An avid cyclist from Rotary has put wheels in motion to help stamp out polio from the world by cycling to all four compass points of the British mainland.
John Marjoribanks of the Rotary Club of Duns in District 1020 has just started his 1,400 mile mission to cycle from Lizard Point in Cornwall, to Dunnet Head in Caithness via Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk and Point of Ardnamurchan, Argyll in a bid to raise funds for Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign.
John said: “By 7th July this year there had been 661 new cases of polio: 139 in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 333 in Nigeria – the last four countries where polio is still endemic and 189 in 15 other countries in Africa where the virus has reappeared.
Compare this to 1988, when polio was endemic in all but a handful of countries and nearly 1,000 new cases were being reported every week and you can see We have made huge progress and very nearly achieved the goal of eradication, but there is a real danger of this dreadful disease getting a grip again, unless we can go that final inch and snuff the polio virus out for good.
“With the encouragement of my fellow Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Duns, Scotland, I am going to play my part in this by cycling without back-up to the four extremities of the British mainland.
“I am calling my ride "Getting Polio SEWN UP" and hope to attract sponsorship of anything from ¾ of a penny a mile (total £10.00) upwards to raise money for the final push needed to rid the world of the horrible scourge of polio for ever."
John started his journey on Sunday 23rd August 2009, two days after his 65th birthday. To view his day by day diary, click here.
If you would like to sponsor John, click here to visit his justgiving site this page.
Rotary International has already contributed nearly $800 million to Polio Eradication. Now the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has given a massive $355 million and challenged Rotarians to raise a further $200 million for the EndPolioNow campaign.
Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland has recently launched the Thanks for Life initiative to help achieve this goal. Find out more here.
