‘Cheerful splash of colour’ for Carrickfergus care homes

Despite the restrictions imposed on activities by Covid-19 (read here), club president Brenda Houston and the members will be highlighting the aims of the colour purple themed initiative.

The colour purple is associated with the polio eradication drive because each immunised child has their little finger dipped in purple dye to indicate their vaccination has been completed.

To celebrate International Polio Day, Rotary clubs, over the years, have used a range of activities to raise awareness of the campaign. Most recently the Carrickfergus club planted a large Rotary logo in purple crocuses in Governors Place.

In a statement the club explained: “This year the Carrickfergus Rotary Club is gifting purple crocus corms to local nursing homes and learning disability homes, in recognition of their valuable caring contribution in the community and to provide a cheerful splash of colour to their surroundings in the spring and hopefully for many springs to come, when Rotary and they can jointly celebrate their caring and the fight against polio in the world.”

Since 1985 Rotary’s worldwide key humanitarian project has been to rid the world of polio. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was launched three years later in 1988. This partnership which includes Rotary, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, has been joined more recently by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GAVI the Vaccine Alliance. Carrickfergus Rotary Club added: “The partnership has worked tirelessly with governments throughout the world to mount comprehensive vaccination programmes, even in the remotest and most difficult areas, to eradicate the disease.

“Such has been their success that earlier this year Africa was the latest country to be declared ‘Polio free’ and the fight continues to rid the last two polio endemic countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, of the disease.”

Read a previous Rotary story here

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