Avoyelles Rotary to present film on fight against polio this Sunday

Award-winning 'Every Last Child' to be shown at Fox Theatre at 3 p.m.

The Rotary Club of Avoyelles will present the award-winning documentary "Every Last Child" at 3 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 28) at the Fox Theatre.

The documentary focuses on the current fight to eradicate polio in Pakistan and the Middle East and Rotary International’s efforts to do so.
  Dr. L.J. Mayeux of Marksville, a polio survivor, will be the special guest speaker for the event and before the movie will share his experience.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from any Rotarian or at the Marksville Chamber of Commerce office.

Today, Oct. 24, is World Polio Day.

Polio was a plague on the nation in the early 20th Century. One of its most famous victims was Franklin D. Roosevelt, refused to let his crippling disease stop him from becoming one of the nation’s greatest Presidents, winning election to the White House four times. 

Vaccinations greatly reduced the number of polio cases in the U.S., but the disease continued to flourish in other nations.

Since 1979, with its first vaccination efforts, the eradication of polio has been the main focus of Rotary International.

While immunizations across the world have made great strides, opposition to vaccinations in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria still create strongholds for the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the eradication effort has almost succeeded, with 350,000 deaths due to polio in 1988 being reduced to only 22 in 2017.

Only 5-10 percent of polio victims die from the disease, when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Only 1 in 200 of those infected become paralyzed. The others have no symptoms, but can infect children who are not immunized.

The global eradication effort has saved an estimated 16 million people from a lifetime of paralysis from polio. “As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio,” WHO warns on its website. “Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.” As a result of the efforts to eliminate polio, “We are ‘this close’ to seeing the end of this crippling disease,” Avoyelles Rotary member Van Roy said, “but the fight is not over.”

Every Last Child is a gripping documentary that takes you to the front lines to witness the battle with polio and Rotary's part in that war. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. Concessions will be available.  For more info call Rebecca Guillot at (318) 623-2728 or Van Roy at (318) 240-3495.

AVOYELLES JOURNAL
BUNKIE RECORD
MARKSVILLE WEEKLY

105 N Main St
Marksville, LA 71351
(318) 253-9247

CONTACT US