Alex & Ani END POLIO NOW Project
President Veronica and Ritika Chugani of Alex & Ani
The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-mid Isle had two fundraising events organized in honor of World Polio Day on October 24th, 2016.
The first event was ‘The Alex & Ani’s Charmed by charity’ to End Polio Now, at their store on Front Street. At this event 15 per cent of the takings for that day were donated to Mid Isle towards the End Polio Now project. This was a highly successful event and this week RitikaChugani of ‘Alex & Ani presented a check to Mid Isle. The funds raised from this event will be tripled, thanks to the 2:1 match by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The second event is the 3rd Annual ‘Ramesh Manek Walk-a-thon’ to End Polio Now, will be held on Saturday October 22nd Starting at Tony’s Air Conditioning in Cole Bay (Opposite Carl & Sons) tickets are on sale from any member of Mid Isle.
Rotary has committed an additional $35 million in grants to support the global effort to end polio, bringing the humanitarian service organization's contribution to $105 million in 2016.
This follows recent reports of three new cases of wild poliovirus in Nigeria: two cases in July, and one in August. The three cases are the first to be detected in Nigeria since July 2014. With these cases, funding for polio eradication is particularly vital as rapid response plans are now in action in Nigeria and surrounding countries to stop the outbreak quickly and prevent its spread. Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) are acting to immunize children in Nigeria and countries in the Lake Chad Basin (Chad, northern Cameroon, southern Niger and the Central African Republic). Nearly one-fourth of the funds Rotary announced today ($8.15 million) will support the emergency response campaigns in this at-risk region, and last month Rotary provided $500,000 to immediately assist with the outbreak response.
While significant strides have been made against the paralyzing disease, with just 26 cases reported in 2016, polio remains a threat in hard-to-reach and underserved areas and conflict zones.
The Rotary Club of St Maarten Mid Isle continues to join the global fight for the total eradication of Polio through its awareness and fundraising projects.