Crocus Focus in Storrington
Members of Storrington & Pulborough District Rotary Club planted 4,000 purple crocus corms around Storrington Memorial Pond in November and there is now a colourful reminder there of Rotary’s fight for a Polio free world for everyone to enjoy.
Purple has become a symbolic colour in the global Rotary campaign to eradicate Polio, inspired by the colour of the dye painted on the little finger of a child to signify they have received a potentially life-saving Polio vaccine.
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years and the goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. Recently the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa region has officially been certified wild Polio-free.
Rotary members worldwide have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease and its advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.
Storrington & Pulborough District Rotary Club’s President Pippa Davies commented, “We were delighted to plant these purple symbols of the Polio campaign at Storrington Memorial Pond and to play our part in the continuing global efforts to eradicate the disease”.
Organiser Rob von Bergen said, “The Crocuses will be a fitting annual reminder of how much work Rotary has done over the years to eradicate Polio and just now they are spreading some springtime joy”.
For further information contact: Robert von Bergen robertvonbergen@yahoo.com
01798 812827