PUPILS and students in the Forfar area are being urged to help the children of the world by eradicating the crippling killer disease of polio.
Members of the Rotary Club of Forfar are joining forces with over 55,000 other Rotarians across Great Britain and Ireland in a co-ordinated effort to finally win the battle with this most debilitating and, often terminal disease.
British Rotarian
s are aiming to generate over £1 million in one day by forging links with school pupils and encouraging them to help raise funds towards the world-wide initiative to stamp out polio for good.
The initiative is part of Rotary's national Thanks for Life campaign, that will see hundreds of Rotary clubs across Great Britain and Ireland linking up with schools, colleges, businesses, organisations and individuals to hold a range of fund-raising events to raise the £1 million target by Thanks For Life - Rotary Day, on Tuesday, February 23 (Rotary's 105th birthday).
A collection will be taken at the Tesco on Saturday, February 27, a fund-raiser that will be replicated in supermarkets across the country.
Polio is a crippling, and sometimes fatal disease and still a very harrowing reality for children in parts of Africa and Asia and threatens children everywhere. It is highly virulent and only an air flight away from the UK
Every £1 raised in this campaign will purchase five doses of the special anti-polio vaccine. These children will be protected against polio - forever.
David Stobbs, Rotary Club of Forfar president, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to learn about issues facing children in other parts of the world and to help those who are less fortunate than themselves.
"Rotary has been involved in this fight for 25 years and the world is so close to being free from polio for good, thanks to the joint hard work of organisations and governments.
"How fantastic for a child to join the fight and be able to say, 'I helped to wipe out a disease for only the second time in history, after smallpox. I stopped children from dying - I help change the world'."
Forfar Rotary Club members have looked at this initiative and have already started by planning a "Purple Pinkie Event" which will take place during this year's Marafun.
The event will take the form of a sponsored walk around Forfar Loch and further details will be released when plans are formalised.
Schools will be contacted and visited by Rotarians to hopefully enlist their help in participating in the sponsored walk and so contribute to the eradication of polio.
Further details and information can be accessed by using the Forfar Rotary website (www.forfarrotary.org.uk), where details and links for Marafun can be found, as well as "Thanks for Life" information from a site such as www.ribi.org/thanks-for-life.
