Letters (November 2007)

W e hate junk mail just as much as you do, so it certainly brightens our day to get an actual letter from you, even if it’s just to blow off steam. Or maybe you want to share an opinion about something you’ve read or want to read. Don’t just tell your club – tell us and the rest of the Rotary world too.  So keep those cards and letters coming, with your suggestions, insights, criticisms and yes, even compliments, to yourletters@rotary.org or The Rotarian, One Rotary Center, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201 USA.

Polio is not history

Polio is presently endemic in four countries. A newly diagnosed case has been reported in Australia, proving that no country is polio-free until the world is polio-free. Statistical projections indicate that in the absence of sustained global immunization, the incidence of polio may return to where it was before the PolioPlus program.

The problem with the Smithsonian exhibit “Whatever Happened to Polio?” and your article [“Polio Plus One President,” July] is that they both treat polio as a thing of the past. Despite token acknowledgement that the job is not yet done, a feeling of triumphant ease pervades the article. What is needed is the excitement of a rally to the finish.

The Rotary clubs in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, are united in supporting a campaign that is benefiting from the talents of a modern-day polio survivor. Raised in Yukon, Ramesh Ferris contracted polio when he was six months old in his native India. Through surgeries, rehabilitation, braces, crutches, and sheer determination, Ferris not only learned to walk but also has become a superb athlete who coaches and competes in wheelchair basketball, can swim the length of an Olympic pool 100 times, and cycles long distances on his custom hand-operated bicycle.

 The Cycle to Walk Society was formed to support Ramesh as he hand-cycles from Victoria, B.C., to the eastern-most point on the continent, Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador. The goal is to raise funds for PolioPlus and the rehabilitation of polio survivors, and to dispel the dangerous complacency of North Americans by allowing people to see for themselves the drastic consequences of the disease.

There is a danger that without connection to the living present, polio’s historical relics and personalities will be quickly forgotten. If polio is to have no future, people must understand that the disease is a real threat today and be willing to fight for its total eradication.

Allon Reddoch
Marsh Lake, Yukon, Canada

Highlight more projects

I completely concur with fellow Rotarian Robert Dirks’ comments [Letters, August]. The August issue had over 10 pages of advertisements. The editors of The Rotarian should include more coverage of interesting club projects. Our club gave 120 bicycles to Cambodian schoolchildren in March this year.

James S. Harris
Fort Myers, Fla., USA

A Rotary ship?

I read with interest your article about the Mercy Ships project [Insider, August]. In fact, I have long believed that Rotary International should have its own ship that travels the world in service to humanity. This could include medical services, disaster relief, hospitality training, delivery of cargo, a floating college program, and more. In fact, I shared my idea with Mercy Ships, and there seemed to be some interest. I think a Rotary ship would be a terrific symbol of Service Above Self all around the world. Sound like a stretch? Well, we already own a high-rise building! Dream big.

Sam Crump
Anthem, Ariz., USA

Portable Basics

Rotary Basics [August] was a great piece summarizing what Rotary is all about. But you missed the boat! That eight-page article should have been printed as a tear-out booklet. That way, every Rotarian could have taken their copy out and given it to prospective new club members. Maybe you can redeem yourselves by publishing it as a tear-out and making it available as a recruiting tool.

Clint Collier
Walnut Creek, Calif., USA

Editor’s note: Download the annual Rotary Basics or buy reprints for US$0.75.

Welcoming women

Over here in Asia, I can’t see what the fuss is all about regarding “Great Expectations” [In Focus, August]. Since our club’s chartering in 1996, we have had female members, many of whom were active role models. This Rotary year, we have our first female club president, a French national. Power to Rotary women!

Paul Heng
Singapore, Singapore

Picture imperfect?

I’m nearly apoplectic. I can’t think of enough negative words about the August cover. Could you not have used a formal portrait as your cover photo? As 1.2 million of us are heartily welcoming the first female director-elect, you could certainly have done better. I trust next summer’s magazine will redeem you.

Michael Shay
Green Valley, Ariz., USA

Questioning the August cover

I commend the nominating committee in selecting Catherine Noyer-Riveau as a member of the RI Board. Noyer-Riveau epitomizes Rotary’s culture, values, and standards. She will be an excellent representative to the Board. I must ask, though, why the editors of The Rotarian selected [that] picture of her for the cover of the August issue. The Rotarian is typically a high-quality magazine in both copy and photography. This photo selection definitely missed the mark! The photo that appears on page 28 would have made a stronger cover.

Brigitte Grant
Peoria, Ill., USA

Saudi Arabia polio-free

My husband, Charles Eberle, is a new Rotarian in Albuquerque, N.M., USA. I have the pleasure of reading The Rotarian each month and have been thrilled to learn about the efforts being made regarding polio. From 1976 to 1982, our family of six lived and worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. My husband was chosen to be chief of orthopedics at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, where he saw many children with polio. The Bedouin nomadic group experienced particularly high rates of infection.

Charles developed a polio program with the health department and organized a polio symposium that involved leaders from all over the Middle East. Outstanding progress was made while we were in the country. Beckoned back to Riyadh several years later as a visiting professor, Charles was relieved and delighted to discover that very few cases, if any, had been reported. Thank you, Rotarians, for your fight against polio and your many efforts in other areas.

Eugenia Eberle
Albuquerque, N.M., USA

Population control

Rafael Canton’s letter [“Family Planning”] in the August issue was long overdue. We Rotarians take considerable pride in our numerous projects to make life better for people around the world. But without some form of population control, our efforts will be compromised as more and more pressure is put on limited resources.

This is a very sensitive subject, and frankly there are some who believe there is no limit to the number of people our earth can support. I am not one of them. There must be a way, as Canton said, to help with family planning and still respect the beliefs of the people involved.

Dean Barlow
Lake Havasu City, Ariz., USA

Article helps sell a house

I was amused by the huffing and puffing of real estate agents in the May Letters section regarding the March article “Do It Yourself” [Finance]. I just wanted you to know how helpful that article was to me. I took it with me when I went to sell a house in another state and referred to it occasionally throughout the process. The buyer and I met at a title insurance company at closing and completed the transaction – for the asking price. A few dozen real estate agents phoned or wrote to me warning of the dire consequences of not paying one of them over $22,000 to do, in my opinion, very little. Happily, it is not necessary to actually hire one of them. People can sell their own property. I am keeping the article for future use.

Marilynne Jorgensen
Moses Lake, Wash., USA

Continue help in Zimbabwe

I would like to congratulate Jayne During on the article “The Art of Making a Difference” [July], which discusses how she is looking after the AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe. It has been and still is a privilege to have the [District 9210] food program involved in During’s work. We will do our utmost to keep the fundraising and food supply going, especially now, when the country is experiencing such economic turmoil, with the official inflation rate running over 7,600 percent. The International Monetary Fund has predicted an increase in the [year-on-year] inflation rate to more than 100,000 percent by the end of this year. The shortage of the critical staple food, maize meal, will once again increase the number of orphans affected by the famine to more than 1.5 million. We need to continue for as long as we possibly can with this program so we can assist the orphans and the elderly. Since this article was written, the program has been adopted by the Rotary Club of Harare, Zimbabwe, and other clubs in the country. Well done to The Rotarian for its inspiring and informative articles.

Egbert Wever
Borrowdale, Zimbabwe

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