Friday, September 18, 2020

Community Champions

 Rotary & ending Polio

September has always been a fascinating month in my personal life as it represents the four weeks when I celebrate the birthdays of my loved ones the most! Birth dates of my grandfather to both my parents: mom, dad; my young sister, and loved ones, the list keeps growing… September turns out to be a great month for me to keep giving, so here goes:

source: www.rotary.org

At the community level, an organization I am deeply passionate about (spending the better part of the last decade volunteering with), Rotary is seeking the complete eradication of a disabling and life-threatening disease, polio. Ahead of World Polio Day, I have volunteered with the District 9400 Polio Plus Committee and the Rotary Club of Johannesburg to amplify the work that Rotarians on the African continent are doing to end the disease through various forms of vaccinations.

source: www.endpolio.org

In development work, building empathy is an incredibly challenging task. With the global drive to find a vaccine for COVID19, however, we find some common ground in fighting misinformation, appreciate advances in medical innovation, and drive the welfare for our and future generations with impactful next steps. We all can better imagine and empathize with dilapidating disease and the urgent need for collective action on preventable yet dangerous diseases. Polio Plus and the initial fight on infectious diseases such as Ebola helped with interventions such as contact-tracing and emergency responses in many a region in my Africa. There is more to be done, still.

source: www.endpolio.org

My asks are for you to join us for Zumba to have fun with some of the most empathetically kind and fun people I know and yes, raising funds for the cause in permanently keeping polio eradicated. #KeepPolioZero

Lastly, if you know of survivors who would like to share their stories with us, I shall be hosting Zoom interviews to help create awareness on behalf of our Rotary district campaign.

source: facebook.com/EndPolio RC JHB

Be well, be safe, be loved.

p.s. Amplifying voices: If you know of podcasters looking to learn, share tips and tricks, and amplifying African voices, we curate an amazing group that shares resources, hosts guest speakers, and supports with podcast engagement here. Podcasters Unite!

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p.s.s. Recipe on Finance: Register for my conversation with Flutterwave’s Olugbenga GB Agboola and Payfast’s Jonathan Smit with our friends and collaborating partners at Heavy Chef. Tickets here. Note: Business owners get 60% off, use the promo code DATAPROMO. Students get 100% off, use the promo code DATAFREE.

Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor, Rotarian Rotary Club of Accra-Ring Road Central, Ghana District Conference

















p.s.s.s update I was reminded to share my history with Rotary, over a decade of active membership as a Rotaractor with Rotaract Club of Adentan, Rotarian as a member of Accra Ring-Road Central, and Africa’s first club, Rotary Club of Johannesburg.

Originally published to Unpacking Africa newsletter’s 15,000 + subscribers on September 17, 2021.

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