Posted on Aug 13, 2018
World Polio Day Competition – Your Club could win $500 for its WASH Projects!
 
What is World Polio Day?
 
World Polio Day is celebrated on October 24th. World Polio Day was established by Rotary International to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. Use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequent widespread use of the oral poliovirus vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, led to the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
 
Polio is a disease caused by a virus that affects the nervous system and is mainly spread by person-to-person contact. Polio can also be spread by drinking water or other drinks or eating raw or undercooked food that are contaminated with the feces of an infected person.
 
$$$$$ - THE PRIZES!
 
$500 US for the best project (i.e. the one with the most impact)
 
$500 US for the most innovative project
 
What must you do?
 
Whatever works best for your community, the choice is yours! All we ask is that the project improve the quality of water and/or level of awareness of it in YOUR community. You could, for example:
• Clean up debris along a waterway, lake, creek, pond, stream, or other watersource.
• Prevent erosion by planting trees and native plants along a watersource.
• Build awareness in your community - encourage students to write essays on theimportance of water and what THEY can do to protectit.
• Encourage farmers in your area to use eco-friendly chemicals that will not damage fragile water systems.
• If your community's water source is safe, eliminate plastic water bottles. If they are a necessity ensure they are collected and recycled appropriately. Use your imagination!
 
The bottom line is to educate your community on the importance of protecting its water sources. Get them involved!
 
Whenever possible, please consult with your local water or conservation authority to ensure that your efforts are compatible with conditions in your area! For example, cleaning a watercourse during spawning season could have a negative impact on fish stocks.
 
Share your story
 
Please use your project to celebrate World Polio Day. You can promote it at your regular club meeting closest to October 24, 2018. WASRAG will share some of them in its monthly newsletter. And - why not tell your story to the Rotary world yourself? Go to the RI website and post it on Rotary Club Central and/or Rotary Showcase!
 
Who will judge the entries?
 
The members of WASRAG's Membership Satisfaction Team, including Chris Etienne - USA (Chair), Salvador Rico – USA, Tom Bos - USA, Ada Cheng - Hong Kong, Rich Churchman - USA, Toro de Silva - Brazil, V.N. Singh - India, Ndukwe Chukwu - Nigeria and Rob Crabtree - New Zealand will review all applications and submit a short-list of finalists to WASRAG's Operations Team.
 
How do you enter the competition?
Submit a brief description of your project to info@wasrag.org. Include what you are doing, the target audience and the expected impact of the project. Remember to tell us your Club name and District number and give us a contact name, email address and phone number. Some projects will be showcased on the WASRAG website.
 
DEADLINE & AWARDS: Please submit all entries by December 1, 2018. Winners will be notified by February 1, 2019.