PURPLE4POLIO CROCUS PLANTING

    We are very grateful to Mike Gicquel and members of the Shepperton Aurora Rotary who visted us this week to plant purple crocus bulbs in preparation for the spring and in honour of a wonderful cause.

    In the last couple of years Rotary in Britain and Ireland has had a ‘Purple for Polio’ campaign to assist fundraising for the immunisation programme. The purple crocus has come to symbolise the End Polio Now campaign, as it represents the ‘purple pinkie’ the colour representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child to indicate they have received their life saving oral polio vaccine. The plan is to plant 10 million purple crocuses throughout our islands this year, and the crocuses planted at Sunbury Manor School this week are part of this scheme.

    The Purple4Polio crocus corm planting 2016 was a huge success with nearly 7 million purple corms being planted across Great Britain and Ireland resulting in a carpet of purple in communities during spring 2017. This year Rotary are aiming to go even further and plant 10 million purple crocus corms! their green fingers were certainly most welcome here at Sunbury Manor. 

    The campaign has produced over 800 pieces of media coverage, helping to raise awareness of how important it is to end polio now and forever.

    30 years ago, Polio was still endemic in 125 countries, including parts of Europe. However, since 1988 Rotary have been determined to eradicate this terrible disease, with tremendous success. New cases of polio have reduced by 99.9% and it is now endemic in just 3 countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

    We are so very grateful to be part of this wonderful scheme and as the bulbs bring 'new life' by way of purple crocus flowers here in the spring at Sunbury Manor, we will know that new 'polio free' life is also springing up around the world!

     

    Written by SMS News
    Posted on: 29/09/2017