| James Kon |
A TOTAL of US$10,000 was raised for the Rotary Club Bandar Seri Begawan’s first awareness ‘End Polio Now’ bike ride, which is set to take place today with 19 cyclists participating in a 150km ride to Miri from Jerudong Park.
The participants are members of the Rotary Club Bandar Seri Begawan and friends. They included the youngest being a 14-year-old and the most senior cyclist being a 69-year-old.
The ride will be flagged off at 2.30am and is expected to take about eight hours.
Jackson Chin, the Organising Chairman expressed, “It is an honour to participate in such a noble event to raise awareness on polio eradication.”
He also revealed that there will be a bigger event in April next year, with an expected 400 cyclists joining in to help raise awareness to end polio.
Some of the cyclists participating in the ‘End Polio Now’ bike ride to Miri. – JAMES KON
Sixty years ago, polio was one of the most feared diseases in the developed world, killing hundreds of children in the United Kingdom each year and leaving thousands paralysed.
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented.
Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.
Since 1979, when Rotary began its first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines, polio cases have reduced by 99.9 per cent worldwide from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 94 in 2015.
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