Particularly younger people may not even know what Polio is, and certainly have never seen a person suffering from it. It is an illness that severely affects children - in German, it's called 'Kinderlähmung' - Children's Paralysis. It's caused by a virus, it is incurable, but it can be vaccinated against. Up to 1986, almost every country in the world except "developed" nations (but including France, Denmark, Germany and Spain) had it. Some 350,000 children were suffering. Then, Rotary embarked on one of the most audacious programs ever undertaken in the world: the eradication of Polio. Just as Smallpox had been eliminated before. Today, it occurs endemically in just two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. And until these are Polio free, we need to keep on keeping on.
Do yourself a favour and view the video and the slides of the link below. It will take just 5 minutes, and it will make you proud to be a Rotarian.
https://www.endpolio.org/ (or click on the image)