PolioPlus Update - July 25, 2016
PolioPlus Update: Are you a polio survivor? Have you been on a NID?
By Carl Good III
I want to let you know that the District Polio Committee has been growing and we have now added Phil Sandler of Brookline Rotary and Author Amanda Graves (shown, right) as members. It is our intention to visit and educate all Rotary clubs in District 7910 on polio as we are approaching the goal line. I had the honor of meeting Amanda,who has written a book on being a polio survivor, and I want to share this with you:
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Amanda came to our attention through Pat and Skip Doyle. Her husband is a polio survivor and she has written a children's book about his experiences as a child. The book is to be released in at the end of August. Amanda will make a presentation to the Shrewsbury Rotary club on September 19th. She is available to tell her husband's story and describe her book to other clubs in the district. Amanda has agreed to join our District 7910 Polio Plus team.
Amanda was born and educated in England and has lived in the U.S. since 1985. Although in the past she has been a caterer, a bookseller and a spice consultant, she has always been a writer.
Amanda’s husband, Ben, is the inspiration for her first book, Papa’s Boots. In 1954, at the age of two, Ben was living in Oklahoma when he contracted polio. Although he has very little recollection of his illness, he remembers having to wear leg braces for four years. And, his m
ost vivid memory is receiving his first pair of cowboy boots.
ost vivid memory is receiving his first pair of cowboy boots. In Papa’s Boots, we see Ben, now a grandfather, taking his young grandson, Jack, to buy his own first pair of cowboy boots. What Jack learns about papa’s childhood will help him to understand why this is such a special day.
More Polio Information
Rotary works not only to eradicate polio but also to aid those who have suffered from this disease. The virus is never eliminated. As one ages, the symptoms can increase. The Rotarian Action Group for Polio Survivors and Associates is the living legacy of Rotary's PolioPlus polio-eradication program through humanitarian assistance to polio survivors of the world. To learn more, click here. Many thousands of Rotarians are polio survivors. Let's not forget them. The chair of PSA and a polio survivor is Past District Governor Ann Lee Hussey of Maine, who has been on numerous international National Immunization Days and has advocated for Rotary programs around the world.
Shown on right: Ann Lee Husey of District 7780's Casco Bay Sunrise Rotary, doing drops on NID.
As part of District 7910's Polio Plus teamwork, we would like to identify polio survivors in our district and invite them to join our team and/or join PSA. If you are a polio survivor and would like to aid our efforts, please contact me.
We also want to identify those in District 7910 who have gone on a Rotary NID, to recognize their contribution. It would be great if club presidents would put out the word and help us identify these Rotarians who, at their own expense, have immunized children in developing countries. Also, if you have been on an NID, please contact me as follows:
Carl M. Good III, Ph.D.
560 Longley Rd.
Groton, MA 01450
978-273-7880
Rotary District 7910 Polio Chair
Thanks very much for your help.
Status of District 7910 club contributions
To review and download the District 7910 polio-contributions report compiled by Rotary International, click here. To read the May 2016 edition of End Polio Now Newsletter, click here.
Boston Globe highlights Rotary role in polio fight
Click here to read a recent front-page article in The Boston Globe about the change in polio vaccines, which mentions the role of Rotary in the fight to end polio.
RI provides $35 million in new funding
Rotary International has released $35 million in new grants to support the global effort to eradicate polio. The funds will build on last year’s historic achievement of stopping transmission of the wild polio virus in Nigeria and all of Africa. Just two countries reported wild polio cases in 2015, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rotary’s funds will go toward efforts to end the disease in those countries and seven others. Read more
Rotary International has released $35 million in new grants to support the global effort to eradicate polio. The funds will build on last year’s historic achievement of stopping transmission of the wild polio virus in Nigeria and all of Africa. Just two countries reported wild polio cases in 2015, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rotary’s funds will go toward efforts to end the disease in those countries and seven others. Read moreNew type of polio vaccine
A new type of polio vaccine has been produced that can provide a better injectable to people in Third World countries. Click here to watch a recent Australian TV news report on the Vaxxas Nanopatch.
