RI Pres Francesco Arezzo at 2025 Genting Institute About Polio

RI President Francesco Arezzo on Rotary’s End Polio Campaign

Transcript

0:00 I participated in a vaccination campaign
0:04 in Pakistan in Raul Pindi some months
0:07 ago
0:09 and we vaccinated a group of 30 children
0:15 and at the end of the vaccination we
0:18 decided as is usually the rotor event to
0:21 have a picture of the of the children
0:25 and uh we decided to to have to do this
0:28 this teacher under a tree uh
0:33 about 20 30 m far from the from the
0:38 place of the vaccination and all the
0:41 children become to run to go under the
0:44 tree.
0:46 All of them except one because that
0:52 little girl of almost three years, she
0:56 was paralyzed by polio both of the legs
1:01 and she began to walk with the with her
1:05 arms toward the tree.
1:11 I was not ready to see a a child of
1:16 three years paralyzed by B.
1:19 It was
1:21 terrible for me.
1:24 Suddenly everything disappeared for me
1:27 and we remained in the dark. Me and that
1:31 little girl that was walking on her arms
1:37 and probably
1:39 She felt that some that something
1:42 happened around her. She stopped. She
1:46 turned her head toward me
1:50 and she smiled.
1:52 And that smile for me was like a scream
1:56 in my head. It was terrible. It was a
2:00 question for me. Why?
2:02 Why you haven’t finished the campaign
2:05 three years ago? I was healthy in this
2:08 moment. I was able to walk.
2:11 I had a future. I had the hope of the
2:16 first love, of the first kiss, of a a
2:20 good job,
2:22 of a good of a of a dignity in my life.
2:27 But now she was without all these
2:31 things. And that for me was really
2:36 strong to support and we have to finish
2:39 this campaign because I don’t want I
2:42 cannot see again a child paralyzed by P.
2:46 It it was really I I have to confess to
2:49 you that I cried that day.
2:56 Okay. Thank you.

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