FogHorn April 5, 2018  -  PDG Jeri Fujimoto on Polio Inoculations In India

Before the trip, she said, she was asked, why India? A Rotarian for 24 years, she said she wanted to give back to the Rotary Foundation, to be part of an historical program such as Rotary's polio eradication efforts, and to help end polio in India, as she knew that program was winding down there as polio was becoming eradicated in India.

"To me, it was the right thing to do," she said.

She spoke of the Howard travel agency, which provided trips centered on two-day polio immunization sessions. She mentioned a Past District Governor originally from India who sets up these trips annually, and the fact that they are affordable, at $2,400 which includes a hotel stay. Throughout her talk, she showed images she had taken to illustrate the points she covered.

She had flown into New Delhi and from there went to older regions of Delhi, and to Agra for two days of NID as well as a home stay. She spoke of how, upon deplaning, her first reaction was an incredulous "Dang, I'm in India," and she looked around at her agricultural surroundings, made smoggy by the smoke from the burning of dead crops. She spoke of area residents working on changing that practice.

But she wanted not only to see her surroundings but also "to taste India," beginning with local foods sold by street vendors. She spoke of the traffic in old Delhi, and showed an image of some young people packed onto a bike with one man pedaling, which she only half-jokingly called a "school bus." She spoke of the area's growing population and transportation issues which she said Rotarians were trying to help by doing "what you can do."  She spoke of other memorable things like a "food tour" which included fruit offered in baskets by street vendors, about amazing textiles made by indigenous residents, and things she saw everywhere including cows, water buffaloes, push carts, bicycles or large tricycles, and people going about barefoot. Seeing them all became a "normal experience," she said.

Joining her on this NID trip were Rotarians who flew in from California and across the United  States,  and met in New Delhi. Among the places they visited were the UNICEF and CDC offices, and she showed a photo of UNICEF case workers, giving her an "appreciation of the magnitude of partnership." Her team members wore bright yellow jackets to identify them.

The immunization days took place in February and March, with the March days meant to complete the work begun in February. Jeri mentioned the 2.3 million vaccinators, 640,000 vaccination booths involved with the immunizations and showed a map of the country, marked out into blocks that indicated where the immunizations were held and the geographical areas they covered. Immunizations were held wherever there was space, such as the stairwells of apartment complexes. Jeri showed the small icepacks that were packed around containers of vaccine to keep them properly chilled. She said that with Rotarians' help, 172 million children under the age of 5 were vaccinated.

They tried to make sure the children who were vaccinated were not sick or had diarrhea, which would interfere with the absorption of the inoculation into the children's systems. Team members gave each child two drops for an overall total of 10 drops. The team visited a total of four towns.  There were some risks due to ongoing social problems, such as riots not far away. At one point Jeri  was unexpectedly placed in charge of her all-women team, which would have been scary in some of the areas her team visited.

During her visit she accompanied members of the Rotary  Club of Agra to some of their other local projects. She saw an ophthalmology department that helped the very poor, school projects, an Agra hospital and a cath lab.

During her home stay, she visited Rotary clubs, saw the differences between the "haves" and the "have nots," and was impressed by her host, a well-to-do but humble individual who believed in giving back to his community. Among the interesting things she saw in the areas she visited, was that male Rotarians' wives joined and were active parts of their Rotary clubs, which included participating in hosting, feeding, and escorting their American Rotarian visitors everywhere.

She told an amusing story of how, one cold morning, her male host calmly invited her to share his bed. She was taken aback at first until she realized that he was not being inappropriate but rather merely considerate in light of the cold weather, especially when he told her that "now you're part of my family."

She described community volunteerism there, how everyone knew everyone, and wrapped up with a description of a parade held to celebrate the fact that now children will be healthy. She showed photos of the volunteers and talked about parents bringing their children to be inoculated. She also mentioned other things she saw, such as an informal dairy farm in a slum. She described the local community workers  who safeguarded her team and monitored the number of children inoculated, and the tenements and a tent city where she felt unsafe. She saw open sewers and other indications that sanitation and the need for clean drinking water are issues there.

She also happily described the "purple pinkies," or purple paint put on the little fingers of those children inoculated. The team was covered by  local media. "We were rock stars," she said ruefully.

She showed one small vial that had held enough vaccine for 22 children, which she gave to Kevin O'Brien, whom she called the club's "polio champion." She concluded her presentation by encouraging Half Moon Bay Rotarians to go on similar medical missions like an NID. "I guarantee you'll come back a prouder Rotarian," she said in closing

      

                                 

Greeters: PP Dave Andrews and Rosi Fontana,Sargent at Arms were filling in today.

Inspirational Thought: Brian Lee read a quote from former President Barack Obama about “Change” 

Raffa, our exchange student, is traveling with Mary Corcoran and family around the Southwest.