Polio Survivors &
Associates strives to keep you informed about current polio-related news
and updates both within our organization and worldwide. Below you will find copies of
Polio Posts, our newsletter, as well as links to other informative articles. Feel free to browse.
2007 has been a wonderful year for me, as your Chair. The position has opened many doors for me and for PSA. We have many prospects ahead of us and I will be doing all I can to help us move to the next plateau. We promise to keep our membership better informed in future.
Our Board of Directors has expressed a desire to assist polio survivors in developing countries. Polio survivors, or victims, as they are referred to in these countries, are outcasts in their villages. Their parents, out of shame and pity, often keep their polio children at home and out of sight, denying them the opportunity for an education. Those who do attend school are often ridiculed, teased and looked down upon. There exists the misconception that polio victims are weak of mind. They are reduced to beggars and often forced into such by their families. With these existing stigmas and discriminations, the opportunities for polio victims to receive an education and be a part of the economic sector are greatly diminished. In addition, handicapped accessibility in developing countries is virtually non-existent. Ramps to public buildings do not exist, roadways to not have sidewalks for ease of access with wheelchairs, and it is practically impossible to gain access to public transportation in the larger cities where it may exist. Rehabilitation centers are basically non-existent and where some exist, it is not an affordable option for most polio victims.
The Board of PSA supports rehabilitation clinics linked with vocational schools where polio victims can receive the physical therapy, occupational therapy, assistive devices and possible corrective surgeries necessary to maintain daily activities within and without of their homes. We support returning their self esteem and giving them the same opportunities for an education, raising a family, and employment that all people everywhere desire and deserve.
Currently we are exploring possibilities of projects in Benin, West Africa and Nigeria that are highlighted in this newsletter. You can also read about the amazing project of Ramesh Ferris, a polio survivor dedicated to stopping the disease.
I hope to be back to you all in a few months with definitive plans for our projects. Your support and interest is genuinely appreciated.
To read the complete newsletter, please click here.
