The Rotary Club of Bolsover joined forces with St John Ambulance, and in particular the Badgers, to plant 5,000 purple crocus corms in the Hornscroft Park in Bolsover to symbolise the enormous success so far of the eradication campaign.Â
After their hard work was done, the small army of planters and volunteers enjoyed a picnic in the warmth and dry of the parish church. Our old friend Leigh Holland of the popular JJs Coffee Shop of 4 Station Rd Bolsover generously supplied the cakes, sandwiches and other goodies; well done Leigh they ate the lot! A good recommendation for your scrumptious fayre.
For over 30 years, Rotary and its members have been committed to fighting to eradicate polio across the world.
The partnership between Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (Rotary) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) will see Rotary clubs, Britain in Bloom groups and other RHS community gardening groups plant a target of 10 million purple crocus corms in their local communities in Autumn 2017, and Bolsover is no exception.
The number of polio-endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just three, with over 2.5 billion children receiving vaccinations thanks to the help of Rotary.
With eradication now closer than ever, Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland’s latest campaign, Purple4Polio, is designed to unite communities to engage in activities as part of the final push to eradicate polio for good.
Rotary Purple4Polio ambassador, Paralympian Ade Adepitan, contracted polio as a baby. “We can see the finish line – and we can’t stop now” he said.
“The UK has always been a world leader. It can be part of our legacy to be at the forefront of the race to eradicate polio around the world. Let’s keep doing what we are doing and make the world a better place for future generations.
“We are so close to eradicating polio. We need just one last push to make this disease history and change the world.”
Polio kills and paralyses young children. It spreads like wild-fire. There’s no cure but it can be easily prevented through immunisation.
25 years ago, polio struck 350,000 children each year. Thanks to the work of Rotary and others, there were only 74 cases in 2015, and that fell further to 27 in 2016, from only 3 countries.