Eight local Rotarians and a half-dozen others gathered last Friday to commemorate Rotary’s effort worldwide to end polio.  

In a brief opening ceremony, Bridgton Hospital President Peter Wright, mentioned that in his 17 years as a Rotarian, it is projects such as this that make him proud to be a Rotarian. He mentioned that only two countries remain in the world where polio still exists.  

Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club President Julie Forbes responded, “Yes, new cases were only found in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past year. It’s been eradicated in Africa only recently and elsewhere in the world for years. The vaccine must continue to be given to all children worldwide to prevent the viral infection from ever taking root, primarily because there is no cure for polio. We cannot let up now since we are so close to eradicating a second devastating disease as has been accomplished with small pox!”

Following these brief words, the Rotarians set to work planting 1,000 purple crocus bulbs. The Bridgton project is smaller, more local, sustainable and beautiful. 

“We look forward to the splash of color on the lawn at Bridgton Hospital in the Spring,” several remarked.

Rotaryhas been working to eradicate poliofor more than 30 years having reduced poliocases by 99.9 percent and immunized more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. Every dollar Rotary raises in this effort is matched 2-to-1by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Donations to Rotary help to provide life-saving immunizations, state-of-the-art disease monitoring, and proven medical treatment to bring an end to polio once and for all. In parts of the world, the polio vaccination infrastructure has been enlisted in addressing the current COVID pandemic.

If you would like more information about Rotary or this project, contact LakeRegionRotary@gmail.com. 

If you would like to be part of the local effort to end polio, make a check payable to the Bridgton Rotary Foundation and mail to P.O. Box 845, Bridgton, ME 04009.