Inverness schools urged to help eradicate polio

by Loch Ness PR - 17:28 on 05 February 2010

Inverness primary pupils are being urged to help the children of the world - by eradicating the crippling killer disease - Polio.

Members of the Rotary Club of Loch Ness are joining forces with over 55,000 other Rotarians across Great Britain and Ireland in a co-ordinated effort to finally win the battle with this most debilitating and, often terminal disease.

The Rotarians are aiming to help generate over £1 million on one day by forging links with Inverness Primary School pupils and encouraging them to help raise funds towards the world-wide initiative to stamp out polio for good.

The initiative is part of Rotary’s national Thanks for Life campaign, that will see hundreds of Rotary Clubs across Great Britain and Ireland linking up with schools, colleges, businesses, organisations and individuals to hold a range of fund-raising events to raise the £1 million target by Thanks For Life – Rotary Day, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 (Rotary’s 105th birthday).

Polio is a crippling, and sometimes fatal, disease and still a very harrowing reality for children in parts of Africa and Asia and threatens children everywhere. It is highly virulent and only an air flight away from the UK.

Every £1 raised in this campaign will purchase five doses of the special anti-polio vaccine. These children will be protected against polio - forever.

Mike Halley, Rotary Club of Loch Ness president said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to learn about issues facing children in other parts of the world and to help those that are less fortunate than themselves.

“Rotary has been involved in this fight for 25 years and the world is so close to being free from polio for good thanks to the joint hard work of organisations and governments. How fantastic for a child to join the fight and be able to say, ‘I helped to wipe out a disease for only the second time in history, after smallpox. I stopped children from dying - I help change the world’.

“We understand that the recent events in Haiti have grabbed a lot of the media attention and subsequent fundraising – and obviously the Rotary Clubs in Inverness and throughout Scotland have send a massive amount of humanitarian aid to this area. However, we also want the schools to assist and support us in our final push to finally eradicate the crippling disease that polio actually is.”

The Rotary Clubs of Great Britain have so far helped raise £10.5million towards polio eradication.

Interested schools can contact: Ken Wilson at the Rotary Club of Loch Ness on 01463 238026 or by email on kjwilson123@btinternet.com or they can visit www.ribi.org/thanks-for-life for further information.
 

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