On October 24, 2023 —World Polio Day — seven Rotarians planted purple crocus bulbs in Knighton Park, Leicester. Purple because that is the colour of the temporary dye put on the fingers of children who have been vaccinated against polio.
You can read here https://rotary-leicesternovus.org/news-2023/planting-crocuses-for-world-polio-day about how Blaby Rotary president Felicity Gil and members Elsbeth James and Hilary Painter joined Leicester Rotary members Nick Thompson, Barry Davies and Mark Simpson and Leicester Novus president Jim Matthews planted thousands of bulbs.
They did so alongside a couple of dozen members of the Friends of Knighton Park who planted perfect circles of thousands of narcissi bulbs around trees either side of the Avenue.
The Rotarians were slightly concerned that squirrels might enjoy the crocus bulbs before visitors to the park could.
As it turned out, though, many of the crocuses did get their heads above ground, as can be seen in these photos taken in early March by Barry Davies.
The purchase price of the crocus bulbs, about £175, helps Rotary continue its campaign since 1979 to rid the world of polio. When Rotary started the campaign, there were about 350,000 new cases polio diagnosed each year. The crippling and fatal disease was pandemic, occurring all over the world.
On March 16, 2024 The Observer carried an article which said that so far this year there has not been a single new case in the world.
But, as Novus president Jim Matthews says: “There is still no room for complacency. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries not yet declared by the World Health Organisation to be completely free of polio. Rotary and our partners across the world cannot claim to have reached our goal until they, and every other country, is declared polio free.
“Until then, there is a risk that a person carrying the disease in their digestive system could fly into any country in the world and lead to an unvaccinated person getting infected. So our fund-raising and vaccinating must go on.
“if you would like to help us make the world a safer place, please get in touch with Novus Rotary via this website. You can help by making a donation to End Polio Now, by making a donation to the cost of the crocus bulbs we will plant next October 24, or you could join us on that day to help us plant several thousand more bulbs. We will loan you the garden spades and forks. And we’ll even rub in the Voltarol afterwards!
This page last edited at 18:00 on Thursday, March 21, 2024
