Follow Ramesh's Journey

Today was the reason for my travelling to India: to participate in the Sub-National Immunization Day here in the District of Moradabad. Dr. Khan, Nima and I all went to participate in the immunization activities which were occurring at the railway station. I vaccinated my first child in the morning and wow – what an amazing, overwhelming, experience. Giving those two drops of the polio vaccination to that child this morning was a miraculous dream come true for me. Those two drops will protect him for life against a disease which is so debilitating and socially isolating.

At around mid-morning we were joined by Kevin Hansen and his Wife Krista who travelled from the USA to participate in today’s activities and shoot some video of the Sub-NID. From the railway station we travelled into the urban areas of Pukhta and Karula where booths were set-up to vaccinate children. It was wonderful to be able to vaccinate more children and meet all of the hard working volunteers and staff at the booths. As we travelled on the busy roads ways to our next destination of the Lalpur Village, I noticed many public awareness signs about children receiving the polio vaccination as well as large banners that hung across roadways and on large buildings to make people aware of the National Immunization Day.

When we arrived in Lalpur we were greeted by many villagers who welcomed us into their community. It was great to meet with staff and volunteers at the immunization booth, vaccinate children, and then speak to teachers and students at a local school. I was pleased to hear that the Indian government directs all schools to be open during NIDs – even if they take place on a Sunday. This ensures that all children have the opportunity to receive the polio vaccine. Some of the teachers explained to me through translated conversation that all students under five years of age will receive the drops of the polio vaccine, and those students that are older will go out into their community to encourage families to bring children under 5 out of their homes to be immunized. This is part of the Social Mobilization Program. It’s wonderful to see young students take a such an important leadership role within their community to help make this a polio-free world.

Later on I met with leaders at the local mosque who announced the NID from its speakers. There has been great cooperation for the National Immunization Day from this heavily populated Muslim community. They will make announcements prior to and during the National Immunization Day as well as throughout the week when the house to house visits are occurring.

There has been great progress made in delivering the polio vaccination to India’s Muslim communities recent years: Rotary and its partners have been successful in establishing what is called the Muslim-Ulama Committee. This committee was established to address the growing number of concerns from the Muslim community that the polio vaccination program was a ploy to sterilize Muslim children. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was established and is working to protect the children of the world. It’s great to see Muslim leaders come together with health care professionals and community leaders to support polio eradication efforts. Early in the evening I had an opportunity to travel to the Karula Miau Colony to personally thank members or the Muslim-Ulama Committee as well as members of nearby communities.

Polio does not discriminate nor does it respect any boundaries. It doesn’t matter what religion one believes, language one speaks, or culture one lives in – we all must come together as a global community to eradicate polio from our world. It’s beautiful to see so much cooperation between Muslims, Hindus, government and non-government organizations, citizens of India and citizens of the world to come together and forward the progress of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Tonight as I walked through streets, Dr. Khan said that people were recognizing my face from a newspaper article printed earlier in the day. It’s wonderful to see media shed light on the polio eradication efforts here, and and it’s even better to see entire communities get excited about being part of this truly remarkable global health initiative.

Today’s activities ended with large wrap up meeting with Dr. Sahena, the Chief Medical Officer,  other doctors, and all of partnering organizations involved with the Sub-NID in Moradabad today. The meeting was chaired by Amit Kumar Ghosh who is the District Magistrate in Moradabad. This was a great way for each participant to give feedback on the program. I had an opportunity to personally thank everyone for their hard work and dedication in their efforts to bring an end to polio. It makes me so proud to know that I was born in a country with people that give up so much of themselves to work hard and cooperate for the spirit of humanity and the future of our children.