[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 838

[Garry Krischock]

1.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1508;_ylc=X3oDMTJxaDJtM
mcwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE1M
DgEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIyNTUyNTAwNA--> 1589: End Polio Now
exhibit opens 

Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:17 pm (PDT) 

End Polio Now exhibit opens By Dan Nixon
[http://www.rotary.org/SiteCollectionImages/News/polio-lobby-2.jpg] 
[http://www.rotary.org/SiteCollectionImages/News/polio-lobby-3.jpg]
Samuel Owori, Uganda, RI representative to the UN Economic Commission of
Africa and a member of the African Regional PolioPlus Committee (left at
top) and Henry Kyemba, Uganda, RI representative to the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization, check out the End Polio Now exhibit unveiled
27 October in the lobby of Rotary International World Headquarters in
Evanston, Illinois, USA. At bottom: RI President Dong Kurn Lee welcomes
visitors to the opening of the exhibit. Photos by Alyce Henson/Rotary
Images
Rotarians have traveled by car, bicycle, boat, even camel to immunize
children around the world against polio.

Their stories and the global initiative to eradicate the crippling
disease are compellingly told in the exhibit "End Polio Now," unveiled
on 27 October at Rotary International World Headquarters in Evanston,
Illinois, USA.

"This exhibit serves as a reminder to those who live in a polio-free
world about the suffering of those who do not," Rotary Foundation
Trustee Vice Chair Ron Burton told the gathering at the exhibit's
unveiling.

On hand were the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation, Major Donors, Rotary
representatives to the United Nations, and the senior adviser in the
Global Health Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cheryl
Scott, as well as the media.

Burton called the exhibit "a tribute to the will and determination of
the world's 1.2 million Rotarians" in raising hundreds of millions of
dollars to help vaccinate two billion children against polio, promoting
and participating in National Immunization Days, and raising more than
$4 billion from the public sector through advocacy with governments.

"This exhibit tells their story, a story of perseverance and hope in the
face of financial, political, technical, and geographic obstacles,"
Burton said.

The story unfolds on the exhibit's 12 large panels, with titles such as
"Mobilize to Immunize," "Rotary Responds," "Tracking the Wild Virus,"
and "A World without Polio." Also featured are a continuous DVD
presentation and a display case containing a few of the numerous awards
that Rotary has received in recognition of its leadership role in the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Two other cases feature items used to promote and carry out National
Immunization Days, such as a Rotary volunteer's cap, a Kick Polio
Out of Africa soccer ball, a PolioPlus banner, and a cold box for
transporting oral polio vaccine.
US$100 Million Challenge
The exhibit's last panel highlights Rotary's US$100 Million Challenge
<http://www.rotary.org/en/EndPolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx> in response to
the Gates Foundation challenge grant for polio eradication. Visitors can
use an electronic kiosk in front of the panel to donate to the
fundraising challenge.

"We have brought the world closer to the end of a disease and to the
achievement of the fourth [UN] Millennium Development Goal: reducing
child mortality," said RI President Dong Kurn Lee. "Rotary is committed
to ending polio and to building the healthier, safer, and more peaceful
world of which we all dream."

RI General Secretary Ed Futa joined Lee in cutting a ribbon to
officially open the exhibit.

"This exhibit will be installed here for the coming five years," Futa
said. "We will be updating it as contributions to Rotary's US$100
Million Challenge continue to come in and as the number of polio-endemic
countries decreases.

"We hope that school groups and other community members will view the
exhibit and learn more about the problem of polio and Rotary's work to
eradicate the disease," he added.

Source: Rotary International News / Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

 

 

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