Newtownabbey Rotarians help highlight World Polio Day

Purple crocus corms have been planted at Abbey Community College.

Rotary members throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland have done all sorts of things and lit all sorts of iconic buildings, areas and structures in purple bringing people together to raise awareness and donations for the Rotary End Polio Now campaign.

Members of Newtownabbey Rotary Club in partnership with Monkstown Village Initiatives planted 4,000 purple crocus corms within Newtownabbey.

Crocus corms were planted in the Monkstown Village Initiatives Community Garden and members of the senior Flourish Group were given a short talk on Rotary’s Global Eradication Initiative launched over 30 years ago.

With the assistance of the Monkstown Village Initiative gardener, purple crocus corms have been planted in Rostulla Special School, Hollybank Primary School and Abbey Community College.

A spokesperson for Newtownabbey Rotary said: “We want to say a very big thank you to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Margaret Connolly, Gardener and everyone involved at Monkstown Village Initiatives for their help along with the Flourish Senior Group and the local schools for taking part in the project.”

Paul Hutchinson, President of Newtownabbey Rotary Club commented: “We’re very proud of our continued support of polio eradication and the lighting up of Mossley Mill and Ballyclare Town Hall along with the purple crocus corm planting was a real success.

“Keeping the issue of polio in the public’s eye is really important because we have to all step up and work together to be able to finish the job.

“Any contribution we can make towards this huge global movement makes a difference.”

Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) over 30 years ago, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.99 per cent, from about 350,000 cases a year in 125 countries to just 33 cases in 2018 and with just two countries reporting cases of wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In order to sustain this progress, around two billion doses of the vaccine still have to be given to more than 400 million children in up to 60 countries every single year.

This is in addition to the routine immunisations that happen elsewhere around the world, including in the UK and Ireland.

Without full funding, political commitment and volunteer-led social action, there is a real threat that polio could return, putting children worldwide at risk.

Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts, with that funding matched 2-to-1 by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary has contributed more than US$ 2.1 billion to ending polio since 1985, and the Rotary Club of Newtownabbey have supported this campaign since it began.

Contact Newtownabbey Rotary via their Facebook page and www.rotarygbi.org to find out more about Newtownabbey Rotary and the world’s largest voluntary organisation and other activities you can get involved in to help end polio.

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