Photo courtesy of Ernie Bentley

Julie Martin of Harrisonburg took part in the Polio Immunization Day in Agra, India. Martin and others are sponsored by the New River Valley district Rotary each year to immerse in other country's cultures.

| Mary Hardbarger

mary.hardbarger@roanoke.com, 381-1679

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Today, local Rotarians are raising awareness of polio as part of World Polio Day.

Polio has been eliminated from most of the world, including the United States.

But according to Ernie Bentley, Area 9 assistant district governor of the New River Valley, the disease is still very much present in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and other war-torn and underdeveloped countries.

The disease affects children, mainly younger than 5, and can cause paralysis and sometimes death. About 1,000 to 2,000 children are paralyzed from the disease each year.

Today, it is recommended that children in the U.S. are given the polio vaccination and they are required to receive it if entering public schools.

Since 1985, Rotary International, a service organization, has been working to eradicate polio from the planet as part of the PolioPlus program. In order to do this, enough money must be raised to provide the entire population with a polio vaccination.

The fight has been going on for more than 20 years, and Bentley expressed concern about the ability to keep members focused on the cause.

"It's difficult to maintain momentum," Bentley said. "But hopefully today, that momentum will be renewed."

He admitted the feat seems almost impossible, but that smallpox, another infectious disease, was certified eliminated in 1979.

"Someone did it once, and we can do it again," he said.

In the New River Valley, there are eight Rotary clubs working to raise funds to benefit PolioPlus.

Dan Berenato, president of the Christiansburg/Blacksburg Rotary Club, is finding creative and new ways to rally his 70-plus members.

The group meets each Monday and is encouraged to donate money toward the fund. The "polio pig," a piggy bank used to collect PolioPlus funds, is passed around, and members can donate loose change.

"We try to be creative and make it exciting," he said.

After the change has been collected, Randy Young, a Rotary member and local veterinarian, will put on his surgical gloves and "examine" the piggy bank, often stating, "It's not as full as it should be," Berenato said.

Twice a year, the club sponsors a blood screening at Montgomery Regional Hospital.

Participants are asked to pay $35 for the screening -- a procedure Berenato said hospitals would otherwise charge more than $100.

Today, the screenings will take place between 6 a.m. and noon.

While participants wait in line, the club will present a short video on its fight against the disease.

"It'll give us a chance to give others a heads-up about something they might not even know about," Berenato said.

He hopes to raise $1,000 for PolioPlus by the end of this year, and with donations and the funds from the "polio pig," he said they're well on their way.

Earlier this year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $255 million to Rotary International specifically for its fight against polio. In response to the grant, Rotary aims to raise $100 million.

"This was just another way to reinvigorate our members," Bentley said. "The more we publicize and the more we work together, the better the chance of getting rid of this disease."