The reason that I'm torturing myself with the swimming quest is to raise some funds for
End Polio Now.
You can sponsor me here:
https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/justkeepswimming
Funds raised will go to End Polio Now via The Rotary Club of Knaresborough
Last year (2011) I worked in Nepal for three months as a volunteer. One of the projects I was invited to take part in was a national immunisation day organised by Rotary International in partnership with Unicef, The World Health Organisation and the Nepalese government.
On one day alone in Kathmandu (12th March 2011) local healthcare workers, Rotary and Rotaract volunteers enabled 2647 children to be vaccinated for free against polio.
In the 20yrs that Rotary has been running the End Polio Now / PolioPlus campaign more than 2.5 BILLION children have been vaccinated against an entirely PREVENTABLE disease. It's one of the few human diseases that we can actually eradicate and would be only the second time in history that we have managed to do this.
The difference between receiving a 20p vaccine and not receiving it can be catastrophic for children living in countries with no free or adequate healthcare and if they do survive their lifechances without a welfare state to help them are pretty poor.
The difference 20p can make....................
As a qualified early years professional, I believe very strongly that in the 21st Century when we have the scientific and medical knowledge available to us, ALL children have the right to free and adequate healthcare. No child should have to suffer from an entirely PREVENTABLE disease.
You may have seen or heard the coverage on the BBC back in February when the BBC correspondent Fergus Walsh reported live from Dehli just as India was declared Polio free.
February is traditionally the time when Rotary promotes it's work to eradicate polio during it's "Thanks for Life" week. Hence the Rotary Global Swimarathon which took place on 25th Feb 2012 and is set to go ahead again 23rd Feb 2013! This does not mean that the work doesn't go on year round. It's estimated that a child in India will need to be vaccinated 8+ times before they become immune and although there are only three remaining endemic countries in the world, outbreaks do occur in previously polio free areas if immunisation levels drop.
Polio is a debilitating disease, in some cases it cause paralysis and in some even death. It's highly contageous but it is easily preventable and the nature of the disease means it is possible with enough will to eradicate it completely. For me personally, raising funds for End Polio Now by swimming is entirely appropriate as the main way the disease is spread is through contaminated water.
Putting the "Plus" in Polio Plus.......
The massive organisational effort that has gone into identifying outbreaks and organising vaccination programmes has created a worldwide infrastructure which would not be so well developed had the
PolioPlus programme not come along. The "Cold Chain" which allows temperature sensitive vaccines to be delivered to people even in remote villages has created a lasting legacy for other vaccination programmes. Identifying children that need vaccinating in countries where birth certificates are not common and people don't even know the exact date of their birth has also been a challenge, mobilising local volunteers particularly women has also done a lot for female empowerment and led to general improvements in child and maternal health.
Ewan McGreggor presented an interesting documentary on this called "Cold Chain Mission"
To read more about the work Rotary is doing to end polio there's more info here:
So anyway serious bit over, if you would like to sponsor me the online donation page is running for 18mths so if you'd rather wait until after I've (hopefully!) made it then that's ok too, it doesn't have to be a lot, every penny counts :-)
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