World Polio Day

Published: 24 October 2017

World Polio Day – 24 October 2017

For over 30 years, Rotary and its international members have been committed to fighting to eradicate polio across the world.  Thanks to their work, the amount of polio-endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just three, with over 2.5 billion children receiving vaccinations.

To raise awareness and celebrate the success of the “End Polio Now” campaign, the Loughton, Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell Rotary Club has donated purple crocuses to several local organisations.  Beneficiaries include the Chigwell Riding Trust, the Grow community allotment project, Loughton Town Council, St Mary’s Church in Chigwell, Trinity Church in Mannock Drive, Loughton, and the Leonard Cheshire Home in Chigwell.

Last Friday, Rotary Club chairman, Fran Maskell, with some of the club’s volunteers, joined Loughton town mayor, Philip Abraham and councillor David Wixley at the Murray Hall in Borders Lane to help with the planting of a 1,000 crocus corms at the front of the hall.

The purple crocus is the symbol of Rotary’s worldwide campaign, with its colour representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child to indicate they have received their life saving oral polio vaccine.

For more information on this campaign visit:   https://www.rotarygbi.org/what-we-do/purple4polio/