The oldest residents of the Cleijenborch care center in Colijnsplaat belong to the generation that could actually become infected with the polio virus in their youth. Virtually everyone in the Netherlands has been vaccinated since the 1950s, banning polio from the Netherlands. Worldwide this has taken much longer. In 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. ‘Today the number of polio cases has been reduced by 99.9 percent,’ says Rotary Goes de Bevelanden. “There are two more countries reporting polio cases, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
The infrastructure that Rotary and its partners worldwide have helped build to end polio is also being used to treat and prevent other diseases, such as corona. “Thanks to the efforts of Rotary and our partners, there are nearly 19.4 million people walking around who would otherwise have been paralyzed by polio. More than 1.5 million people have survived, even though they would have died of this terrible disease if they had contracted polio.
Plant bulbs
On Saturday 26 November, the three Rotary clubs will plant bulbs at the Cleijenborch care center for the campaign against polio. Next spring, residents can enjoy a beautiful garden full of yellow-red tulips.
If you want to plant bulbs in your garden, you can order a box of tulips via www.endpolionowtulp.nl.