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Day 2- Journey to the Rotary Zone Institute in Agra, India

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Thu, November 13, 2008

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.

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Day 1- Arrival in Delhi

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Wed, November 12, 2008

I have safely arrived in Delhi, India after spending the last 35 hours waiting either on a plane or in an airport. I’m ecstatic to be here and to meet some of the people who have been working so hard to make India polio free. After clearing immigration and customs, I was welcomed by Mr. Stanley Samuel who is in charge of Logistics and Operations with the Indian National Polio Plus Committee. Stanley took me from the airport to the Rotary office, and on they way, he pointed out a banner hanging over a busy street that was promoting the recent Immunization Day that took place on November 9. One of Stanley’s responsibilities is to ensure the promotion of Rotary Immunization Days.

This afternoon I spent some time at the Indian National PolioPlus Committee office and met Communications Associate Nima Chodon. I’d like to express my gratitude to Nima, and to Petina Dixon, who is the Lead Media Coordinator for Rotary PolioPlus based in Evanston, IL, USA. Both Petina and Nima have worked very hard over the last several weeks arranging the logistics of my participation in the upcoming Sub-NID in Uttar Pradesh and Rotary’s Zone Institute in Agra.

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with other staff in the Rotary PolioPlus office as well: Mrs. Prima Pravin, who works at the front desk and reception, Mrs. Anita Agarwal, who is the executive secretary, and Mr. Aby Abraham, who is responsible for information and technology. Rotary has always worked as a team in order to make progress in the fight against polio. It’s wonderful to meet so many people who work every day to make the dream of a polio free world become reality.

Over the next couple of days I will be meeting with Mr. Deepak Kapur, Chairman of Rotary International’s India National Polioplus Committee. I’ll also have the opportunity to meet Mr. Lokesh Gupta, who is the manager of the program.
Tonight I participated in my first Indian media interview when I spoke with Prashant Nanda, a Special Correspondent with the Indo-Asian News Service. I have learned through Nima that Prashant often covers human interest stories. It’s great that Prashant and the Indo-Asian News Service continue to cover the hard work that is being done at the grassroots level here in India, as well as covering the overall progress being made with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

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Off to India!

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Mon, November 10, 2008

This morning it was about -5 in Whitehorse, Yukon Canada. I was wearing gloves, a toque, a shirt and jeans. I was lugging around a backpack and carrying one crutch in my hand because the other hand was dragging a suitcase through the snow and ice. I chose not to wear a winter jacket, as I didn’t want to bring something so big and bulky half way around the world when I didn’t need it.

Today I am travelling to India – my birth country – to work with Rotary International and help them in the crusade against polio. Polio paralyzed my legs for life 28 years ago, but cases of the disease have dropped 99 per cent since then. It’s an exciting time in world history and everyone has a choice to be a part of it. Rotarians around the world – 1.3 million of them, from 33,000 clubs and 200 countries and geographical locations –continue to demonstrate their leadership and commitment towards a polio-free world.

Through Rotary’s organizational mandate, their financial contributions to the PolioPlus campaign of $700 million (and growing) US Dollars since 1985, and the millions of Rotarians who volunteer their time to ensure that children around the world are immunized, the organization is making a difference. Rotary is the largest private sector financial contributor to polio eradication. Only governments contribute more. Obviously, Rotary couldn’t tackle this problem on its own. Partnering organizations such as the World Health Organization, The United Nations, UNICEF, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the G8 leaders have all worked tirelessly over these past few decades to forward the largest public health initiative in human history, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

In 1980, 1000 children a day spread out across 125 countries contracted polio. Today, polio is endemic in four countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria. We have never been so close to ridding the world of this horrible disease than we are today. I can’t thank Rotary enough for inviting me to assist the GPEI and to help provide the polio vaccine to the children who need it.

Over the next couple of days, I will share the experience of participating in the National Immunization Days (NIDs), meeting members of GPEI partner organizations, as well as some of the chats, and visits with the many locals I anticipate I’ll meet. It’s important for the world to know that the threat of polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere. If the global community does not meet the annual funding requirements and halts the polio eradication effort, the World Health Organization predicts that an additional 10 million children will be paralyzed in the next 40 years. We would also risk losing the six billion dollar global investment in polio eradication efforts. Come on, world – let’s make history! Please do your part in the fight against polio and donate to the cause.

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Polio survivor completes cross-Canada, hand-cycle journey

by Executive Director, posted in Press Coverage - Wed, October 1, 2008

An article from The Telegram in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Flanked by police cars and followed by children on bikes, Ramesh Ferris rolled down New Gower Street today completing a journey hand-cycling across Canada to raise awareness about polio.

Click here to read the full article.

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Day 173 - Cape Spear, Newfoundland & Labrador - 7110 km

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Wed, October 1, 2008

As of September 30, 2008, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has reported 1308 new cases of polio this year. Many of these cases will lead to children being paralyzed for life. We’ve had better than a cure to polio – prevention – for over 53 years now. It’s unacceptable that after this long, a child, a teenager, or an adult could even contract polio.

We have never been closer to eradicating this horrible disease than we are today. Over the last 173 days, the Cycle to Walk team has had the privilege of travelling across Canada to educate thousands of Canadians about the reality of polio in our world.
Prior to reaching our final destination, we were greeted by Commissioner of Yukon Geraldine Van Bibber, her husband Pat, Cycle to Walk Society board members, and many supporters – including my parents. Once I’d cycled to Cape Spear, my dad got on to the extra hand cycle to ride with me, my mom carried my first brace, and together – with the Cycle to Walk team and supporters – we carried the message of Cycle to Walk to the easternmost point of the continent.

We reached our final destination 7110 km from Mile Zero in Victoria, BC at 10:25 this morning. Everyone is ecstatic to have travelled this far, this long, and to have stayed safe and healthy. The message of Cycle to Walk has been heard and Canadians are now more aware of the realities of polio. Cycle to Walk has accomplished what it set out to do by raising funds and bringing a forgotten disease back into the forefront of thousands of Canadians’ minds.

Cycle to Walk is over, but Canada knows we must continue forward to reach our ultimate goal: a polio-free world where everyone can walk. So many people have worked so hard to help realize the Cycle to Walk dream. To the road team, Doug and Bertha Ayers, Chris Madden, Lynne Morris, Carly Ray, John Firth, and Kip Veale: you have given up so much of your lives, and have made so many personal sacrifices over these past six months in order to share the message of Cycle to Walk with so many Canadians. I can’t thank-you enough.

After a police-escorted cycle with local youth to the centre of St. John’s, the team celebrated the successful end of Cycle to Walk with a reception at City Hall. We were honoured to have Commissioner of Yukon Geraldine Van Bibber, Lieutenant Governor John Crosbie, Mayor Dennis O’Keefe, Minister Shawn Skinner, and MHA Bob Ridgely in attendance to greet us and offer their congratulations. Students from Holy Heart High School and many other supporters were there as well.

The team has been treated to such warm, kind hospitality from coast to coast. Here in St. John’s, Derek and Susan Green welcomed the team into their home when we arrived last week, and have just been wonderful hosts. Val Royle’s family provided the team with so many meals – as well as extra hands when we needed to get work done – and have treated us like their own.

Cycle to Walk has been successful because of the hard work of volunteers; the board of directors and staff have put in countless hours working to ensure that every aspect of the campaign has been covered. Here, in this last blog entry, I’d like to thank the core group of Cycle to Walk organizers and workers:

National Honourary Chair:
Commissioner of Yukon Geraldine Van Bibber

Board of Directors:
Allon Reddoch MD CCFP, President
Valerie Royle, MBA, CDMP, Vice-President
P.I. (Mal) Malloch, Chair
Doug Janzen, Treasurer
Lois Craig, Secretary
Doug Ayers, Director
Katherine (Kate) Brent, Director
Carmen Gibbons, Director
Robert (Bob) Lorimer, P. Eng. Director
Hon. Audrey McLaughlin LLD,PC, OC, Director
Bonnie Venton Ross, Director

Route Champions:
Mary Reddoch, Kevin Rumsey, Hélène Beaulieu, and Carmen Gibbons

Head Office:
Executive Director Shelley Williamson and Pixie Ingram

You are the champions in the fight against polio and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with all of you over the past few of years. Your hard work has brought success to the Cycle to Walk Dream. Thank you so much for all of your efforts.

As Cycle to Walk ends, I will continue to work towards my dream. I will not stop until the World Health Organization has declared this to be a polio-free world and polio survivors around the world are not having to live a life doomed to dirt, crawling.

Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first polio vaccination that was released on April 12th, 1955, said “Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to makes dreams into reality.”

Thank you Yukon for daring to make the dream of Cycle to Walk a reality, and Thank you Canada for making the dream your own. Together, we’ll continue to believe in and work towards a polio-free world.

Take Care,

Ramesh Ferris
Polio Survivor
Whitehorse, Yukon

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Day 172 - St. John’s, NL - Cycle to Walk End-Eve!

by Media Coordinator, posted in Road Updates - Tue, September 30, 2008

Today I woke up feeling refreshed, improved and ready for the day. My illness had waned, and all systems were go for me to spread the message of Cycle to Walk. The morning started out at Bowring Park when we met up with Paddy Daly and Krissy Holmes – hosts of the widely popular “Out of the Fog” program. Thanks so much to you both for taking the time to learn more about Cycle to Walk and for helping us spread the word to people in St. John’s and around Newfoundland! The more we can educate people about today’s realities of polio, the sooner we can make it a disease of the past.
From the park, the team headed straight to a meeting of the St. John’s Northwest Rotary Club. Jane Simmons, our organizer extraordinaire, arranged for us to speak at Mary Queen of the World school shortly thereafter. Tonight, as I write this blog entry, I have already received four separate emails from students and staff at Mary Queen of the World that thank the team for the work Cycle to Walk is doing. Some of the students wrote about how they feel inspired to chase their own dreams, while others wrote about how they plan to share Cycle to Walk’s message with others. I want to thank everyone who took the time to write to me. I read every message.

This afternoon, my parents, Ron and Jan Ferris, flew in to St. John’s to participate in Cycle to Walk’s closing festivities. I haven’t seen my parents since the beginning of the campaign back on April 12th, so it feels really special to share the campaign’s end with them here on the other side of the country.

Tonight, the team enjoyed a meal with several people who have flown in for the finale: Mal Malloch and Valerie Royle from Cycle to Walk’s Board of Directors, President Allon Reddoch, Executive Director Shelley Williamson, and Alex Furlong, President of the Yukon Federation of Labour – and huge Cycle to Walk supporter. Chris Wright, our honourary team member here in St. John’s, joined us as well.

Although it would be impossible for everyone who has helped the campaign to fly to St. John’s for the end, I know that so many people are with the team in spirit. I can’t thank Carmen Gibbons and all the other route champions enough. The same goes for the board of directors, the volunteers, and everyone up at C2W Headquarters who have made this campaign successful in so many ways. Your commitment means so much to me, and I’m forever grateful for your efforts!

I’m writing this blog tonight feeling overwhelmed with emotion, satisfied, and thrilled that together we have spent the last 172 days educating a country about the reality of polio. There’s a saying that I recently heard: “There is no price tag on the doors of Newfoundlanders.” This saying holds true not only in Newfoundland & Labrador, but throughout this great country of Canada. The outpouring of support – through volunteer hours, in-kind donations, meals, billets, sponsors and donations are priceless! Thank-you so much, Canada! We’ll see you in Cape Spear!

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Day 171 - St. John’s, NL - Non-Cycling

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Mon, September 29, 2008

Today was an odd and unusual day. I’m sick with a slight fever, a runny nose, and a cough – yuck! Cycle to Walk was supposed to present at Booth High School this morning, but we had to cancel. I’m very disappointed that we called the event off, because sharing the message of polio eradication, education, and rehabilitation with young people has been such a highlight of the Cycle to Walk campaign. I’ll try my best to re-schedule that presentation prior to leaving The Rock!

I spent the day in bed resting and drinking lots of fluids (Like I haven’t drank enough fluids over these past 171 days!). By late afternoon I felt well enough to meet with Mayor Dennis O’Keefe and City Council at a meeting in downtown St. John’s. The team was formally introduced, the campaign was formally acknowledged, and our efforts were applauded. Afterwards, most of the team headed to Rosemary and Ron’s place to enjoy another wonderful meal. Val Royle’s family has been so great to us since we arrived in town!

While everyone was chowing down, I did what the doctor ordered and went back home to rest for the night. Thanks to the City of St. John’s, and Val’s Family for continuing to make the team feel so welcome and supported!

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Day 170 - St. John’s, NL - Non-Cycling

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Sun, September 28, 2008

This morning the team shared the message of Cycle to Walk with members of Cochrane Street United Church. It was an extra-special visit, as I was able to speak with children during their Sunday school class. It always brightens my day when a child smiles after seeing what Cycle to Walk is doing to help end polio. When Sunday school was over, I overheard a child ask her mom whether she had received the polio vaccination when she was young. Thank-you to everyone we met this morning for your kind words of support, your donations, and for giving us the opportunity to share the message with you.
Now, how does one pack six months of life into a suitcase? It’s simple: you ask Val Royle to lead a group of hard-working family members to get the job done. The team spent the entire afternoon cleaning out the motor home, the SUV, and the trailer. Our hard work was rewarded at the end of the day with a wonderful meal prepared by Val’s sister-in-law Dana.

If you know anyone that’s in the market to purchase a motor home or trailer, please contact us – the office would be happy to discuss the details with you. I can’t thank Val and her family enough for all of their help today – especially Leah and Noah. All that cleaning may have been hard work today, but we had a lot of fun!

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Day 169 - 3.7 km away from Cape Spear, NL - 22 km

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Sat, September 27, 2008

It was a sunny and gorgeous day in the St. John’s area today. It may sound funny, but I truly feel as though we’re in Newfoundland now. Our route took us through picturesque Petty Harbour – a lovely little fishing community. Chris Wright ran alongside me for a good part of the ride.

While in Petty Harbour, the team stopped by the water to enjoy the view and take some pictures. It was a treat to speak with several friendly locals who had just returned from fishing. Some of them had already heard of Cycle to Walk on the news and were thrilled that we’d stopped to say hello. To our surprise, NTV News’ Donnie Decker was there, and we arranged an interview on the spot before he followed us on the ride out of town.

During the long climb out of Petty Harbour, a number of children came out with their bikes and cycled alongside me. Many of them gave donations, and encouraged me to keep going, saying, ‘You’re almost there.’ One young man came up to me and said, “I’m happy for you – you’re about to complete Terry Fox’s dream.” I didn’t know what to say back to him.
At the end of the ride it was hard to believe that Doug had marked our line on the road for the very last time. It won’t be necessary to mark anything on Wednesday, as the team will have arrived at our final destination point – Cape Spear!!

September 27, 1982 was the day I arrived in Canada after my adoption from India. It would be years before I would walk because of the effects of polio. Today is 26 years later – September 27th, 2008. I’m 3.7 km away from having hand cycled across Canada to share my experience with polio with the nation. Children who live where I was born and elsewhere in the world continue to be paralyzed and die because of this horrible disease. Please, Canada, let us not forget that we need to be global leaders in eradicating polio.

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Day 168 - St. John’s, NL - Non-Route Cycling

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Fri, September 26, 2008

Today started in-studio at 7:15 am when listeners in St. John’s joined host Jeff Gilhooly and I on CBC Radio’s morning show. Afterwards, the team met up with Chris Wright and went to Holy Heart High School, where Principal David Cooper and the student council had invited us to speak about Cycle to Walk and polio. Over 1,000 students were in attendance. A walk around the block with the entire student body followed the presentation, and I was asked to lead the group on my hand cycle. Thank you so much to all of the students and staff at Holy Heart for your enthusiastic response to Cycle to Walk. I hope to see many of you at City Hall on October 1st at 1:30.

The afternoon was spent at Government House where Lieutenant Governor John Crosbie and Mrs. Jane Crosbie hosted a reception for the Cycle to Walk team. Rotarian Jane Simmons spent hours working on the guest list to ensure that the room was filled with youth, Rotarians, polio survivors, and some of my old colleagues from the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association. It was an honour to receive so much support for Cycle to Walk, especially from such a distinguished, renowned Newfoundlander as the Lieutenant Governor.

Dr. Allon Reddoch, President of the Cycle to Walk Society flew in to St. John’s and met up with the team for the reception. Allon has been a huge supporter of polio eradication for years, and has supported Cycle to Walk since its inception. Thank you to everyone for showing your support for a polio-free world and for making the team feel so appreciated. We ended the day with a lovely meal at Joan and Joe Royle’s home. It was great to meet you two, as well as Mary, Bob, Rosemary and Ron. Thank you so much to for the delicious meal, and the great company!

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Day 167 - St. John’s, NL - 78 KM

by Ramesh Ferris, posted in Road Updates - Thu, September 25, 2008

The sun shone brightly, the westerly winds howled, and the hills wouldn’t stop – Today was the last big hand cycling day of Cycle to Walk’s journey across Canada. I can’t believe it’s been 165 days since the journey began on the West Coast. As the team continued into the city, we were so happy to see Valerie Royle, Vice-President of the Cycle to Walk Society. Val flew in from Whitehorse to visit family and to assist with our wrap-up at Cape Spear and in St. John’s. After our short roadside reunion with Val, we continued up the hills. As of this evening, it’s official: we’re in St. John’s, NL!