Oldham set to see campaign to eradicate polio

Pictured are Clint Elliott and Shelley Wharton from AGE UK Oldham at Ashby House Day Care with Reshi Rangwala, a friend of Saddleworth Rotary

Significant purple patches will appear across Oldham in the new year in the wake of a mission by Saddleworth Rotary Club’s support of a worldwide campaign to eradicate polio.

For more than 40 years, Rotary International has worked towards ridding the planet of this debilitating scourge on a global scale with significant success.

In recent years the annual number of cases has been reduced to a handful in just one or two countries.

However, the effort must continue to prevent any further spread of the disease.

The annual ‘Purple for Polio’ campaign continues, where Rotary Clubs donate to the polio campaign by purchasing crocus corms, which provide purple flowers in the spring and enlisting local people to plant them.

Saddleworth Rotary Club members Jon Stocker and Clint Elliott were assisted by St Thomas Leesfield CE Infant School gardening gang, Mahdlo Youth Zone and Age UK Oldham, in plantings across the borough.

And now the teams are looking forward to seeing the purple crocus flowers at St Thomas Church, Lees, Mahdlo Youth Zone as well as AGE UK Oldham’s day care centres at Bluebells Moorside and Ashby House, Royton.

Rotary member Clint said: “It’s great to get so many organisations supporting people of all ages across Oldham involved in this effort.

“It raises funds to help to continue with the work of eradicating polio throughout the world.

“It’s also acts as a reminder of how devasting the disease can be.

"Rotary would like to thank all those who engaged with us on this project.”

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.