The eradication of Polio around the world is largely because of the efforts of volunteers like Past President 2001-02 Eva Hammond. This photo is Eva explaining how you can tell when a child has had their first dose of the vaccine because of their painted fingernail (more recently a “purple pinky”). Read more about Eva's story below.
Rotary Ottawa Past President (2001-02) Eva Hammond was a featured speaker at the Probus Alta Vista club’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 26.
Her topic was Rotary’s Polio Eradication program and the role she played in it about twenty years ago, when she went to Cameroon to vaccinate children throughout much of the northern part of the country.
Her story was punctuated with both harrowing and heartfelt anecdotes of the interactions with the places she and her team went and the people they met. Eva also outlined the history of the Polio Plus program and its incredible success, and how Cameroon and 99.9% of the world have now become polio free. A truly memorable presentation about a memorable experience.