Follow Ramesh's Journey

This morning Nima and I departed Delhi around 8am destined for the Rotary Zones 5 & 6A Institute in Agra, which is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. We spent 6 hours driving through streets littered with garbage, beggars, wandering cows, cars, buses, motorbikes, cyclists, and pedestrians going every which way.

When Nima and I were waiting to cross into the State of Uttar Pradesh, I saw a polio survivor dragging himself along the ground. This horrific sight raised many emotions in me, as well as questions. How could someone even hesitate to receive the polio vaccine? It’s inexpensive and available, and it prevents a lifetime of suffering. If you know you have not received the polio vaccine and you are even remotely questioning its value, I would ask you to think of what I saw today in India: A young adult, probably around 26, covered in dirt. He has small, shriveled legs, and he crawls on the ground.  His situation could have been prevented if only he had received the polio vaccine. If Ron and Jan Ferris didn’t adopt me into their Canadian family, this could have been my life.

We were welcomed to the Zone Institute by Lokesh Gupta, Manager of the Indian National PolioPlus Committee, as well as Rotarian Deepak Kapur, Chairman of the committee. In the afternoon I was invited to attend a media conference where the Indian media had an opportunity to give feedback on the Indian National Polio Eradication Program. The following people were present to address questions and feedback the media brought up: Rotary International Director Ashok M. Mahajan, Rotarian Ashok Saxena, past Rotary International President from India Rajendra K. Saboo and Rotarian and member of the of the International PolioPlus Committee, Kalyan Banerjee.

I was impressed to see the number of media outlets that showed great interest in India’s polio eradication effort. In Canada, many people think that we have already eradicated this dreadful disease, and because of this, many Canadian media outlets do not cover global polio eradication efforts. Media is essential to ensure that communities are aware of the current polio situation and to inform every community member of their responsibility in the fight against polio. Thank you to all of the Indian media outlets for taking the time out of your day to attend the Rotary Zone Institute here in Agra, India. It’s the positive stories you will write about the successes of the fight against polio that will inspire the world to finish the job. Soon, hopefully, we will live in a polio-free world.