Tomorrow, October 24 is World Polio Day. Around the world, people will be focusing on ending polio forever for everyone in the world. Today Cherry Creek Early Act students got things started early and used their lunch recess time to educate their classmates about the dangers of polio. Students today learned that polio affects a person for the rest of their lives and that the side effects can be devastating. They learned that thanks to vaccinations, polio is almost gone from the world. Only 3 countries still have polio cases meaning that it is 99% of the way eradicated. Our hope in educating students is that they will pass their knowledge on to the adults in their lives. We also hope they will grow up thinking beyond their own realm and reach out to help others in need.
The meaning behind the purple pinkie? When children around the world are vaccinated, they usually like the taste of the medicine. Children have been caught getting back in line to get more. In order to mark children as already vaccinated, volunteers color their pinkie purple to make sure that the vaccine is only given once to each child and they have enough to go around. :)
For more information on the End Polio Now campaign, follow this link: EndPolioNow.