Polio Survivors & Associates, A Rotarian Action Group Projects
  
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Memorial to the Trustees
of
The Rotary Foundation and Directors of Rotary International

 
This memorial asks Trustees of The Rotary Foundation and Directors of Rotary International to look with favor upon a plan to establish a pilot program for Rotary Action Groups, and specifically, Polio Survivors & Associates, to be eligible for Rotary Foundation Matching Grants under the same conditions now existing for Rotary Clubs and Districts.

Polio Survivors and Associates (PSA) believes the ability to initiate humanitarian projects under the umbrella of Rotary Foundation Matching Grants would add credibility to our concern for the total eradication of polio in the world and the rehabilitation and treatment of survivors of polio. Our success in creating rehabilitation centers would further enhance the success of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Projects of the Polio Survivors & Associates Rotary Action Group (PSA) clearly fit the criteria of The Future Vision Plan. Support for this request is documented below:

    1. We are strong active supporters of the Polio Eradication Initiative and Rotary's PolioPlus program. To quote our founder, Ray Taylor, "PSA Chair, Ann Lee Hussey is well known in Rotary circles both as a speaker and as a hands-on member and leader of NID projects. PSA Directors Joseph Serra and PRID Michael Abdalla have excellent polio-related credentials and experience in rehabilitation. Past RI Presidents Dochterman and Devlyn have been enthusiastic supporters of Rotary Action Groups and specifically, PSA. Joan Headley, PSA senior advisor is the Director of Post-Polio Health International, an organization with long time association and credentials in assisting previous victims of polio. Other PSA directors in India have polio rehabilitation programs in the planning stage. We believe this cadre of experience and commitment is competent to undertake and manage Community Based Rehabilitation programs wherever they might be located.

    2. The PSA mission of creating Community Based Rehabilitation Centers/Vocational Training Centers fits into the new mission statement of The Rotary Foundation "to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. With rehabilitation and vocational training, polio victims can then become more effective members of their community, hold employment and break the poverty cycle created by their handicaps.

    3. The PSA mission also includes most of the service opportunities listed in the Menu of Service Opportunities including Health Care, Disabled Persons, Literacy and Poverty and Hunger. We recognize that polio victims are a large segment of the disabled population of the developing world that remains largely overlooked. They are pitied, shunned and even hidden away by their families. The disabled are often denied education, require chronic health care, are a drain on family resources, are deprived of economic and social opportunities, lack a voice, denied accessibility, and are in fact the poorest of the poor.

    4. Rehabilitation of polio survivors is already a recognized priority focus identified by Rotarians and will have a sustainable and measurable impact on the health and economies of global communities as well as strengthen Rotary's polio eradication efforts. For more than 25 years Rotary Clubs and Rotarians have been actively participating in projects to provide surgery, prosthetics, and rehabilitation to polio survivors in all parts of the world. To a large extent these projects have been vital in maintaining awareness among Rotarians of the necessity to achieve a world without polio.

    5. The Polio Survivors & Associates is involved in addressing the concerns of the Reach Out to Africa emphasis of RI. Examples of this are:

    • Pursuing a rehabilitation project with the Kano Polio Victims Trust Association of Kano , Nigeria . The KPVTA is an organization founded in 2000 by polio victims to address the needs of polio victims in Kano . They are supported by COMPASS, a partnership between the Government of Nigeria and USAID.

    • Pursuing a project with the Handicapped Advocacy and Rehabilitation Center of Jos, Nigeria involving bicycle wheelchairs and other mobility issues.

    • Board members of the PSA led a team to participate in the Nigeria IPD which resulted in an "Adopt a Village" matching grant process in Kaduna State , Nigeria . This project will address needs for water and sanitation, a health clinic and a school, all within one village.

    6. The PSA, through its association with Rotary International, has previously been identified as a potential leader in creating global community based rehabilitation centers by organizations such as the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO), Post-Polio Health International and the World Health Organization's Disability and Rehabilitation Division.

    It is for these reasons that we respectfully ask that very serious and thoughtful consideration be given to this proposal for a pilot project to enable the Polio Survivors and Associates Rotary Action Group to become eligible for matching grants under all the policies and procedures of The Rotary Foundation.

    Submitted April 4, 2008 on behalf of the Officers, Directors and Members of the Polio Survivors and Associates Rotary Action Group.
    Ann Lee Hussey, Chair

 
Rotary International -
Warm Springs Roosevelt Foundation Coalition Memorial

This memorial is directed to The Rotary International Foundation Trustees asking immediate consideration of a permanent working relationship between RI and Warm Springs Roosevelt Foundation. As indicated in the document below, we believe a pilot program to create such a relationship will result in benefit to RI, Warm Springs, and humanity.

1. Create a permanent living memorial to RI and its partners in the eradication of polio

2. Expand the existing Smithsonian Exhibit and Hall of Fame programs now in progress as well as provide a permanent archive for RI materials now in Evanston

3. Extend the reach of both RI and Warm Springs in creating rehabilitation programs to benefit polio survivors throughout the world

4. A successful pilot program would develop a template for creating Community Based Rehabilitation worldwide programs for all types of physical, vocational and social rehabilitation

This document dated 15 March 2008 is the continuation of previous communications with various individuals in Rotary and is the result of a personal visit to Warm Springs on March 7 2008 by the author to meet with Greg Schmeig, Executive Director Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Martin Harmon , Public Relations Director and other staff members. It is the hope of the author and the members of the Polio Survivors Action Group that it will generate thought and interest that will result in positive action by RI and Warm Springs.

Rotary International - Warm Springs Roosevelt Foundation Coalition

This document is intended to be a call to action by the officers and leaders of Rotary International to establish a permanent working relationship between RI and the Roosevelt Foundation of Warm Springs Georgia .

Our belief is that each organization has several mutual interests, strengths and goals. We believe that formal endorsement of a working arrangement between the organizations would benefit the people of the world who require skilled rehabilitation services, not otherwise available, that would enable them to participate fully in the workplace and in the life of their community.

Such a partnership would represent the living legacy of RI in the worldwide eradication of polio and our continuing dedication to "do good in the world" through such programs as literacy, social and physical rehabilitation. Such a partnership will allow individual Rotarians as well as clubs and districts to make specific contributions to these programs with their time, talent and treasure.

Roosevelt Warm Springs was founded in 1927 and their mission remains: "to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve personal independence" and they see this mission as their living legacy. Warm Springs has the physical facilities to make Rotary's commitment to helping disabled peoples of the world a reality by enlarging the scope of Warm Springs and bringing tangible results to the mission of the Rotary Foundation.

The following discussion is intended to suggest some of the many ways in which a partnership or coalition between the two organizations could bring tangible results and brings benefit to all concerned.

Permanent Memorial

Warm Springs comprises a 940 acre campus. It is an integral part of the Georgia Department of Labor's Rehabilitation Services and is a National Historic Landmark. It is adjacent to National Park Services "Little White House" and Museum. Active support of Warm Springs as a destination by Rotarians would generate visitors to the site.

The existing "What Ever Happened to Polio" exhibit, on loan from the Smithsonian , needs to be enlarged and converted to a permanent exhibit. With Rotarian support, the "Rotary Story" of polio eradication can be told, especially from the standpoint of Rotarian personal involvement in National Immunization Days. The enlarged exhibit should include the story of the coalition of Rotary, WHO, CDC and UNICEF in the eradication of polio.

The enlargement of the existing "Wall of Fame" and Plaza to include Rotary, WHO, CDC and UNICEF will illuminate this permanent memorial of the entire polio story. (We understand that there is an ongoing program to complete this concept). The completion of a revised and enlarged "Whatever Happened to Polio" exhibit plus the Wall of Fame plaza will enhance the experience of visitors to Warm Spring and help to promote travel to the area. It should also help focus the attention of Rotarians and the "corporate world" to our current PolioPlus program of polio eradication.

Some of the text material has been digitized and should be made available in DVD or other suitable format. A video presentation encompassing the "Polio Story" could be made at Warm Springs and the material located there would be the initial focus for a film about the living legacy of Rotary and the Roosevelt Institute in their quest for world understanding and peace through physical, mental and social rehabilitation programs. It might be well to digitize the Evanston archives. The staff of each organization could provide much of the additional material.

RI could encourage regional exhibits such as the one at Warm Springs in other parts of the world to help people understand what Rotary is all about. The film and exhibits could circulate throughout the Rotary world to be used as promotional and training tools for Rotary clubs and districts. Obviously, regional exhibits and films should contain the story of the impact of polio in their communities and the local contributions to polio eradication and rehabilitation.

The Trustees of the Rotary Foundation may want to consider some way that individual contributions to the Warm Springs-Rotary Foundation coalition could be adapted to give some credit to Paul Harris type recognition. The Warm Springs Development Fund might likewise consider some sort of joint recognition program.

There is already a Rotary International Tennis Center at Warm Springs. Rotary has long needed a Tennis Fellowship. With support from RI leadership such a Fellowship could be used to sponsor tournaments to raise funds for rehabilitation programs as well as to increase visitors to the site.

Warm Springs could also be promoted as site for District Conferences and other events as housing facilities are improved. An understanding of the power of the polio coalition eradication concept by Rotarians would enhance the value and possibilities for future large-scale projects, or at least, provide an action blueprint for smaller projects.

Rotarians with a special interest in polio could make contributions to the various projects noted above. The 1.2 million Rotarians in the world could also help develop awareness of a Warm Springs/Rotary partnership and could work in their local communities to locate and assist polio survivors and organized post-polio support groups throughout the world. The key is personal involvement that goes beyond the significant amounts of money that Rotarians have contributed over the course of the last twenty years.

Library

The potential for housing the "story of polio and its lasting impact upon social-community action organization, fund-raising, and women's role in community action, research and development of vaccines, government-private action, and the personal stories of polio survivors" already exists in Warm Springs. The only thing absent is the will to take the initiative by RI, the state of Georgia, and other entities such as pharmaceutical and medical suppliers, therapy organizations and postpolio support groups to establish a multi-faceted library available to scholars as well as the general public. This would involve housing and cataloguing relevant print material as well as digital storage for online access and distribution. Rotarians could play an important part in such a program through active solicitation of personal polio stories and the impact of polio on their communities as well as contributions and fund-raising.

Community Based Rehabilitation
Polio Survivors & Assoc. - A Rotary Action Group

At the beginning of our organization as a Rotary Action Group (PSA), was focused upon a joint endeavor with WHO to develop Community Based Rehabilitation Clinics in areas still vulnerable to polio. Our Chairman, Ann Lee Hussey has also developed active contacts with Rotary groups in both Africa and India where polio rehabilitation clinics are both needed and feasible.

Warm Springs is just opening a new state-of-the-art outpatient therapy center, Blanchard Hall. We believe that a partnership between Warm Springs and RI through active participation of PSA would make an ideal combination to the mission of both Warm Springs and RI, specifically through developing audio and video capabilities at the Warm Springs site which could be transmitted in real time to a clinic in India. Doctors, Therapists and Technicians could show and tell with actual patients.

We are suggesting the initial focus could be on polio patients as the living legacy of RI and then be continued in the entire field of rehabilitation. Warm Springs is especially well adapted to this sort of program as they have a long history of leadership in Rehabilitation Technology, Post-Polio services, Literacy Training, Therapeutic Recreation and Fitness as well as other Vocational Services.

The mission of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation is to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve personal independence. Certainly their mission is in accord with many existing and planned programs of TRF, districts and clubs. The Warm Springs Mission Statement fits well with the PSA mission and objectives "of dedication to humanitarian assistance to polio survivors as the logical extension of Rotary's concern for the health needs of the world and serves as the living legacy of the world-wide PolioPlus program to eradicate polio".

We think of ourselves as "enablers" to those disabled by the disease, whether immediately following the acute stage or all the way through postpolio syndrome. We believe the Community Based Rehabilitation Clinic is an excellent path to enable disabled people to participate in the workplace and the social life of their communities, as well as to carry out the mission of Rotary to improve world understanding and peace through humanitarian programs and projects.

What we at PSA are asking is that RI empowers us to undertake this job by officially recognizing our action group - and other Action Groups - as an official part of Rotary operating under the same rules and obligations as Districts and Clubs.

Submitted March 15 2008 on behalf of the Officers, Directors and Members of Polio Survivors and Associates - A Rotary Action Group

Ray Taylor
Founder/Secretary PSA