse

Rotary har samlet inn milliarder av kroner for å sikre at barn over hele verden får den livsviktige poliovaksinen. Med på laget har vi Bill og Melinda Gates Foundation, som bidrar med to kroner for hver krone vi samler inn. Dette betyr at et bidrag på 100 kr blir til 300 kr i kampen mot polio! Sammen kan vi sikre at polio blir utryddet. Bli med på å skape verdenshistorie i dag!

Hvordan kan du bidra?
Det koster under 10 kr å vaksinere ett barn mot polio. Ved å gi til Rotary, bidrar du til å beskytte barn over hele verden mot denne ødeleggende sykdommen. I tillegg kan du også benytte deg av lokale tilbud om revaksinasjon i samarbeid med helsestasjonen, slik at vi voksne ikke tar med oss smitte hjem til våre barn og barnebarn. Sammen kan vi sikre at ingen rammes! 

Din støtte via Vippsnr  945299 vil være med på å utrydde polio for godt – og med bidragene fra  Bill og Melinda Gates Foundation vil din gave ha tredobbel effekt.

Rotary har siden 1985 jobbet sammen med WHO og UNICEF for en poliofri verden gjennom og  har vaksinert over 3 milliarder barn mot polio. 

Hva er polio?

Polio (polyomelitt) er en virussykdom som hovedsaklig rammer barn under fem år, men voksne er ofte smittebærere. Sykdommen sprer seg raskt og forårsaker alvorlige lammelser. Siden sykdommen kun rammer mennesker, kan den utryddes med vaksine. Vaksinasjon har alt utryddet to typer poliovirus, og i dag forekommer såkalt vill polio kun i Afghanistan og Pakistan. 

Det er helt avgjørende at vi fortsetter innsatsen for å utrydde polio helt. I områder med lav vaksinedekning kan virus fra oral levende vaksine sirkulere og bli sykdomsfremkallende. Dette kan gi polio hos uvaksinerte og ufullstendig vaksinerte personer, og det er dette som har skjedd i Gaza. Så lenge polio finnes i verden, er derfor høy vaksinasjonsdekning og god sykdomsovervåking helt nødvendig. Polio er fortsatt en alvorlig trussel også for oss i Norge, men du kan hjelpe oss å forandre verden ved å gi til Polio Plus-aksjonen!

Kilder:

Folkehelseinstituttet

End Polio now

Polio - Eradication, Vaccination, & Access / Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Visit :-

https://aalesundost.rotary.no/no/nyhetsdetaljer/345#