During the most recent virtual meeting of the Rotary Club of Church Wilne, Club members welcomed Lesley Reynolds from the Rotary Club of Derby South and Tom Hunt District Rotary Club Officer. Lesley delivered an enlightening presentation on The Rotary Polio Plus Campaign. The aim of this campaign is to eradicate this terrible disease worldwide.

Lesley advised club members that the plan to eliminate Polio has proven to be more challenging than initially expected. The disease is still present in several countries, some of which, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and countries across sub-Saharan Africa, have remote, inaccessible geography, continuing civil wars and natural disasters to contend with.

However, there are only 132 reported cases worldwide and the Rotary movement is justifiably proud of their work to eradicate Polio and want to thank the local community for their support. One of the fundamental setbacks to end Polio has been the Ebola epidemic, particularly relating to Sierra Leone. The fact that Africa is now free of Ebola is an incredible achievement but we must not become complacent and will continue to support the campaign.

The good news is that the infrastructure in place to eradicate Polio can be used to vaccinate against Covid-19 (when the vaccine is available), which will help prevent Covid-19 being imported back into the UK.

Rotary District Officer Tom Hunt thanked Church Wilne for their contribution to the Rotary Foundation over the last few years.

Both Lesley and Tom went on to advise Club members of Rotary Club efforts across the District to support local food banks. Church Wilne has donated to three local food banks. This continues to be a priority for Rotary Clubs across the District and subsequent updates on our charitable donations will be provided.

If you wish to know more about the Church Wilne Rotary and how the members aim to make a difference in the local community of for more information on Rotary, our speaker evenings, events and the main activities organised by our club please contact our Secretary, David Hewitt at: rccw1220@gmail.com

Rotarian Barry Austin
For Church Wilne Rotary