October 24th was World Polio Day and once again the City of Wolverhampton club played it’s part in supporting the campaign to rid the world of polio by planting 4000 purple crocus bulbs in Bantock Park to add to the many thousands we have planted over past years.

We were delighted to be joined by children from Low Hill Nursery and Merridale and Warstones primary schools who learned a little about the campaign while they were having great fun – as evidenced by their excited laughter as they scattered the bulbs.

The aim is to keep the campaign in the public eye and our purchase of the crocus results in a donation to the campaign which is matched at a ratio of 2:1 by the Gates Foundation, but the need to maintain the campaign is ever present.

When the campaign started nearly 40 years ago there were 1000 new cases every day across the world. We have succeeded in making India polio free. However there has been a worrying outbreak of this dreadful disease in Gaza with an increase in the cases in Pakistan and Afghnistan as a result of the political climate in those countries. The latest figures tell us that there have been 46 new cases in 2024 to date.

Rotarians across the world are determined to keep up the fight until the disease is eradicated for ever.

PDG Richard Green