"End Polio Now" Campaign in the Words of Rotarian and Author Tim Arnold

The following article was written by a friend of mine and fellow Rotarian that lives in the greater Seattle area. Those of you who know me (and some that don't) know about the 300 mile bike ride I have gone on in Washington. It goes from Redmond, Wa to Spokane, Wa in mid-July. (www.RedSpoke.org). It is a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Redmond Washington. I have completed the ride 3 times. I met Tim Arnold on this ride, as he is a member of the Redmond Rotary Club and has completed the ride an amazing 22 times!!! Tim Arnold is a graduate of the University of Washington and in 2008 published his debut novel "Scent of Danger". A must read book! He also has traveled on missions with Rotary to help eradicate polio.

And now Tim Arnold:

"Many of you know that I went to Africa a few years ago to do Polio immunizations in Ethiopia. You may also remember that Rotary took on the task of eradicating Polio from the world. With all but four countries clear of outbreaks, the goal is so close. In Africa, only Nigeria is considered a Polio-endemic country. But because the borders are so porous, immunizations continue on the roads leading to the surrounding countries. Thus returning to Ethiopia one more time became a reality.

Most of us consider Polio a thing of the past, with no cases in the United States for decades, except for the occasional one being carried in from an affected country. The world is so close to total eradication. All of Africa could be declared Polio free within a couple of years.

While in Ethiopia, we visited The Cheshire Clinic where over the years they’ve straightened the legs of thousands of kids stricken with Polio. This year was different. Instead of focusing on only Polio victims they’ve had to change their goals; not enough kids with Polio! Now they do artificial limb replacement for kids and adults who have lost limbs due to accidents or land mines. I got the chance to play soccer with a little boy with two artificial legs he lost due to a land mine. He beat me…

In a country that is one of the poorest in the world, it isn’t hard to find people in need. What we did see was points of hope scattered around the country. An example is the Project Mercy, a school and hospital in one of the poorer areas of Ethiopia. Here 1600 kids attend school, K through 12, some walking two hours to get to school. They serve breakfast and lunch, and 90 orphans live on campus. Project Mercy received a grant from Rotary to help build the hospital.

North of Addis Abba in the rural mountain area, Rotary collaborated with with World Vision to build a water system to serve several villages. A spring on the hillside was captured and two large holding tanks and thousands of feet of water pipe directed the water to various locations. Each location had faucets for getting water, watering troughs for the animals, and four clothes washing tubs with waste water containments.

When we did Polio immunizations about 330 kilometers south of Addis Abba near a town called Soddo, the kids also received measles shots. The ground work set up to eradicate Polio, has now expanded to do other things, including measles immunizations and keeping medical records for all the children.

All these things wouldn’t have been possible without people like you contributing to various Rotary Clubs around the world. Each of you should be proud to be part of the solutions, providing vital services to small rural communities all around the world. Next time you start up a long steep hill on your bike, remember you helped a little girl thousands of miles away.. It will make the climb a little easier. Hope to see you on RedSpoke again.."

Tim Arnold..

Thank you for reading, please post comments and questions.