ZONE 34 NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION DAY TRIP TO INDIA - 2013 INFORMATION

Potential NID Participant,

POLIO NID YAHOO GROUP LIST INFORMATION

If you have received this email, you have subscribed to the PolioNID Yahoo Group List. This means you will be receiving emails from the group list email address [polionid@yahoogroups.com] regarding the upcoming Zone 34 Jan/Feb 2013 NID trip to Chandigarh, India. As a member of this list, you have the ability to post messages, questions, and answers to questions to this list. All other group members will receive any posts or emails sent to [polionid@yahoogroups.com] via email. This list is an incredibly valuable tool as many interested participants will have the same questions and all (including others who have attended previous NIDs) can contribute to the answers.

As the List Moderator and the NID Trip Co-Leaders, we will post comprehensive and relevant information regarding the 2013 NID Trip - which is why it is so important to have signed up. Thus as a group list member, you will receive news about the evolving itinerary, lists of what to bring, information about when to process your India visa, details on where to find a list of suggested vaccinations, etc.

ZONE 34 NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION DAY TRIP TO INDIA - 2013 INFORMATION

This is our third NID experience and we have been in ongoing communications with several important stakeholders including Carol Pandak and her team at Rotary International; Robert Hall, Zone 34 Gates Challenge Grant Chair; District leadership; the Rotary PolioPlus office in Delhi, India; and the Rotarians in Chandigarh, India to put together what will certainly be an amazing and memorable NID experience.

We have assembled the following PRELIMINARY itinerary:

Day 1 - 2 Fly to Delhi
Day 3 Visit World Health Organization & Rotary PolioPlus offices in Delhi
Day 4 Travel to Chandigarh, Rotary family homestays
Day 5 NID Booth Day, Rotary family homestays
Day 6 NID Mop-up Day, Chandigarh Rotary Club project visits, Rotary family homestays
Day 7 NID Mop-up Day, Chandigarh sightseeing, Rotary family homestays
Day 8 Travel to Delhi
Day 9 Visit St. Stephen's Hospital Polio Corrective Ward & Akshay Pratishtan - integrated abilities school
Day 10 Travel to Agra, visit Agra Red Fort
Day 11 Sunrise visit to Taj Mahal, Travel to Delhi
Day 12 Early AM departures home from Delhi

The price will be APPROXIMATELY $2,200, (excluding air fare which you will book on your own - some may elect to use miles or points), and includes ground transportation, 4-5 star hotel accommodations, most meals, and sightseeing excursions. You do not have to be a Rotarian to join the NID trip. Friends and family are welcome!

Feel free to share news of the Zone 34 2013 NID with anyone you think might be interested. We are expecting 40 participants from around the globe.

Going on an NID trip is truly a fabulous and life-enriching experience and I hope that you will decide to join us! If you have any additional questions that you do not think the entire group will benefit from, please feel free to contact me directly at cyndecovington@gmail.com. Otherwise, replying to this email will mean your question / comment will be distributed to the entire group and therefore open to response by anyone on the list.

Best regards,

Cynde & Barry Covington
Your NID Trip Co-Leaders

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

Have you heard of RUCHI?

Dear Rotarians,                                                                            

It is my pleasure to announce a huge coup with our District Trip to India in November.

Have you heard of RUCHI? Read on...

Approximately 25 Rotarians will have the opportunity to join District Assistant Governor Rebecca Signal on a trip to the Subcontinent a SNID (sub national immunisation days) in November.

Colin Alford, a Rotarian from District 9940 has been for some 5 years supporting the work of a Non Government Organisation (NGO) working with the rural poor in Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayan foothills.

He has not been working alone, of course, but with other Rotarians and Rotary Clubs of District 9940 with financial support from individuals and Rotary clubs, a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant, a Future Vision District Grant, RNZWCS and MFAT New Zealand Government Aid.

Our Rotary team from 9930 is now scheduling the following:

1. To District 3080 to participate in a polio immunisation campaign in northern India.

2.Visiting the Rural Centre For Human Interests (RUCHI) www.ruchin.org  at the village of Bandh which is around one and half hours from Kalka on the wonderful narrow gauge railway line to Shimla.

RUCHI is doing great work for the rural poor and Collin considers what they are doing as a "model" of how an NGO should operate. They are an NGO that we could all learn a lot from.

As the battle to eradicate polio draws slowly to a successful finish so the opportunities to see how Rotary’s US$800M has been spent become less and less frequent. This is your chance!

Depending on numbers, and using the same tour organisers, Rebecca hopes to build on 9940’s trip of 38 Rotarians made last January and make our trip even better!

I assure anyone going of a life-altering experience, not only seeing how we have our foot on the throat of polio, but also justifying the cost to have a wonderful couple of weeks in India.

Our District putting on this trip on at cost and you could not organise such a trip yourself at the price.

I have reviewed the itinerary and heard wonderful things about the New Zealanders running the Indian Tour and can unequivocally recommend it to everyone.

At this stage I urge you to at least email Rebecca at rebecca60@xtra.co.nz and tell her of your interest.

Reach within to embrace humanity Max Patmoy District Polio Challenge Coordinator 2011-12 Rotary Foundation Committee District 9930, New Zealand Phone 06 836 6081 Fax: 06 836-6664 Mobile: 027 279 3760 Skype: maxpatmoy Email: max@hawkesbay.co.nz

I went on the Rotary Indian Tour with District 9940 in January 2011

Saturday, 15 January 2011

                                       

A little about the Polio Immunisation Awareness Rally as just part of the organised Rotary Indian Tour with District 9940 in January 2011 written by George Beaton of Takaro [Palmerston North] Club

We had an early start this morning and had to be ready for the bus at 8.15am as it was a fair distance across town to the school we were visiting, we had to allow for the traffic.

On arrival there were hundreds of school children lined up in their uniforms and banners all wearing the same yellow waistcoats as we were. We also had our black polo shirts on with NZ across the back and a huge silver fern across the chest. Also a Rotary cap - so we looked pretty impressive as a group, all 32 of us. There were a couple of elephants all rigged up,  a camel and two young men on very long stilts with drums. We were given a briefing about what was going to happen, and of course had to learn the slogan to chant. It was a bit long but finished with  "...END POLIO NOW!" Then at 10.30am after many speeches (Rotarians love making speeches) and balloon releasing we headed off around the local streets. What a commotion we stirred up with loud speaker blaring. Every so often we stopped, music was played and everybody was supposed to dance Bollywood fashion, everybody came out of their houses or looked down from their balconies, the local kids became very excited and wanted to do high fives and be photographed. We marched in chaotic slow fashion for just on two hours and miraculously ended up back at the school. The whole affair was exciting and also exhausting with the noise and you know it is difficult to smile continuously for 2 hours. We laughed later about what is must be like for celebraties etc doing the public walk about!

Then it was straight on the bus and around to St Stephens Hospital which works closely with Delhi Midtown. Here at this huge 800 bed Christian private funded hospital there is a special 8 bed ward for children affected by Polio. We meet the orthopaedic surgeon who heads the team working with these people and he gave a Power Point Presentation of cases he has been dealing with. Many with graphic photos of before and after comparisons. Basically these young people can have their deformities corrected by surgery but are still paralysed by this cruel disease and still have a certain degree of disability following all their treatment. So instead of having to crawl around on the floor as many of them did, they are up on their feet and use callipers and crutches to get around. Their dignity is restored and they can lead a comparably normal life.

Lunch was then served, Indian (mild they assured us) and butterscotch ice cream for dessert. We were then taken into the ward and introduced to the young people, the youngest was ten, either waiting for surgery or recovering from surgery, each patient’s complex tragic story was told to us. The surgeon has a passion for what he does. The young people and their parents’ present showed admiration and gratitude for the work he and his team do. These people do not have to pay; they have no way of paying.

It was emotional and harrowing to see how polio can and still effects young people in India.

A great video of the last trip.

Here is a link to see a video made by a Rotarian on their Rotary District trip to India, Click here:

http://gallery.me.com/nevillejamesthomas/100504


To see the fantastic slideshow Click here:
 https://picasaweb.google.com/execamjim/India201102?authkey=Gv1sRgCPrutY_4uKHpfw#slideshow/5561552419554039938

Bookings ahoy!

Hello everyone, Sarah here. Great to read Pat Waite's notes on the tour this year. Just to let you know that we've received the first two bookings for the November tour. This is great news as it is a kick-start to the tour! We'd love you to get your bookings in with your deposits ($595) so that we can make sure we've got the numbers for our planning. Remember, the more people who book the cheaper the price! Of course, if  the tour doesn't go ahead you'll get your deposit refunded in full - so there's no risk. Hopefully you have got the information you need - there's a special online booking form on the website if you'd prefer to do it that way. And of course, if you do have any questions about the tour, or visiting India in general (like what to pack etc) then  drop me a line at tours@darjeelingtours.co.uk.

All the best, Sarah

January 2011 trip to India by District 9940

PDG Pat Waite outlines some very interesting observations of the changes which have taken place in India between his first trip in 2009 and a second trip earlier this year.

He reports as follows.

Melva and I returned to India in January two years after our first visit there as part of District 9940 twenty member team which in 2009 participated in a National Immunization Day Polio immunization programme in the slum area of Firozabad close to Taj Mahal.  This year we were privileged to lead a group of 32 Rotarians and partners to a similar programme in Delhi.


The team comprised members of the Rotary Clubs of Hutt City, Karori, Takaro, Foxton, Tawa, Wellington South, Welllington North and Takapuna, Auckland.


There were some differences this time compared to 2009 in that we had the opportunity to spend time with Rotary Clubs and see first hand the amazing work that they do with disadvantaged and poorer communities. We saw health programmes where children receive free medical and optical checks, vaccinations, learning programmes where young women from very poor communities are taught over a 12 month course sewing and craft skills.  


At the end of this course each person who successfully completes it and passes the exams will receive a sewing machine and access to a micro credit loan so that they can start a business. Young men are taught computer skills. 


The day we visited this camp where the programmes are held many Rotarians were away supporting 20 young women from the slum areas who were being married that day and Rotary Clubs had paid their dowries! We visited St Stephens Hospital where Dr Mathew Varghese runs a polio ward which is funded by Rotary and where young men and women who have been inflicted by polio have their hands, arms and limbs lengthened, straightened, turned and strengthened so that they can walk with the help of calipers and in time return to a fruitful life. 


Many of the people we met in the wards had not been able to stand up and had spent their lives crawling or using skate boards to get around. To lengthen legs Dr Mathew demonstrated with patients how he had cut the bone and over several months had stretched limbs to match the other ones. All costs are covered by Rotary or Dr Mathew’s personal fundraising! We were so inspired that we raised amongst ourselves over $1,000 at a sergeants session in Delhi and that has matched several times over by Clubs and members so that we can help Dr Mathew fund new equipment.

Approximate costing

Just for clarification, these are the trip costs.


The air fair, assuming 20 persons, is Economy class level based on 20 passengers $NZ2225.65 includes airline taxes & levies per person. We have chosen Singapore Airlines.


Travel Insurance $NZ275.00.ea or $NZ441.00 double. We have chosen QBE who give us 20% discount.


Indian Tour, assuming 20 people, 2,225 English Pounds. At the moment (3-6-11) the NZ equivalent is $4,454.80 and getting cheaper! We have Chosen Darjeeling Tours. The deposit for the tour is $NZ595.00


So, for the above you will need  say $7,000.00 plus spending money.