Guest Speaker to-night (via Zoom) is Gary Newton, PP RC Geelong East; District 9780 Polio-Plus Chair 2023-24; Vice President & Board member of Polio Plus.
Gary has been an on-air personality with 3KZ and 3GL and is an advocate for disability and global health issues, along with being an active Rotarian.
More importantly, Gary is a Polio Survivor, contracting polio in 1954 as an infant. There are 40,000 survivors living with polio in Australia. Gary contracted paralytic polio, which affected his right leg in particular and wears leg braces and, occasionally, a wheelchair for support. He has endured much pain and many attempts at corrective surgery and is grateful to live in Australia and not be reliant on an iron lung. Sadly he knows how it feels to be the brunt of childhood taunts of being disabled.
Rotary joined forces with the Global Polio Eradication program in 1988, along with partnership of the Gates Foundation.
In 2018 Gary had the opportunity to visit India, to support survivors and promote the program, and he continues to work towards raising awareness and fundraising for End Polio. Polio is currently endemic in only 2 countries, Pakistan (with 54 cases, up from 12 in 2023) and Afghanistan. The battle to eradicate polio in these countries is difficult due to nomadic lifestyles, misinformation, militant attacks on volunteers and conspiracies. Unfortunately, very recently, there has been a case re-ported of a one year old child in Gaza, which has been polio free for 25 years. We need to stay committed to the cause of eradication, as polio inflicts a lifetime of struggle and hardship for victims and families.
Rotary’s promise to the children of the world is that one day we will END POLIO.
Gary stayed online to answer many questions.
Gary has been an on-air personality with 3KZ and 3GL and is an advocate for disability and global health issues, along with being an active Rotarian.More importantly, Gary is a Polio Survivor, contracting polio in 1954 as an infant. There are 40,000 survivors living with polio in Australia. Gary contracted paralytic polio, which affected his right leg in particular and wears leg braces and, occasionally, a wheelchair for support. He has endured much pain and many attempts at corrective surgery and is grateful to live in Australia and not be reliant on an iron lung. Sadly he knows how it feels to be the brunt of childhood taunts of being disabled.
Rotary joined forces with the Global Polio Eradication program in 1988, along with partnership of the Gates Foundation.
In 2018 Gary had the opportunity to visit India, to support survivors and promote the program, and he continues to work towards raising awareness and fundraising for End Polio. Polio is currently endemic in only 2 countries, Pakistan (with 54 cases, up from 12 in 2023) and Afghanistan. The battle to eradicate polio in these countries is difficult due to nomadic lifestyles, misinformation, militant attacks on volunteers and conspiracies. Unfortunately, very recently, there has been a case re-ported of a one year old child in Gaza, which has been polio free for 25 years. We need to stay committed to the cause of eradication, as polio inflicts a lifetime of struggle and hardship for victims and families.
Rotary’s promise to the children of the world is that one day we will END POLIO.
Gary stayed online to answer many questions.
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David & Tippy worked hard to ensure the Zoom technology worked for our guest speaker. Thankyou | Thanks Deb and Dianne for an-other delicious meal! |