Two U.S. Rotarians and their wives got a firsthand look at Pakistan’s
effort to eradicate polio when they participated in the country’s
National Immunization Days (NIDs) in October.(click below to read more)
“It was a moving experience to work alongside our Rotarian friends
and hosts in giving the polio drops,” says Steve Puderbaugh, a member of
the Rotary Club of Raymond Area, New Hampshire. “It was easy to see
that the children we were trying to save from this disease could be our
children and grandchildren.”
Puderbaugh chairs Rotary District 7870’s Group Study Exchange
subcommittee and led a GSE team to Australia in 2008. He and his wife,
Deb, and Past District Governor Joe Pratt and his wife, Lori, took part
in the NIDs in response to an appeal from a District 3272 GSE team that
visited the U.S. district in May.
The four, who made the trip at their own expense, helped immunize
children at a hospital in Lahore, Punjab, and at a “polio camp” run by
the Rotary Club of Lahore Jinnah. They also joined in a polio awareness
rally sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lahore Shaheen. Puderbaugh says
the rally featured about 150 people who had colorful banners and
placards, along with decorated vehicles and a police escort, and
“certainly got attention from people on the street and several media
outlets.”
In addition, the U.S. group participated in a World Polio Day
seminar in Lahore, which included Aziz Memon, Pakistan PolioPlus
Committee chair; Pervez Ahsan Khan, governor of District 3272; and
representatives from the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
“We were honored to be there alongside the Pakistani Rotarians in
the battle to control polio,” Puderbaugh says. “We were also able to
share information on how our American clubs and districts are still
working to raise funds and awareness of polio, in spite of not having it
in our country since 1979. It was very moving to meet people with
polio.”
In Faisalabad, the group immunized children at a hospital, and
Puderbaugh was interviewed by a local TV station about his group’s visit
to Pakistan. They also saw a skit staged by university students on the
challenges facing those working to immunize all Pakistani children
against polio in the face of many challenges.
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