Raising awareness of disease

Members of the Rotary Club of Sleaford were in ‘high spirits’ when they displayed their ‘purple pinkies’ to raise awareness and £1,000 for the ‘End Polio Now’ campaign.

By The Newsroom

Published 25th May 2019, 07:05 BST

Since 1985, when Rotary International teamed up with the World Health Organisation, a pledge was made to rid the world of the crippling disease. The significance of ‘the pinkie’ shown by the Rotarians resulted from the immunisation programme when 2 billion children were given the polio vaccine.

Several members of the Sleaford club flew out to India to administer the vaccine and once given the child’s ‘pinkie nail’ was painted with a purple marker to prove their immunisation. Anyone not displaying a ‘pinkie’ was given an additional dose.