MEETING OF FEBRUARY 20, 2003
By Steve Gruber
Palo Alto Rotarian Walt Hays told us today about Rotary International's final effort to eradicate polio from this planet. A three-year fundraising effort will take place among
Rotary's 30,000 clubs to raise $80 million that will hopefully bring to an end the PolioPlus program after nearly 20 years. The goal is to get rid of polio in the four or five remaining countries that have this disease.
The last part will be the hardest. For example, volunteers are working in Iraq now, immunizing children in the face of a war that could begin soon. Other countries that still have polio include some where there are civil wars going on, or where normal medical efforts are dangerous even where there isn't a war.
PolioPlus is one of Rotary's most successful international programs. The program, which is explained in detail at this website sponsored by Rotary International, http://www.rotary.org/foundation/polioplus/index.html, got its start in 1979 with an experimental program in the Philippines to help deliver polio vaccine to six million children. It worked so well that Rotary, through the Health, Hunger, and Humanity Program, started similar efforts in Haiti, Bolivia, Morocco, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia.
But the PolioPlus program as we know it was launched in 1985, when Rotary International pledged $120 million to eradicate polio worldwide. The amount promised was stunning because Rotary had never worked with numbers that large before. Each club was given a goal and, within a short time, it became apparent that there was so much support for the program that the goal could be doubled. By 2005, RI will have raised more than $500 million for PolioPlus.
As was noted at today's meeting, it was during BOO BUE'S presidency that this club raised $100,000 for PolioPlus. The goal this time is $45,000, or about $300 per member.
Rotary International has worked with the World Health Organization, the U.N. Children's Fund, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to achieve a 99 percent reduction in the number of polio cases worldwide. The goal is to completely eradicate polio in 2005, the centennial of Rotary. The graph to the left shows the extent of financial aid that has been provided by Rotary International. (Graph provided by Rotary International.)
Rotary District 5170 has carried out several international projects for PolioPlus. A group of Rotarians both from California and Ghana recently gave drops of the vaccine to thousands of children. Although opponents of the program had spread rumors that the drops were harmful to children, the parents who brought their children to the clinics said they trusted Rotary to save their children from polio.
ELLEN FLANAGAN is chairing our efforts to raise money, and she and her committee have assigned all of the members to various groups. The groups are based on occupation for most members. LEM SUMMEY, for example, is spurring the legal team to greater heights and already has five attorneys signed up for $300 pledges.
Programs and Events
February
February 27: Silvia Hines "About the YWCA" and David Dye "About the Boy Scouts"
March
March 6: Rafiq Dossani, Stanford Asia-Pacific Research Center, “The Emerging High-Tech Partnership Between India and the U.S.”
March 7: Cioppino Feed
March 13: David Yarnold, Executive Editor, San Jose Mercury News, “The Future of the Mercury News in a Changing Region and World”
March 20: Post-Taliban Afghanistan
March 27: Toni Casey, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration, "The President's Economic Stimulus Package - Impact on Small Businesses"May
May 9: Golf Tournament, 10:00 AM at Shoreline Golf Links, Mountain View
May 17 and 18: Rotary Fine Art Show
OTHER ROTARY CLUB MEETING PLACES
MONDAY
Palo Alto: Rickey's Hyatt House, 12:15 p.m.
TUESDAY
Los Altos Sunset: The Echo Restaurant, Los Altos, 7:15 p.m.
Sunnyvale: Ramada Inn, 12:15 p.m.
Mountain View: Adobe House, Moffett & Central, Mountain View, 12:15 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Menlo Park: Menlo Park Recreation Center, Menlo Park, noon.
Woodside/Portola: Woodside Village Church, Woodside, 7:30 a.m.
Sunnyvale Sunrise: Wild Woodys Grill, Sunken Gardens Golf Course, 7 a.m.
Cupertino: Quinlan Community Center, 12:15 p.m.
THURSDAY
Palo Alto Sunrise: Scott's, Town & Country, Palo Alto, 7:15 a.m.
Yosemite: The Ahwahnee Hotel, Noon
FRIDAY
Palo Alto University: Sheraton, El Camino, Palo Alto, 7:30 a.m.
Lake Tahoe: Harvey's Hotel, 12:15 p.m.
"Information in this newsletter is intended for the exclusive use of the members of the Rotary Club of Los Altos to facilitate the work of the club and to promote club fellowship. It is not to be used for any commercial or outside, unrelated, non-profit purposes. No publication of material in this newsletter should occur without the express permission of the club President or the Editor of the Rotator."Copyright 2003 The Los Altos Rotary Club
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