Rotary Club of Goleta members Debbie Weaver and Lynn Cederquist recently participated in the National Polio Immunization Day in India.
Joining a group of 15 Rotarians from District 5240, Weaver and Cederquist lived with Indian families and walked the streets in “high-risk” areas to administer the two drops of polio vaccine to children age 5 or younger.
For more than 25 years, the Rotary has led global efforts to rid the world of this disease through its model of public-private cooperation. Making India polio-free has to be one of the modern miracles for civilization.
“The India polio campaign — despite the challenges posed by a population of 1.2 billion people — is one of the best and most notable public health successes,” said Deepak Kapur, chair of Rotary India National PolioPlus. “Today, while challenges remain, India is over the halfway mark to achieve regional polio-free certification in 2014.
“The achievement of the India program, led by the government of India and partners — Rotary International, WHO, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to ensure that each and every child is reached by the vaccine in the upcoming immunization rounds will rid the country of polio.”
The Rotary Club of Goleta meets at 6:30 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays for dinner meetings at the Elephant Bar Restaurant. The public interested to learn more about Rotary commitment locally and internationally is cordially invited to the interesting meetings with guest speakers, delicious dinners and wonderful camaraderie with men and women who are active in the community.
Contact club president Paul Clayton at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or membership chair Francis Gilliland at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
— Lynn Cederquist is publicity chairwoman of the Rotary Club of Goleta.
