RID 3291 Pulse Polio Orientation & Planning Workshop :Sunday 21.08.’11 : A Report by PP Prodeep Coomar
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The RID 3291 Pulse Polio Orientation & Planning workshop was held on Sunday 21st August 2011 morning, at Rotary Sadan.
The programme started with the release of END POLIO NOW gas balloons by the Chief Guest, PRID & TRF Trustee Rtn Ashoke Mahajan, from the lawns of Rotary Sadan.

Inside the nearly full auditorium, the audience listened & learnt from several eminent speakers, about our efforts to banish the menace of Polio from the world. In an interactive session at the end, several querries raised were responded to by the panelists.

The speakers included District Pulse Polio Chairman PDG Raj Kumar Rajgaria, National Pulse Polio Committee Member, PDG Siddhartha S. Bose, DGE Uttam Ganguly, DGN Rajani Mukherjee, DG Angshuman Banerjee, RID Rtn Sekhar Mehta, PRID & TRF Trustee Rtn Ashoke Mahajan, Dr Dipankar Mukherjee, Regional Head,East, WHO,National Polio Surveillence Programme, India, Mr Nasir Atique of UNICEF, Dr TK Mukherjee of the Health Dept, Govt of Poshchimbawngo & other State Govt & KMC officials.

In 1988, 350000 children suffered from polio. In 2011, only 309 children have been affected. This is about 0.1% of the original figure. Rotary has been able to save the rest. TRF is the largest contributor for Polio Eradication.

So its NOW or NEVER for us Rotarians To END POLIO NOW !!! It is our Top Priority!!!

The salient features/facts of the deliberations & interactions during the session included the following decisions :

• In India, 125000 health workers administer the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to 172 million children during each National Immunisation Day (NID).

• The next Sub National Immunisation Day (SNID), meant specially for Kolkata & north & South 24Parganas in our state, is on Sunday, 28.08.’11. IEC Materials for that day needs to be collected by the club from Lansdowne Lane, as usual.

• Last year only one new polio case was detected in India ! Unfortunately it was very close to us, at Panchla , in Howrah District, WB. Since then we in India have had 31 weeks without any new Polio cases detected! This is the longest Polio Free period in 25 years!

• Rotarians should henceforth focus on Awareness creation, Advocacy & bridging the Fund Gap ( the gap between our plan to meet the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation challenge, & our actual achievement )

• Working Smart rather than working hard only.

• If a club has to take up only one Project, It has to be about Polio.

• Clubs not taking up Polio Eradication Programmes, not to be considered for DG’s Citations.

• District’s annual Sharad Swikriti Awards to be limited to those Puja Committees which are actively involved in Polio Eradication Programmes.

• Clubs to take up Awareness drives like, Padayatras/Rallies, holding Health Camps, etc.

• Doctor Rotarians to be enlisted for involving in the drives of Advocacy.

• Rotarians are requested to enlist as Polio Volunteers & join the Polio Task Forces, specially meant 4 working in areas like Mushidabad, Howrah etc.

• Rotary has spent 1.2 billion USD, & has raised 7 billion from various Govts, for Polio Eradication.

• Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation donated 355 million USD & challenged us to match by raising 200million USD.

• We are running short of our target. So each club should donate/raise 2000USD every year for the next 3 RYs.

This very important workshop was attended by 3 PPs of our club,each in their capacities as District Officials : PP Indrani Gupta, as District Interact Chairperson, PP Prodeep Coomar, as AG Zone 25 & PP Ashif Shah as Assistant District Secretary( Administration).

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		Rtn. Nasir Uddin Ahmed President, Rotary Club of Ballygunge

Dear RC Ballygunge Rotarians

Every day in our club, we Rotarians share with others our time, our talent, resources, kindness and our love. I feel proud to be a part of such a warm and dynamic team. Our team spirit and bonding and our zeal to serve the community in the true spirit of service, is well known in our Rotary fraternity.

This Rotary year we look forward to further consolidate our team spirit to achieve our targets. This year, our focus will be on developing key projects to make the environment better, to combat hunger, to improve health and sanitation, and to provide career counseling and job training. We will also strive to promote peace and eradicate polio and, as always, to expand our membership to include an even greater “quantity of quality.”

Our united endeavour in every movement , surely would consolidate our conviction and passion towards selfless service and would surely gift us with fulfillment and accomplishment.

I extend my sincere request to each one of us to share our ideas, our talents, our time and our financial resources – to share the best of ourselves – with our club, our community and our world, and to make this one of our best Rotary years in Rotary Club of Ballygunge !