Walk Around the World with Rotary Global Passport!

  Fellow walkers, let’s go to Pittsburg and find our about VACCINE. That word is being used so often on the news connected to coronavirus! We will visit the University of Pittsburg and learn the story of Dr Jonas Salk work. Dr Salk was a virologist and his work began in 1948 when the polio virus began. People would go to bed not feeling well and wake up paralyzed for the rest of their lives. By 1955 it was proclaimed the largest health problem in the world. They developed a vaccine and  the testing evolved 20,000 doctors, 64,000 school personnel, 220, 000 volunteers and 1.8 million school children. It took 25 yrs to remove polio virus from North America. This historic picture was taken during those  testing months. As you know we still have polio in two countries. Polio was a pandemic however we were not using that word in the 50’s. So we need to be aware the corona virus is with us for years and because it is airborne we will need to wear masks, wash our hand and keep a safe distance

  After being on the global walking tour for eight weeks you may feel the need for a ‘wonderful cup of tea’. We know a Rotarian that can serve us a great cup of tea , Ravi’s  founded the largest tea packaging company in Sri Lanka. This is the homeland of K.R. Ravindran, Rotary Foundation trustee chair. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with great mountains, beautiful beaches, water falls, lush forests, magnificent gardens and the country host 100’s of historic Hindu Temples. The most famous being Dambulla Royal Cave Temple and Golden Temple. We will see large herds of elephants which are a symbol of pride, cultural and religious significance. As well, the countryside is the home of several beautiful birds. Ravi organized and led the Nation wide polio eradication campaign thus Sri Lanka was one of the first Asian countries to be declared Polio Free. Over 21 million Sri Lankaians live polio free! The foundation is the conduit to meaningful change. We all need to do our part to help rid th

Greetings fellow globetrotters!! Can you believe we have been travelling the Globe for seven weeks. I think it is time to have a little break and go fishing. Let’s visit our International President and First Lady - Holgar and Susanne Knaack in Germany. “Rotary Opens Opportunities “ is this year’s theme so lets take  this river opportunity. If we sit two to a boat and use the entire river we can keep the social distance rules. Get ready to catch rainbow trout, lake char, taimen, pike, walleye and maybe perch or carp- all are common in Germany’s rivers, brooks and lakes. In the July issue of the ROTARIAN  - “Rotary opens opportunities for us to live a richer, more meaningful life, with friends around the world, based on our core values “ said Holger. Fishing for opportunities to make new friends in Germany!! If we have time we might attend the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg - Molly. This is  the home club of  Holger . His life’s work has been involved with real-estate so maybe we can

This week we made our way to Switzerland and the UNICEF offices. Did you know that Geneva is the second largest hub of the United Nations (next to New York). There are over 200 non governmental organizations located in this beautiful city. The mandate of UNICEF is to advocate for the protection of children’s rights. Their basic needs and opportunities of every child to reach their full potential. Based on the ‘Rights of the Child ‘ their work is well known around the world. UNICEF is a  major force in the fight against polio.  The partnership with WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the Gates Foundation will soon make it possible for the promise of a POLIO FREE WORLD -soon to become a reality. Geneva is a global city. The population of approximately 915,000 with 2/3 living in Switzerland and 1/3 living in France.( It is expected to reach 1 million In the very near future). Be sure to taste the famous chocolate, sail on Lake Geneva and watch the stars over he tope of the snow covered