THIS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED BY THE ROTARY GLOBAL HISTORY FELLOWSHIP.

THE COMMENTS AND STORIES IN THIS NEWSLETTER DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL,

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL OR ANY OTHER ROTARY RELATED ORGANIZATION.

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A N e w s l e t t e r f o r R o t a r y L e a d e r s ∙ A m o n t h l y f e a t u r e

Issue 221 • August 2020

“We should not live for ourselves alone, but for the joy in doing good for others.” Arch Klumph, founder of The Rotary Foundation

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Trustee Chair's Message There is a world of difference between a problem and a challenge. If a honeybee faces a giant hornet

alone, the bee has a problem. But if the honeybee faces the hornet with a swarm of other bees, then it is

the hornet that has a problem.

This is true in nature, but it is also the human predicament. So when the situation I confront is greater than

the resources I have, then it can be termed as a problem. However, if the resources I have are greater

than the situation I am faced with, then it is just a challenge. Sometimes we overestimate our problems

and underestimate our ability to overcome them.

The Covid-19 pandemic seemed like a situation that might overwhelm The Rotary Foundation. But as

things have progressed, we have not allowed it to do so. As of June 4, we have funded 208 disaster

response grants for $5.2 million and 169 new global grants at $13.8 million — all in three months. We

have leveraged individual Rotarians’ generosity with Foundation funds and in many cases other corporate

funds to make projects larger and more impactful.

We never allowed the pandemic to overpower us. Indeed, history shows that Rotarians are a curious

breed. We are visionaries, an idealistic lot that dreams big dreams of a better world. At the same time, we

are resilient and able to withstand challenges that others might succumb to.

We were not idle during the pandemic lockdowns. We raised funds and did projects just as we would have

if there had been no lockdown. We remembered that it’s the same business that we always do — reaching

out to people in distress — except the methodology by which we did it changed.

Our process of preparing and delivering the projects changed.

The way we communicated what we did changed.

The Rotary Foundation is more than 100 years old and has already weathered many storms — some of

them mild and others devastating to the world. Thanks to the strength, sacrifice, and compassion of

Rotarians and the level to which they have extended themselves, I believe the Foundation will continue to

face the future with renewed hope and inspiration.

Our Foundation will emerge from this pandemic much stronger and more resilient as long as you continue

to have trust and faith in it.

K.R. Ravindran Trustee Chair 2020-21

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“Take Out Polio” Pin Fundraiser As District 7630 PolioPlus Chair and a polio survivor, my goal is to raise awareness and funds for

Rotary’s PolioPlus efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.

For the past few years, our District 7630 has had great success with a Pin Fundraiser called “I Saved 67 x

3”. During the 2019-20 Rotary year, DG Bill Ferguson, with the help of the District Foundation agreeing to

match pin sales with DDF funds (dollar for dollar), promoted this fundraiser during his Official Club Visits

by selling pins for $40 each. He raised $14,000…..with DDF match AND Rotary’s World Fund match

AND then that total tripled by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation….that $14,000 created $126,000 for

PolioPlus….that’s how powerful matching DDF funds are.

In June of 2020, Zone 28 held a special Virtual Fundraiser called “Take Out

Polio”. It was an honor to take part in this event. It raised a lot of money

for PolioPlus.

This year, District 7630 Governor 2020-21, Steve Capelli, asked me to

come up with a PolioPlus fundraiser that he can promote and raise money

for PolioPlus. In an effort to avoid re-inventing the wheel, I thought we

could put a different spin on “End Polio Now” and create a pin using the

“Take Out Polio” theme. I asked the very talented graphic artist, Canadian

Rotarian, Debbie Vance, to come up with a design for this pin. She

exceeded all expectations and came up with a great design.

Here’s how it works:

Option 1: District DDF Matching - The District Foundation Chair/Committee

must agree to match pin sales with DDF funds designated to

PolioPlus….this creates matching monies from Rotary’s World Fund and

Gates Foundation. Basically, a $40 pin purchase with all matching monies

becomes $360 and 600 kids won’t get polio with one pin purchase.

Option 2: Rotary Club/Individual - when matching District DDF funds are not

involved, the math is substantial changed. A $40 pin purchase will get the

wonderful matching Gates Foundation dollars and that $40 becomes $120

and 200 kids won’t get polio with one pin purchase.

Option 3: Rotary Club/Individual - when matching District DDF funds are not

involved, the math is substantial changed. A $120 pin purchase will get the

wonderful matching Gates Foundation dollars and that $120 becomes $360

and 600 kids won’t get polio with one pin purchase.

Option #1 + 3

Option #2

Continued...

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Districts, Rotary Clubs and individual Rotarians can purchase pins for $2.00 per pin plus shipping

costs.

As a polio survivor, I know what life is like when a child is not vaccinated. Please help make sure that

we fulfill the promise we made to the children of the world that we WILL eradicate polio.

Sincerely in Rotary Service,

John Nanni

District 7630 PolioPlus Chair

USA World’s Greatest Meal Coordinator

MOT Rotary Club President-2019-20

Polio Survivor - Class of 1953

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Did you know?

On 2 August 1996, Rotary launched "Kick Polio Out of Africa" — a campaign that

leveraged the popularity of soccer (football) to increase public awareness of polio

immunizations in Africa.

This ball in Rotary’s archives, from a National Immunization Day kickoff in Ethiopia in

1997, is signed by John Sever, Paulo V.C. Costa, Herb Pigman, and others who helped

to lead the effort.

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Polio campaigns resume with strict COVID-

19 prevention measures

Continued...

Vaccinators aim to fill urgent immunity gaps that have widened in the under-five population

Vaccinators in countries including Afghanistan, Angola,

Burkina Faso and Pakistan took to the streets this month to

fill urgent immunity gaps that have widened in the under-five

population during a four month pause to polio campaigns

due to COVID-19.

Campaigns resumed in alignment with strict COVID-19

prevention measures, including screening of vaccinators for

symptoms of COVID-19, regular handwashing, provision of

masks and a ‘no touch’ vaccination method to ensure that

distance is maintained between the frontline worker and

child. Only workers from local communities provided house-

to-house vaccination to prevent introduction of SARS-CoV2

infection in non-infected areas.

Although necessary to protect both health workers and communities from COVID-19, the temporary

pause in house-to-house campaigns, coupled with pandemic-related disruptions to routine

immunization and other essential health services, has resulted in expanding transmission of poliovirus

in communities worldwide. Modelling by the polio programme suggests a potentially devastating cost to

eradication efforts if campaigns do not resume.

In Afghanistan, 7858 vaccinators aimed to vaccinate

1,101,740 children in three provinces. Vaccinators were

trained on COVID-19 infection control and prevention

measures and were equipped to answer parents’ questions

about the pandemic. Through the campaign, teams

distributed 500,000 posters and 380,000 flyers featuring

COVID-19 prevention messages.

In Angola, 1,287,717 children under five years of age were

reached by over 4000 vaccinators observing COVID-19

infection prevention and control measures. All health

workers were trained on infection risk, and 90,000 masks

and 23,000 hand sanitizers were distributed by the Ministry of Health.

Nabeela, a polio frontline worker in Pakistan, vaccinates a child in Liaqatabad using the ‘no touch’ method. ©

UNICEF/Pakistan

A child has their finger marked during the campaign in Angola. ©WHO/AFRO

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In Burkina Faso, 174,304 children under five years of age were vaccinated in two high-risk districts by

2000 frontline workers. Vaccinators and health care workers were trained on maintaining physical

distancing while conducting the vaccination. 41,250 masks and 200 litres of hand sanitizer were made

available through the COVID-19 committee in the country to protect frontline workers and families during

the campaign.

In Pakistan, almost 800,000 children under the age of five

were reached by vaccinators in districts where there is an

outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus. Staff were

trained on preventive measures to be followed during

vaccination, including keeping physical distance inside homes

and ensuring safe handling of a child while vaccinating and

finger marking them.

“Our early stage analysis suggests that almost 80 million

vaccination opportunities have been missed by children in our

Region due to COVID-19, based on polio vaccination

activities that had to be paused,” said Dr Hamid Jafari, Director for Polio Eradication in the Eastern

Mediterranean Region. “That’s close to 60 million children who would have received important protection

by vaccines against paralytic polio.”

Over the coming months, more countries plan to hold

campaigns to close polio outbreaks and prevent further

spread, when the local epidemiological situation permits.

“Our teams have been working across the Region to support

the COVID-19 response since the beginning of the pandemic,

as well as continuing with their work to eradicate polio,” said

Dr Hamid Jafari. “We must now ensure that we work with

communities to protect vulnerable children with vaccines,

whilst ensuring strict safety and hygiene measures to prevent

any further spread of COVID-19”.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, commented, “We cannot wait for the COVID-19

pandemic to be contained to resume immunization activities. If we stop immunization for too long,

including for polio, vaccine-preventable diseases will have a detrimental effect on children’s health across

the region.”

“The campaigns run by the Polio Eradication Programme demonstrate that mass immunization can be

safely conducted under the strict implementation of COVID-19 infection prevention and control

guidelines.”

Source: www.polioeradication.org

Farzana, a polio worker in Karachi’s Liaqatabad Town, Pakistan uses hand sanitizer during the campaign.

©UNICEF/Pakistan

In Afghanistan, 7858 vaccinators aimed to vaccinate 1,101,740 children in three provinces. ©WHO/Afghanistan

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