MEMBERS of Westbury Rotary planted over 4,000 crocus corms to the grass verge along Bitham Park, just uphill from the Lidl store and to the grassed area immediately beyond the gates to All Saints Church in Westbury, on 3rd and 5th December.
The group report, “In 2019 Rotary planted 6,000 crocuses to the grass verge in front of Prospect Square. The crocuses will blossom in spring every year and give a glorious purple display. This display will serve to remind people of the fight to eradicate polio worldwide.
“Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of five. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system.
“In August, Rotary and the world celebrated a significant milestone, as the World Health Organization certified the Africa region, which includes 47 countries, free from wild polio.
“However, the cases per year are rising in some areas, possibly due to resistance to vaccination and in some way as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This leaves just Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two remaining polio endemic countries in the world. But despite this momentous progress, more challenging work lies ahead to eradicate the disease for good.
“Rotary members throughout Great Britain and Ireland will be planting two million purple crocus corms across their communities, adding to the almost 22 million which planted in previous years.
“Purple has become a symbolic colour in the fight against polio, inspired by the colour of the dye painted on the little finger of a child to signify they have received their potentially life-saving polio vaccine. This is essential on mass immunisation days when literally millions of children receive the vaccine across entire regions or even countries.”
Westbury Rotary president, David Pike said, “We’re proud to be planting these purple symbols of the polio campaign. Only together can we end polio and we can all play our part in the continuing global efforts to eradicate the disease.
“Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) over 30 years ago, globally, more than 2.5 billion children have been protected against the disease, with the number of cases reduced by 99.9% from around 1,000 cases per day in 125 countries.”
