THE ROTARY Club of Taunton Vale is helping to rid the world of polio by supporting the nation-wide initiative, Purple4Polio. 

The club members planted 2000 purple crocuses at Rumwell Hall today (Monday, October 24) on Rotary's World Polio Day to support the campaign. 

Paul Hughes, president of The Rotary Club of Taunton Vale, said: “As a club we have worked tirelessly to ensure that polio is eradicated for good, and with fewer cases being reported we believe we can end this deadly disease forever.”

The colour purple has been chosen as it represents the colour of the dye which is placed on the little finger of a child on mass immunisation days when literally millions of children in entire countries are protected against the disease.

For more than 30 years, The Rotary Club says it has been committed to fighting to eradicate polio across the world.

The campaign ties in with the 100th anniversary of The Rotary Foundation in 2017, Rotary’s own and only charity. The club belives it has played a key role in making polio eradication become close to a reality, along with thousands of other humanitarian projects in Great Britain and Ireland, and internationally.

President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, Eve Conway, said: “The world stands on the brink of an historic milestone and we must focus our efforts on the final push to eradicate this disease to ensure a polio-free world. We are now so close to finishing the job with only two remaining countries where polio is still endemic, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"That is why the Purple4Polio campaign is so important to raise awareness and funds.

"Let’s join together to make history and end polio now and forever.”