Bishops Waltham Rotary Club

There was exciting news on 25th August when the World Health Organisation declared that the whole continent of Africa had been free of the wild Polio Virus for more than 3 years. Bishops Waltham Rotary has been contributing to the End Polio Now project since the club’s formation in 1989. The project was started by Rotary in 1985, when there were 350,000 cases of wild polio in 125 Countries every year. Rotary has been partnered by UNICEF and more recently the Bill Gates Foundation to advocate the benefits of the eradication of the virus which can cause severe disabilities, with children under 5 most vulnerable to infection. The announcement that Africa is wild polio free means that there are only two countries in the world where transmission of the wild virus has never been stopped these are Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rotary works with all the agencies in those countries to deliver vaccine to all children under 5, often struggling against the climate and communities that do not understand the benefits of immunisation despite this there have only been 102 cases of wild virus infection worldwide this year. The United Nations have established a World Polio Day on 25th October every year. As part of the awareness campaign Bishops Waltham Rotary will be planting 4000 purple crocus corms around the area during October. Look out for the purple blooms in February/March 2021. Street collection in aid of those affected by the explosion in Beirut Many of you would have been shocked, like us, to have seen the footage of the major explosion that shook Beirut in August, the sheer scale of the devastation and the numbers affected. We were very keen to help out by organising a street collection, but we were mindful of ensuring that any funds we sent would reach the right people, plus there were the practicalities of trying to do such a collection in the post lock down environment we find ourselves in. After a bit of careful research we made contact with a Rotary Club in Beirut, who were already running a food bank out there and were ideally suited to provide support where appropriate. Plus, with a bit of ingenuity involving screwing collecting buckets to workbenches so that we could be suitably distanced from any prospective donators, a lot of hand gel and some disinfectant wipes we managed to mount a street collection in early September. At this point in time we do not know exactly how successful the collection was because the money raised is in quarantine for 72 hours, but we are confident that several hundred pounds was raised. Like our Facebook page or take a look at our

website for updates on the funds raised for Beirut, the fight against Polio, what is going on, what we have been up to and how you can help us help others!