Rotary Club marks World Polio Day with fundraising and purple Moorish Castle

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar will mark World Polio Day on Saturday, October 24, with a fundraising drive in Main Street and the Moorish Castle illuminated in purple.

Club members will be outside the Wine Shop from 10am to 2pm collecting donations and providing information about Rotary International’s campaign to eradicate polio.

Members of the public will also be able to have a fingernail painted purple in support of the campaign.

The Gibraltar Government has agreed to illuminate the Moorish Castle in purple to mark the occasion and raise awareness of the campaign.

World Polio Day highlights efforts to eradicate the disease, which can cause permanent paralysis and, in some cases, death.

Rotary International has supported vaccination programmes and fundraising efforts against polio for decades, working alongside international partners.

The local campaign will also feature on GBC Radio on Thursday, October 22, when Rotary Club member Jane Hart will be interviewed alongside Eric Rowbottom, who has supported the club’s World Polio Day activities for several years.

Mr Rowbottom contracted polio when he was eight years old and has used a wheelchair since childhood.
The Rotary Club said his experience helped highlight the lifelong consequences of the disease and the importance of vaccination efforts around the world.

Fundraising will continue after World Polio Day, with the club holding an auction on November 10 to raise money for Rotary’s international polio eradication campaign and local charity Men in Need.
The Rotary Club thanked the Gibraltar Government for its support and the public for its continued generosity.