NEWS

Posted on: May 12, 2010

SIGN THE BALL TO KICK POLIO OUT OF AFRICA

As a show of support for Rotary’s campaign to “End Polio Now,” we invite you to sign the virtual “Kick Polio Out of Africa” soccer ball: www.kickpolioutofafrica.org, and pass it on to a friend!

In the months leading up to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer, Rotary clubs across Africa have been gearing up for the final push to kick polio out of the continent. On 23 February, a “Kick Polio Out of Africa” awareness campaign launched with the symbolic kicking of a soccer ball signed by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a polio survivor.

The journey began in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the host cities for the 2010 World Cup. The ball is traveling through 22 polio-affected countries to Eygpt, en route to the RI Convention in Montréal, Québec, Canada, in June. At each stop, ceremonies and public events are being held—and the ball is signed by Heads of State, health ministers and other dignitaries-- to create awareness and build support for the push to end polio.

For those unable to attend the ceremonies in person to celebrate and show their solidarity, we have created a virtual “Kick Polio Out of Africa” soccer ball. The tremendous global enthusiasm for soccer as the FIFA World Cup approaches, which will be hosted for the first time on African soil, can be harnessed to help save children in Africa who are still threatened by this disease.