1. Thursday, Nov. 16th, Speaker, Jackie Hobal, Rotary Zone 24, West Corrdinator. Polio Eradication Update.
Note that the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove has recently had an article focused on Polio Eradication published in the Grove Examiner. Thanks to Dianne Brown and Judy Kesanko for this work. Here is that article:
Rotary Tackles Polio… and Wins!
Some of us are old enough to remember when polio ravaged North America in the 1950’s. Thousands of people, mostly children, were affected.
Polio is a virus which mainly affects children under age 5 although by the 1950’s older children and some adults began to contract the disease. It is very contagious and spreads through person-to-person contact, typically through contaminated water. The virus lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines. It enters the body through the mouth and spreads through contact with the feces of an infected person and, though less common, through droplets from a sneeze or cough.In about 70% of cases the infected person will experience minor symptoms, like fever, headache, muscle ache and fatigue. But in the unlucky 30% of those that contract polio, the virus attacks the nervous system, leading to paralysis and back in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s in North America, even to death. Rest of article at bottom.
Check out the Iron Lung on display at our recent Pancake Breakfast.
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2. Thursday, Nov. 23. Silly Santa auction. Our annual contribution to the women of Wings of Providence. This project considers the needs of the women at Christmas. We provide housecoats and several other nice touches for them at this time of year. Wings of Providence is...is a second stage residence, in other words a, 'long stay' (3 or 4 months?) where women and children can get their feet under them--taking courses, getting help with resumes, family living, housekeeping, etc.
A reminder your gifts for auction need a comment, note or poem suggesting what might be beneath the beautiful wrapping!!
3. Thursday, Nov. 30th. General Assembly.
4. A reminder. 2017 Wine Survivor Raffle. Deadline for entries is noon on Nov. 30th. The raffle proceeds are intended to support a new project of our club to support an organization called, Days for Girls. Days for Girls provides support to girls and women by providing sustainable feminine hygiene solutions. This support results in the girls and women to be better able to access education, better health, better opportunity and thus improved freedom. Check the short video.
Rotary Tackles Polio… and Wins
There is no cure for polio, but polio is very preventable… with a vaccine. The vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk and came into use in 1955. The oral polio vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin and came into commercial use in 1961. By 1994, North America was polio free. But not the rest of the world. Then the problem became… how to get the vaccine across the world.
Enter Rotary International. Rotary is a global network which (today) joins 1.2 million active, problem-solvers with a penchant for getting things done.
In 1988 Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Centers for Dihis projectssease Control and Prevention launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. In 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined Rotary in its commitment to ending polio.
In that year, 1988, it is estimated that there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. In 2015 there were 74 reported cases. In 2016, just last year, there were 37. That’s success by whatever measure you use. Bill Gates has said, “The world’s progress in fighting polio might be one of the best-kept secrets in global health.”
Today only 3 countries remain endemic. Rotary and its partners have immunized over 2.5 billion children worldwide. Rotary has helped reduce the incidence of polio by 99.9%. Across the world Rotarians have contributed over $1 billion to this effort. Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove raise funds for this “Polio Plus” project every year.
It has been an immense and complicated process, but it has worked, with money, time, dedication, passion and logistical magic. And Rotary will not stop until polio is eradicated from our world.
For more information go to rotary.org