Rotary Club of Belfast

Purple4Polio Planting

RIBI CrocusesPurple4Polio logoA single case of polio anywhere in the world puts children everywhere at risk. This autumn over seven million purple crocus corms have been planted across Britain & Ireland by Rotary in public spaces in local communities as part of the Purple4Polio campaign to raise awareness and funds for Rotary's goal to End Polio Now. The last of the seven million bulbs will be planted in a special event taking place on Friday 9th December at Regent's Park.

The purple crocus is a symbol of Rotary's worldwide campaign to eradicate polio, with its colour representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child who has been immunised.

Polio Vaccine 16 RIBI BrandingRotary has for over 30 years played a key role in making polio eradication become close to a reality - over 2.5 billion children have received vaccinations, polio endemic countries have reduced from 125 to 3 and cases of the disease have been reduced by 99.9%. When Rotary made the commitment to eradicate polio in 1985, more than 350,000 children per year were paralysed by polio - with Rotary's help that is now fewer than 35. We aim to make it zero.

Planting the final corms will be polio survivors RotaryinGBI Purple4Polio ambassadors Paralympian and broadcaster Ade Adepitan (who contracted polio in Nigeria when he was just one year old and has made a number of documentaries to raise awareness of the fight against the disease), TV Presenter Konnie Huq (who travelled to India with Rotary in 2009, where she took part in a key immunisation process, which was featured on BBC News), Paralympian Anne Wafula Strike (who contracted polio in Kenya when she was two and a half years old but went on to become the first Kenyan wheelchair racer to represent her country before becoming a British Paralympian) and Broadcaster and author Julia Roberts (who contracted polio when she was just 14 months old but went on to become a professional dancer, which kicked off a long and successful career in the entertainment and broadcasting industry).

Join Us

Membership of the Club is an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable experience and we are actively looking for new people to invite to join and breathe new vibrancy and ideas into the Club and take Rotary into its second century in Belfast.

If you think Rotary may be for you, or for further information, please contact us.

Getting involved with Rotary could be the most important thing you ever do.

Contact the Club

If you would like to contact the Club,

please click here to use our Contact Form